Reviews
“With its expansive narrative and sophisticated, penetrating insights, A Great and Rising Nation makes a genuine contribution to our understanding of the early American republic and its relationship to the wider world.”
— Brian Rouleau, Texas A&M University
“Elegant, erudite, and adventurous, A Great and Rising Nation takes readers on a remarkable global voyage with the US Navy’s antebellum exploring expeditions. Crisply written and featuring a memorable cast of characters, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the early American republic, naval history, and the history of American empire.”
— Gautham Rao, American University
“A Great and Rising Nation shows how naval exploration became both mass entertainment and a popular instrument of imperial power in the early American republic. This marvelous new study combines thrilling accounts of early US exploring expeditions from Fiji to the Arctic with an important argument about the relationship of domestic political process and empire building.”
— Amy S. Greenberg, Pennsylvania State University
“Beginning in the early nineteenth century, the American Navy played a key role in extending the scope and reach of American influence in the world. Venturing to distant regions, the Navy engaged in a wide range of scientific, humanitarian, and political missions. Compelling and original, A Great and Rising Nation transforms our understanding of the origins and meaning of American imperialism.”
— Rosemarie Zagarri, George Mason University
"A Great and Rising Nation is an important addition to the scholarship of the antebellum navy, especially the period between 1830 and 1860, which has been sorely underexplored."
— H-Net Reviews
"While establishing itself as a continental power, the early American Republic asserted itself in the international sphere through a series of scientific expeditions aimed at expanding the country’s economic influence. In A Great and Rising Nation, Verney recounts how the various military expeditions accomplished not only their stated intentions but also the unstated goal of expanding US influence at a time when European interests dominated global economic systems. . . Recommended."
— Choice
"This rich and engaging book situates American naval exploration and science in the period between the War of 1812 and the Civil War, an era that re-shaped and popularized American political life, and greatly extended the territorial sway of the Imperial Republic, acquiring a Pacific coastline in the process. . . . Verney brings his expertise on the domestic political dimension to bear on the genesis, conduct and reception of five of the 17 naval expeditions of the period, emphasizing the divergent aims and ambitions of those who sponsored, supported and conducted oceanic missions."
— Naval Review
“Using official expedition reports, popular sources reacting to expeditions, and a wealth of historiography, the author demonstrates that exploring expeditions became a vessel in which various antebellum interests competed for political legitimacy. His thorough seventy pages of notes and clear definition of terms makes A Great and Rising Nation easy for readers to follow. Verney poses new questions concerning the relationship of American empire, race, religion, gender, and the US Navy, all while including non-American voices in the study of these overseas expeditions. This book would be an excellent addition to the library of any North American, maritime, or global historian.”
— Northern Mariner
“A Great and Rising Nation showcases thorough research, up-to-date historiography, and well-written prose. As a strong work of scholarship with no notable weaknesses, it should easily find a place on the shelves of scholars of maritime history and the early republic. The transnational nature and goals of the expeditions means that scholars in diverse fields may also find individual chapters useful. With compelling prose, gripping anecdotes, and clear ties to the broader themes and narrative of US history, the book could be assigned to students and be read by a broader audience.”
— H-Water
“In addition to describing the progress and specific events of each expedition, Verney vividly relates each one to the sweeping social, political, and economic changes that characterized the antebellum United States.”
— Naval War College Review
"The main merit of the book is that it draws attention to the fact that nationalism, state
formation, and foreign policy were already linked by naval means in the early and
antebellum US republic. This makes it instructive reading even to scholars of late nineteenth-
century US naval history."
— Johannes Nagel, H-Net Reviews
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