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The Man Without a Country
"The Man without a Country" is a short story by American writer, Edward Everett Hale, first published during the height of the Civil War during 1863 by the leading American literary magazine of the nineteenth century, The Atlantic. It is the story of an American Army Lieutenant Philip Nolan, who gets entangled with Aaron Burr in 1807, and renounces his country during his trial for treason, saying he never wanted to hear about the United States again. The Judge asks him to recant but Nolan doesn't. So the Judge granted his request and the rest of his life Nolan spent on Navy ships around the world. The officers and crew were not allowed to mention the United States.
This story came out during the height of the Civil War and served to help the Union recruit soldiers and people to their cause. It is noteworthy that Edward Everett Hale's Uncle, Edward Everett, than man he was named after, gave the two hour featured address at Gettysburg just before Lincoln's speech of 209 words and two minutes, that became the best acknowledged speech in American life. Everett, like Hale, was a total patriot and honest man, and immediately congratulated Lincoln on his fine accomplishment, "You have done far better in your two minutes than I did in my 2 hours."
"The Man without a Country" is still considered a major American work and read widely in American schools.. A quiet calm read letting the story speak for itself.
This story came out during the height of the Civil War and served to help the Union recruit soldiers and people to their cause. It is noteworthy that Edward Everett Hale's Uncle, Edward Everett, than man he was named after, gave the two hour featured address at Gettysburg just before Lincoln's speech of 209 words and two minutes, that became the best acknowledged speech in American life. Everett, like Hale, was a total patriot and honest man, and immediately congratulated Lincoln on his fine accomplishment, "You have done far better in your two minutes than I did in my 2 hours."
"The Man without a Country" is still considered a major American work and read widely in American schools.. A quiet calm read letting the story speak for itself.
46 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1863
About the author
Edward Everett Hale
1,005 books40 followersMore than one hundred fifty literary works of Unitarian cleric and writer Edward Everett Hale, younger brother of fellow American writer Lucretia Peabody Hale, include the story
The Man without a Country
.
This American author, historian, and child prodigy exhibited extraordinary literary skills; Harvard University enrolled him at 13 years of age, and he graduated second in his class. Hale went to write for a variety of publications and periodicals throughout his lifetime.
He fathered author Edward Everett Hale Jr..
This American author, historian, and child prodigy exhibited extraordinary literary skills; Harvard University enrolled him at 13 years of age, and he graduated second in his class. Hale went to write for a variety of publications and periodicals throughout his lifetime.
He fathered author Edward Everett Hale Jr..
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
December 17, 2018
As my 2016 July 4th Independence Day project, I decided to re-read the short story “The Man Without a Country” for the first time in many years, and I was pleased to find the narrative still haunting, the plight of its unfortunate hero still moving, and his devotion to the idea of “The United States” of America still an inspiration. Now, in 2018, with "red" states and "blue" states even more sharply divided, and the president himself eager to sow yet further division between them, the concept of the "United States" seems even more precious and worthy of preservation.
In 2016 I became aware of something else too: “The Man Without a Country” is a textbook example of verisimilitude, for author Hale chooses his historical details so meticulously, and presents them with such apparent casualness that even an intelligent reader—my bookish gradeschool self, for example—could be excused for mistaking this fiction for actual history.
Naïve naval officer Philip Nolan exchanges incriminating letters with Aaron Burr during the period when the former vice president was conspiring to become Emperor of Texas. The young man, subsequently tried for treason, blurts out during his court martial, “Damn the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again!” And, shocked by this rash utterance, the presiding judge devises an appropriate—and uniquely painful—punishment.
Hale published his story in The Atlantic Monthly of 1863 as a passionate defense of the Union, but it lacks the easy patriotism that one might fear to find in a wartime magazine piece. Instead, it avoids cheap partisanship and easy jingoism, deriving its power from the sympathetic plight of its hero who inspires us with the ways by which—though in perpetual exile—he comes to cherish the very concept of these United States of America.
April 15, 2019
Even though I do not spend as much time with my computer these days, I still should have been able to finish this story quicker than I did. 10 April to 14 April for less than 50 pages?! WHY?
