Utopia is no myth. It was there, at the frontier, the missing link between George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Apollo 17. Three progressive minds made it happen. Two had a vision of the future. One told their story in his sketchbooks: the true story of the scientific conquest of America.
After courageously defending the city of Paris in 1814 and 1815, first to protect Napoleon, next to get rid of him, Charles-Alexandre Lesueur was in need of a better world. A philanthropic businessman provided the opportunity. Enthused by his scientific knowledge, William Maclure brought the French explorer to the United States. There he met the Founding Fathers and all the great minds of his time. Every knowledgeable American agreed to this: no one knew more than Lesueur. He was a living encyclopedia, the most talented student of Georges Cuvier. His contributions to American science were revolutionary. Then, suddenly, history forgot about him when together with a group of intellectuals he created an experimental scientific utopia. Abandoned by most of his friends on the American frontier, he initiated its geological exploration and systematic discovery.
The honorable Edouard Philippe, MP, Prime Minister of France, declared about 'Eyewitness to Utopia': "I am delighted that the present memoir reveals the immensity of this historical figure from Le Havre."
Dr. Donald E. Pitzer, Director Emeritus, Center for Communal Studies at the University of Southern Indiana, wrote: “Ritsert Rinsma’s 'Eyewitness to Utopia' presents Lesueur’s artistic gift to the New World in its most complete rendition and elevates this artist, scientist and communitarian to his own proper status among the most notable figures in the early Republic.”
Charles-Alexandre Lesueur was an eyewitness to his era. The drawings he made between 1816 and 1837, and which are reproduced in this 498-page book (160 watercolors, sketches and engravings by Lesueur), illustrate the following topics:
Sketches of the United States of America and early American utopias (1816-1837);
Charles Alexandre Lesueur (1778-1846), explorer, geologist, zoologist and natural history painter;
William Maclure (1763-1840), father of American geology and utopian philosopher;
Robert Owen (1771-1858), British social reformer and utopian philosopher;
Early history of New Harmony, Indiana (1814-1837);
Early history of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1812-1825);
Early history of the United States Geological Survey (1839-1879);
Pestalozzian schools of Joseph Neef (1770-1854) and Marie Duclos Fretageot (1783-1833);
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827);
History of lithography in the USA (1807-1822);
Creation of the Smithsonian Institution (1836-1856);
The Lewis and Clark expedition (1803-1806);
The Stephen. H. Long expedition (1819-1820);
The American Revolution (1775-1783);
The Louisiana Purchase (1803);
The War of 1812;
The United States Boundary Commission (1819);
Harmonists in America (1803-1832);
Moravians in America (1741-1825);
English settlements on Prairie Albion, Illinois (1825-1826);
Slave emancipation in Nashoba, Tennessee (1825-1830);
The Valley Forge retreat of George Washington (1732-1799);
The Declaration of Independence and Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826);
The boyhood of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865);
(with additional photographs and maps).
Language: English
'Eyewitness to Utopia' is available as an eBook and exists in three printed editions (26,7 cm x 21 cm / 498 pages):
*eBook (ISBN 978-2-491405-00-7); content identical to the scholar's edition
* Scholar’s edition (ISBN 978-2-491405-01-4): hard cover, 300 color illustrations and 26 black-and-white illustrations
* Deluxe edition (ISBN 978-2-491405-02-1); hard cover, 99 color illustrations and 227 black-and-white illustrations
* Economy edition (ISBN 978-2-491405-04-5); soft cover, 49 color illustrations and 277 black-and-white illustrations
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