Review of Make Thy Way Straight

[zainherb]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Make Thy Way Straight" by Patrick R. O'Donnell.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Make Thy Way Straight is a book about the life and death of Johann Peter Samsel. Sergeant Johann Peter Samsel was a man who migrated from Germany to America as a child with his family and ended up fighting in the American Revolutionary War. Though he was not a perfect person, Johann Peter Samsel carried out his duties with bravery and courage. He ended up being one of those whose lives were sacrificed in the country's pursuit of freedom.

The author crafted this book like a history book and not particularly like a biography. Patrick R. O'Donnell has included the life of Samsel's parents and how they migrated and settled in America. He even told us about Johann Paul Samsel, who was Johann Peter Samsel's father, his sources of livelihood and the content of his will at the time of his death. There are mentions of different plagues that affected the world in that time period as well as the issue of slavery. It was interesting to learn about the attitude of some in America who began to worry about the sheer volume of German migrants in the country and what that might mean politically. Eventually, the government made the German migrants swear an oath that they were loyal to the King and then imposed a levy on German and Asian migrants as well as black slaves who were brought in. This particular tidbit tickled me a bit because it shows that the American society has had a distrust and fear of migrants in some form for a very long time.

I liked many things about this book. The author included actual letters and documents written by some of the individuals who were discussed. Because of all these, I felt as if I was present at the time these things occurred. I also enjoyed looking at the photos that the author included in the book. Again, this made the book more real and interesting. The editing was so amazing that I felt like giving the editor a hug. I did not find a single error in this book even though a book of this sort has a huge chance of being riddled with errors.

I did not find anything that I disliked about this book, though I wish it had a catchier title. Therefore, I rate the book five out of five stars.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history or who likes nonfiction books in general. Those who do not like books like this may or may not enjoy this one.

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Make Thy Way Straight
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