For one thing, the author's own introduction repelled me and nearly made me change my mind about reading the story at all. I understand that he wrote the story during the United States Civil War, when the future held the possibility of no United States at all. But I have always had problems with anyone at any time claiming that any country was "created by God to serve as a protector of civilization".
So, I left it alone for a while. When I came back to it and got myself through the rest of the introduction, I was interested to see that in choosing a name for his fictional character, the author unknowingly chose that of an actual person of history, and had many letters after publication from people who said they knew the man. Apparently this was the reason for the introduction in this edition, to try and explain that the story was fiction and was merely intended to create patriotism in the hearts and minds of anyone who read it.
Like other reviewers, I remember reading this in grade school. I don't remember being engulfed by love of country afterwards, though. I am not sure I really understood the whys and wherefores of the story at all. Who really could, in third or fourth grade? I do know that the title has always stuck with me, but I never could remember the actual story. Which is why I made a note of it when I saw the story mentioned in a book I was reading a few years ago.
The Man is Philip Nolan, who had been an officer in the Army when he became involved with a strange (and in the story unknown) plan by Aaron Burr (the only historical person in the story). The author says he does not know what Burr planned to do (wiki says perhaps he wanted to make himself king of Mexico) but Nolan was lured into being part of Burr's army and therefore was also tried for treason in 1807.
Nolan was proved guilty enough, as I say; yet you and I would never have heard of him, reader, but that, when the president of the court asked him at the close whether he wished to say anything to show that he had always been faithful to the United States, he cried out, in a fit of frenzy,—
"Damn the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again!"
And so he didn't. The rest of his life was spent as a prisoner aboard various Navy ships, with orders to everyone around him never to mention the United States. It seems to me the men who had charge of Nolan were prisoners as much as he himself was. They had to screen newspapers and cut out any mention of the country, even down to a steamship ad on the back pages. No officer was allowed to relax in Nolan's presence due to the possibility of letting slip a stray remark concerning 'home'. It would have been an annoyance beyond belief to have to have this man on your ship, I'm sure!
Well, the story tells of how this treatment affected Nolan, shows various incidents which made him aware of how much he had thrown away with his youthful hot-headed remarks, and finishes with a letter to the narrator from an officer in charge of Nolan at the time of his death.
I said that I didn't remember much about the story other than the title. But as I read I recalled a sense from years ago of feeling that the man had traveled the world without being able to stay anywhere, not that he was a prisoner. I guess that helps explain why I never felt the least bit jingoistic after I read this so many years ago: I simply did not understand it. However, I understand the story now but i still do not feel what I am supposed to feel from it.
You can be born somewhere and recognize it as your homeland, but then you may travel and live somewhere else where you know that you have found your true soul's home. This does not mean you love your native country any less, but you certainly have room in your heart for the other, where you may feel more at home than you ever did in the land of your birth.
I think the whole world is our home, and we should no longer be ramrodded into believing that one country is better than any other, or that one country is meant to protect the world more than any other. We all need to work together to save this world and our own silly selves. The more we rant about this country or that country above all else, the closer we are to destruction.
For one thing, the author's own introduction repelled me and nearly made me change my mind about reading the story at all. I understand that he wrote the story during the United States Civil War, when the future held the possibility of no United States at all. But I have always had problems with anyone at any time claiming that any country was "created by God to serve as a protector of civilization".
So, I left it alone for a while. When I came back to it and got myself through the rest of the introduction, I was interested to see that in choosing a name for his fictional character, the author unknowingly chose that of an actual person of history, and had many letters after publication from people who said they knew the man. Apparently this was the reason for the introduction in this edition, to try and explain that the story was fiction and was merely intended to create patriotism in the hearts and minds of anyone who read it.
Like other reviewers, I remember reading this in grade school. I don't remember being engulfed by love of country afterwards, though. I am not sure I really understood the whys and wherefores of the story at all. Who really could, in third or fourth grade? I do know that the title has always stuck with me, but I never could remember the actual story. Which is why I made a note of it when I saw the story mentioned in a book I was reading a few years ago.
