The National Road

For The National Road: “America’s first great national project. . . . A fine reminder that a revolution first united our nation, but roads kept it united.” —Kirkus Reviews “Brady Crytzer’s scholarship and storytelling skills have restored the National Road’s significance for the early American republic and for our own time. Through his engaging portraits of George Washington, Albert Gallatin, and Henry Clay, he captures key debates over the federal government’s role in infrastructure and the National Road’s crucial role in America’s westward expansion.” —David L. Preston, The Citadel, Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize-winning author of Braddock’s Defeat: The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution “The vivid, compelling, and rarely-researched story of our first national highway. Full of captivating detail and astounding twists and turns, Crytzer’s The National Road recounts how a revolving roster of American stalwarts—Washington, Jefferson, Albert Gallatin, Henry Clay—managed to conceive and establish this essential artery for western expansion.” —Tom McMillan, author of The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence, 1775–1776 “With The National Road, Brady Crytzer builds upon his impressive record as a chronicler of the young and bustling American republic. This dynamic narrative explores a century-long journey of ambition, danger, and speculation across the generations. A lively blend of political history and backcountry adventure.” —Jared Frederick, author of Fierce Valor: The True Story of Ronald Speirs and His Band of Brothers For The Whiskey Rebellion: “[A] vivid account of what contemporaries called “the Western Insurrection,” . . . Crytzer grounds his engaging narrative upon intimate knowledge of the landscape where events unfolded, identifying locations linked with the insurgents and the troops sent against them.” —Wall Street Journal “[A] fast-paced narrative of the Whiskey Rebellion. . . . Crytzer offers abundant fresh insight into what was arguably the greatest crisis of George Washington’s presidency.” —Woody Holton, author of Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution “By tracing the history of the ‘Whiskey Rebellion’ . . . Crytzer gives us a layered view of our landscape and also of the ongoing, evolving, and very American contention between federal and populist power.” —Daniel Bullen, author of Daniel Shays’s Honorable Rebellion: An American Story