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How long does it take to read Lafayette in the Somewhat United States?

Sarah Vowell

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell takes about 5 hours 17 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.

About 5 hours 17 minutes

A weekend read

First published 2015. 288 pages, about 79,200 words.

11 days at 30 minutes a day

Estimate based on 275 words per page.

At other speeds

Slow, 150 words a minute 8 hours 48 minutes
Average, 250 words a minute 5 hours 17 minutes
Fast, 400 words a minute 3 hours 18 minutes

The page count is the median across 1 edition, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.

About the book

On August 16, 1824, an elderly French gentlemen sailed into New York Harbor and giddy Americans were there to welcome him. Or, rather, to welcome him back. It had been 30 years since the Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette had last set foot in the United States, and he was so beloved that 80,000 people showed up to cheer for him. The entire population of New York at the time was 120,000. Lafayette's arrival in 1824 coincided with one of the most contentious presidential elections in American history. Congress had just fought its first epic battle over slavery, and the threat of a Civil War loomed. But Lafayette, belonging to neither North nor South, to no political party or faction, was a walking, talking reminder of the sacrifices and bravery of the revolutionary generation and what they wanted the country to be. His return was not just a reunion with his beloved Americans, it was a reunion for Americans with their own astonishing singular past.

Subjects: Politics and government, History, Generals, French Participation, Influence, Biography

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