Overview

An account of the United States's 19th-century scientific exploration of the Holy Land under the leadership of navy officer William Francis Lynch reveals how the expedition served to bridge modern- and ancient-world approaches. By the best-selling author of Empire Express. 17,500 first printing.

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9781590203521

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Praise for Bitter Waters <br><br> Bain produces an engrossing narrative of the expedition that richly positions the mission's incidents within Lynch's Western perspective on the Near East. Wonderfully realized, Bain's account will enthrall seekers of history off the beaten path. -- Booklist (starred review)<br><br> Bitter Waters illuminates this daring 19th-century exploration of the Holy Land. David Haward Bain, author of Empire Express , paints a vivid picture of the ambitious, visionary seafarers and their bold adventure . . . Bitter Waters captures this fascinating moment in American history. --History Book Club (official selection)<br><br>

Praise for Bitter Waters Bain produces an engrossing narrative of the expedition that richly positions the mission's incidents within Lynch's Western perspective on the Near East. Wonderfully realized, Bain's account will enthrall seekers of history off the beaten path. -- Booklist (starred review) Bitter Waters illuminates this daring 19th-century exploration of the Holy Land. David Haward Bain, author of Empire Express , paints a vivid picture of the ambitious, visionary seafarers and their bold adventure . . . Bitter Waters captures this fascinating moment in American history. --History Book Club (official selection)

Praise for David Haward Bain: <br><br> ?Meticulously researched . . . Mr. Bain is more than a solid historian; he is also a good writer. A great yarn, skillfully told.?-- The New York Times Book Review <br><br> ?The definitive story of the heroism and heartbreak that produced a railroad, changed the landscape of the country, and altered the horizon of the nation.?-- Wall Street Journal on Empire Express An intriguing, thorough study of a little-known scientific expedition to the Dead Sea by a mid-19th-century U.S. Navy lieutenant . . . . Bain amply extracts from Lynch's journal, depicting this mysterious, desolate, intensely moving place. Also included are Dale's drawings, which hold an eerie, fanciful charm. Like the expedition itself, a work of stringent epistemological curiosity and research. -- Kirkus <br><br>

Praise for Bitter Waters Bain produces an engrossing narrative of the expedition that richly positions the mission's incidents within Lynch's Western perspective on the Near East. Wonderfully realized, Bain's account will enthrall seekers of history off the beaten path. -- Booklist (starred review) Bitter Waters illuminates this daring 19th-century exploration of the Holy Land. David Haward Bain, author of Empire Express , paints a vivid picture of the ambitious, visionary seafarers and their bold adventure . . . Bitter Waters captures this fascinating moment in American history. --History Book Club (official selection) Praise for David Haward Bain: ?Meticulously researched . . . Mr. Bain is more than a solid historian; he is also a good writer. A great yarn, skillfully told.?-- The New York Times Book Review ?The definitive story of the heroism and heartbreak that produced a railroad, changed the landscape of the country, and altered the horizon of the nation.?-- Wall Street Journal on Empire Express An intriguing, thorough study of a little-known scientific expedition to the Dead Sea by a mid-19th-century U.S. Navy lieutenant . . . . Bain amply extracts from Lynch's journal, depicting this mysterious, desolate, intensely moving place. Also included are Dale's drawings, which hold an eerie, fanciful charm. Like the expedition itself, a work of stringent epistemological curiosity and research. -- Kirkus

Author Information

David Haward Bain is the author of four previous works of nonfiction, including Empire Express and Sitting in Darkness, which received a Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Book Award. His articles and essays have appeared in Smithsonian, American Heritage, Kenyon Review, and Prairie Schooner, and he reviews regularly for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, and Newsday. He is a teacher at Middlebury College and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.

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