Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780385417242
ISBN number: 0385417241
Label: Doubleday
Manufacturer: Doubleday
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 785
Printing Date: June 01, 1993
Publishing house: Doubleday
Release Date: June 01, 1993
Sale Popularity Level: 1098948
Studio: Doubleday
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The lives and fortunes of the Crown family--Paul; his German-born uncle, Joseph; Joseph's wife, Ilsa; their rebellious son, Joe--are set against the turbulent backdrop of a momentous decade in world history, from 1890 to 1900. 300,000 very first printing. $300,000 ad/promo. Tour.
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Rated by buyers 
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These are the sorts of stories that I love most, and John Jakes is one of the best at writing them. In this very first book of a proposed series, he introduces us to Pauli Kroner, soon to depart for the magical place where the streets are paved with gold and to rename himself Paul Crown.
The sequence containing his travel from Germany to America - the hellish passage in steerage, the long walk to Chicago, is vividly drawn and, at times, painful to read. That's only the beginning of the many trials that Paul will face as he grows into this new Country, America. Along the way we meet many well-drawn and interesting characters, including Paul's uncle, Joseph, who is still mired in the old ways, and his Aunt Ilsa, who is stepping into the new. Cousin Joe Jr. wants to change the world, and Cousin Fritzi wants to be an actress. Paul finds himself fascinated with the magic of "living pictures" and struggles with his need to explore that passion.
Real-life historical figures, including Teddy Roosevelt, Jane Addams, Clara Barton and several others move through the story, as they do through all of Jakes' novels, and the characters find themselves in the middle of extraordinary historical events. The only reason I gave this four stars rather than five is that I thought it dragged a bit during the section regarding the Spanish-American War, but military buffs' interest may vary. I have already picked up the sequel, American Dreams, and can't wait to see what happens next.
Rated by buyers 
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This is a great book by John Jakes. Jakes tells the tale of the Crown family and the changes to society i the industrial age. It is spell bounding as new inventions and social norms replace the old familiar way of life.
Rated by buyers -
jakes continues to write awesome historical fiction. this was great and the only reason i didn't give it 5 stars was that many of his others were better.....if you are a fan of american history, jakes is a must, if not read him anyway.....
Rated by buyers -
At a time when the world stood on the brink of a new century, America struggled to find its place upon the global stage, and huddled masses of immigrants streamed across its borders with little more than the clothing on their backs and a yearning to breath free. It was a time of innovation and invention, a birth of a new technological age, when labor collided violently with management; fathers with sons and America found itself in a war to set a country free.
"Homeland," John Jakes' epic tome is not set during the turbulent decade of 1990's (as one might expect after having read my introductory paragraph) but rather a full century earlier. Beginning where his "Kent Family Chronicles" left off in 1891, and ending in the very first year of the twentieth century, 1901, Jakes begins a new cycle of novels with a new family, the Crowns of Chicago.
Jakes casts his protagonist, Pauli Kroner, as a young urchin, wandering the streets of Berlin. Orphaned, Pauli lives with his consumptive aunt, Charlotte, who, in a last act of selflessness sends Pauli to live with his uncle, Joseph Crown, who has amassed his fortune in the brewing trade of Chicago. But all is not happy in the Crown household. The forces of change at work in America are straining the family. Uncle Joe barely tolerates the progressive attitude of his wife Ilsa and has constant verbal clashes with his oldest son, Joe Jr., who has taken up sides with the socialist labor union movement, an issue which precipitates one final clash between father and son, after which Joe Jr. runs away and Pauli finds himself expelled from the household for aiding his cousin in his escape. Now known as Paul Crown he must eke out an existence in the streets of Chicago, and soon finds himself standing at the doorstep of the fledgling moving picture business as a camera operator and an eyewitness to history.
From the Pullman strike and the fairgrounds of Chicago's Colombian Exposition to the Cuban battlefields of the Spanish-American War John Jakes intricately weaves the historical events of the last decade of the nineteenth century throughout his novel and peppers it with historical Characters such as Theodore Roosevelt, Jane Addams, Clara Barton, Eugene Debs and Thomas Edison to name but a few.
John Jakes has earned the title "Godfather of the Historical Novel," and with "Homeland" the Crowns of Chicago can rightfully take their place beside the Kents of "The Kent Family Chronicles," the Hazard and Main families of the "North and South" trilogy, and the Chances of "California Gold."
Rated by buyers -
Homeland is not a literary masterpiece, but it is a thoroughly engrossing look at turn-of-the-century America through the eyes and adventures of one family. Joe Crown is a German immigrant who has built a successful brewery. Son Joe Junior becomes passionately involved in union activity, while nephew Pauli, a street kid in Berlin, travels to America and finds his calling in moving pictures.
What I love about John Jakes is how he showcases the major issues, struggles and viewpoints of a time period through his characters, but still manages to give the characters depth and allow the reader to connect and relate to them. Once you read Homeland, you'll be anxious to pick up the sequel, American Dreams, to see what happens to the second generation of the Crowns!
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