The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America's Greatest Museum: The Smithsonian

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about The Smithsonian and how it came about. Smithson was an eccentric...no doubt about it, and there is little for us to go on to guage why he made the U.S. his heir, especially when he spent his life trying to 'ratify' his own place among the elite of England. But we Americans do not refuse a 'gift horse.' Especially one that would enable us to contend with the British museums. Adams may have not had his father's sense of humor, but he was smart enough to accept this gift, and see that it was used the way that Smithson intended it to be used. A very outstanding historical story, and well-researched. Glad to know the background of the Smithsonian... Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

Burleigh's book painstakingly peels back the opaque covers of history to acquaint us with the quirky, obsessive, and surprisingly fascinating characters on both sides of the Atlantic whose money and ideas spawned the Smithsonian Institution. The book profiles the reclusive, English scientist who bequeathed an inherited fortune to a country he had never seen to found an institution for the dissemination of knowledge. His life story as told by Burleigh is a marvelous palette of the scandalously rich nobility and ground-breaking gentlemen scientists of 18th century Europe. Then, the book moves to the rough-and-tumble young nation of America, where suspicion, selfishness and opportunism nearly doomed the Englishman's bequest until a man of then-unpopular vision, former President John Quincy Adams, used all of his Puritanical tenacity to ensure the money was used as the donor intended. Those who enjoy a peek into the lives of real people whose courage, flaws and vision influenced future generations will want to read this book.

I found this book to be a bit of a slow-starter. Smithson is pretty well absent for the first 50 pages, as the author goes into quite a bit of detail concerning the mating habits and inheritance rights of the British aristocracy. The information on inheritance is relevant, as it ties into the tale of Smithson's bequest. The amorous adventures, though certainly fun to read about, don't seem essential to the story. But have no fear - eventually Ms. Burleigh settles down to business and we learn about James Smithson, assorted oddball scientists, John Quincy Adams, 19th century Washington D.C., etc. We also learn the unsurprising fact that they had some sleazy politicians back then (Smithson's gift of $500,000, equal today, perhaps, to $50 million, "disappeared" and was only replaced by the Treasury after John Quincy Adams screamed bloody-murder), and we also learn the depressing fact that Congressmen were just as provincial, and as ignorant concerning scientific matters, 160 years ago as they are today. The mind boggles that many politicians didn't want to take the money for fear the establishment of the Smithsonian would increase the power of the Federal government. Some Anglophobes, still smarting from two wars with the British, didn't want to taint American tastebuds with the financial crumbs (admittedly, a healthy portion of crumbs) tossed our way by an Englishman. Just as interesting was the fact that even those who were glad to get the money didn't know what to do with it. After all, Smithson wanted the money to be used to "increase and diffuse Knowledge among men." How do you go about doing that....exactly? It was not inevitable that the Smithsonian would become highly involved with research and expeditions...some people just wanted it to be a library, and some people just wanted it to be a museum. John Quincy Adams, despite being dour and a bit of a "downer," personality-wise, comes across in these pages as a hero. When Washington was still full of muddy roads, mosquitoes, and politicians who liked to spit, swear, booze it up, and even bring their hunting dogs to the floor of the House, Adams pushed for high culture and learning. Alexander Graham Bell also comes through with high marks: in 1903, when Smithson's body was in danger of falling into the Mediterranean (the British cemetery in Genoa was gradually falling into the sea due to blasting from a nearby marble quarry), Bell made the trip to Italy, hacked his way through Italian bureaucracy, and brought Smithson's remains to America. The section dealing with Smithson as scientist is also fascinating. Although not a great or original thinker, Smithson amassed quite a collection of minerals and did the laborious work of subjecting all of his accumulated material to painstaking chemical analysis. He was a member of the Royal Society and knew some interesting, if odd, fellow scientists. Ms. Burleigh relishes telling us about the aristocrat-scientist Henry Cavendish, who "was shy and bashful t

For any author, writing on the subject of "The Stranger and the Statesman" would seem to be a daunting task. After all, how do you create a compelling narrative around a central character about whom scant details exist? Nina Burleigh succeeds in this brilliantly by examining her subject in a larger context, that of Europe and a nascent America over the course of nearly a hundred years. By vividly portraying the world James Smithson was borne into, travelled through and left behind - from its physicality to its politics and social mores (her description of Bath during the social season is a horror and a revelation!) Burleigh draws us into a story that's rich in texture and scope, and that makes Smithson himself appear less enigmatic than he might in less skillful hands. This is not a biography so much as a superbly researched historical investigation by a talented journalist who also happens to have a cinematic eye. From the very first scene depicting Alexander Graham Bell and his coterie exhuming the English benefactor's bones, the whole thing plays out like a Merchant/Ivory production.

At first glance, the subject matter of this eloquent book might seem too esoteric to fascinate, but indeed the opposite is true. With brilliant detective work, and elegant, captivating writing, Nina Burleigh paints a rich portrait of the odd Englishman who mysteriously bequeathed his fortune to this country in order to found the institution that became the Smithsonian. From the first page, Burleigh makes history come to life with vivid descriptions of 18th-early 19th century life and people on both sides of the pond. Graceful sentences, one right after the other, evoke that muddy, tumultuous time. So many aspects of the early history, culture, and daily life of this country, as well as of Europe at that time are woven into the compelling plot. Historic figures such as Alexander Bell and John Quincy Adams have life breathed into them. This tale is also a wonderful portrayal of how the fledgling United States struggled to define itself, and of the birth of the industrial and scientific age. The scope of Burleigh's research is astounding, and the elegance with which she presents it is deeply satisfying.