New York Times Bestseller: Sweeping from the 1850s through the early 1920s, this towering family saga examines the price of ambition and power. Joseph Francis Xavier Armagh is twelve years old when he gets his first glimpse of the promised land of America through a dirty porthole in steerage on an Irish immigrant ship. His long voyage, dogged by tragedy, ends not in the great city of New York … great city of New York but in the bigoted, small town of Winfield, Pennsylvania, where his younger brother, Sean, and his infant sister, Regina, are sent to an orphanage. Joseph toils at whatever work will pay a living wage and plans for the day he can take his siblings away from St. Agnes’s Orphanage and make a home for them all.
Joseph’s journey will catapult him to the highest echelons of power and grant him entry into the most elite political circles. Even as misfortune continues to follow the Armagh family like an ancient curse, Joseph takes his revenge against the uncaring world that once took everything from him. He orchestrates his eldest son Rory’s political ascent from the offspring of an Irish immigrant to US senator. And Joseph will settle for nothing less than the pinnacle of glory: seeing his boy crowned the first Catholic president of the United States.
Spanning seventy years, Captains and the Kings, which was adapted into an eight-part television miniseries, is Taylor Caldwell’s masterpiece about nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America, and the grit, ambition, fortitude, and sheer hubris it takes for an immigrant to survive and thrive in a dynamic new land.
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Was it fiction or did the author have vision into the future? Outstanding story! Do a yourself a favor and read a long book.
Thought about this book for weeks afterward. Though a different era, it is eerily similar to current events.
Another important read from Caldwell, who saw deeply into society and wrote stories that were not only correct for the time of the story, but also remains relevant for current history and events. This is not romance. It is literary fiction.
Excellent. I have read all of her books…each one is different, realistic and absorbing.
This extraordinary tale takes us through 3 generations of Irish immigrants. If you love rags to riches historical fiction, and enjoy family sagas, this book is for you. It was a mini series back in the 1970s.
Very well written and easy to read and entertaining.
Read this one twice, first time back in my twenties.
Love all Taylor Caldwell’s books.
As a teenager, this was my first introduction to the “deep state” concept. Once your eyes are opened they can never be closed again. I’ve seen evidence of this reality my entire adult life.
This book reads itself. I’ve never shared so many profound passages before.
Taylor Caldwell never disappoints! This is one of my favorites!
EXCEPTIONAL OF A FAMILY AND HOW IT PROGRESSES EXCELLENT READ
As always … a great author that never disappoints
A wonderful historical epic
Loved, loved Captains and the Kings! Best book I have read in a long time!
very well written
It was definitely realistic – and that was sad.
Relates to today’s world.
Wonderful Characters. Great information about American History prior to
24 Hours news and instant messages.
I loved it read several times
Have read this book 3 times – shocking