Bevis Longstreth's guest appearances

Bevis Longstreth

The Historians

Book Spectrum

One Poem a Day Won't Kill You

Stephen Dunn

David Brooks

Chris Harris

Wallace Stevens

Mary Oliver

William Blake

John Donne

Robert Burns

Tim Welch

Elizabeth Bishop

Naomi Shihab Nye

David Cummings

Chris Leonard

Ken Davis

Scott Shay

OwlTail

During the Revolutionary War, undermanned but with something of a home-field advantage, leaders of the Continental Army concocted a cunning plan to keep the British from advancing up the Hudson River: setting up long metal chains in some locations from end-to-end. While a sound defensive strategy, the chains were not needed. Historian and author Bevis Longstreth, a Hudson Valley resident, imagines a scenario where the British found a way into the Hudson and would face the mega-traps in his new book, Chains Across the River.Longstreth brings to life the efforts of the Secret Committee of the "Committee of Safety" and how Thomas Machin was dispatched to handle the situation. He then tells the story of what might have happened had the British Empire sent an armada upward to try and take the Hudson.“Why do historians devote so little attention to Machin?” says Longstreth. “It’s because of what didn’t happen on the Hudson. The British cut the first chain without testing it, and they never sailed against the second. Washington and Machin understood that the chain could deter without being tested at all.”Bevis Longstreth is the author of four historical novels: Spindle and Bow, Return of the Shade, Boats Against the Current, and Chains Across the River. He combines his passion for history with a unique, contemporary perspective.Pick up Chains Across the River here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56186392-chains-across-the-river---a-novel-of-the-american-revolution

During the Revolutionary War, undermanned but with something of a home-field advantage, leaders of the Continental Army concocted a cunning plan to keep the British from advancing up the Hudson River: setting up long metal chains in some locations from end-to-end. While a sound defensive strategy, the chains were not needed. Historian and author Bevis Longstreth, a Hudson Valley resident, imagines a scenario where the British found a way into the Hudson and would face the mega-traps in his new book, Chains Across the River. Longstreth brings to life the efforts of the Secret Committee of the "Committee of Safety" and how Thomas Machin was dispatched to handle the situation. He then tells the story of what might have happened had the British Empire sent an armada upward to try and take the Hudson. “Why do historians devote so little attention to Machin?” says Longstreth. “It’s because of what didn’t happen on the Hudson. The British cut the first chain without testing it, and they never sailed against the second. Washington and Machin understood that the chain could deter without being tested at all.” Bevis Longstreth is the author of four historical novels: Spindle and Bow, Return of the Shade, Boats Against the Current, and Chains Across the River. He combines his passion for history with a unique, contemporary perspective. Pick up Chains Across the River here: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56186392-chains-across-the-river---a-novel-of-the-american-revolution" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56186392-chains-across-the-river---a-novel-of-the-american-revolution</a>

S2 E13 - Bevis Longstreth: Chains Across the Hudson River

John Ciardi

April 2, 2021 - Most Like An Arch This Marriage By John Ciardi, Read By Bevis Longstreth by The Desmond-Fish Public Library &amp; The Highlands Current, hosted by Ryan Biracree

April 2, 2021 - Most Like An Arch This Marriage By John Ciardi, Read By Bevis Longstreth