The Man is Philip Nolan, who had been an officer in the Army when he became involved with a strange (and in the story unknown) plan by Aaron Burr (the only historical person in the story). The author says he does not know what Burr planned to do (wiki says perhaps he wanted to make himself king of Mexico) but Nolan was lured into being part of Burr's army and therefore was also tried for treason in 1807.
Nolan was proved guilty enough, as I say; yet you and I would never have heard of him, reader, but that, when the president of the court asked him at the close whether he wished to say anything to show that he had always been faithful to the United States, he cried out, in a fit of frenzy,—
"Damn the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again!"
And so he didn't. The rest of his life was spent as a prisoner aboard various Navy ships, with orders to everyone around him never to mention the United States. It seems to me the men who had charge of Nolan were prisoners as much as he himself was. They had to screen newspapers and cut out any mention of the country, even down to a steamship ad on the back pages. No officer was allowed to relax in Nolan's presence due to the possibility of letting slip a stray remark concerning 'home'. It would have been an annoyance beyond belief to have to have this man on your ship, I'm sure!
Well, the story tells of how this treatment affected Nolan, shows various incidents which made him aware of how much he had thrown away with his youthful hot-headed remarks, and finishes with a letter to the narrator from an officer in charge of Nolan at the time of his death.
I said that I didn't remember much about the story other than the title. But as I read I recalled a sense from years ago of feeling that the man had traveled the world without being able to stay anywhere, not that he was a prisoner. I guess that helps explain why I never felt the least bit jingoistic after I read this so many years ago: I simply did not understand it. However, I understand the story now but i still do not feel what I am supposed to feel from it.
You can be born somewhere and recognize it as your homeland, but then you may travel and live somewhere else where you know that you have found your true soul's home. This does not mean you love your native country any less, but you certainly have room in your heart for the other, where you may feel more at home than you ever did in the land of your birth.
I think the whole world is our home, and we should no longer be ramrodded into believing that one country is better than any other, or that one country is meant to protect the world more than any other. We all need to work together to save this world and our own silly selves. The more we rant about this country or that country above all else, the closer we are to destruction.
July 9, 2022
A parable on patriotism or a warning against rash words, Edward Everett Hale’s short story about Philip Nolan made a deep impression on this little girl going to Catholic school back in the 1960’s. And so it was meant to.
Brash, bold, bragging Lieutenant Nolan, a minor player in Aaron Burr’s 1807 treason trial, renounces the United States saying he never wanted to hear about his country again and the judge grants his wish. From that day until the day of his death in 1863, midway through the American Civil War, he lives aboard U.S. Naval vessels but without any knowledge of his native country, her affairs, history or people.
It is a sobering, eye-opening and touching story as the young man quickly sees all he has lost and yet he does not grow bitter but turns his punishment to the good. How this is so is the stuff of the story and therefore I leave it to you to check out here.
A Man Without a Country is a part of American History as much as the author named after his uncle Edward Everett, the man who gave the two hour speech which immediately preceded Lincoln’s more famous 2 minute and 209 word speech dedicating the field at Gettysburg that November day in 1863.
Hale’s short story was written during the height of the Civil War and its patriotic flavor undoubtedly helped the Union recruit soldiers and people to their cause. Perhaps if more people knew and read it today, they would at least know what they could lose if our country goes away. I for one would hate for that to happen.
As I was read this story, I kept thinking how it used to be that your words mattered, that you could be held to account for what you said. Then a little voice said, “You still are! It’s just not so soon nor so obvious, but we will all be held accountable for every word we say!” In this story, however, Mr. Nolan was allowed to expiate his sin against his country during his lifetime.
NOTE: I was so sure that I had read this in grade school that I pulled down some Catholic readers I have and I found it! So if any of you homeschooling parents out there have a copy of American Cardinal Reader - Book 7, it begins on p.398.
Brash, bold, bragging Lieutenant Nolan, a minor player in Aaron Burr’s 1807 treason trial, renounces the United States saying he never wanted to hear about his country again and the judge grants his wish. From that day until the day of his death in 1863, midway through the American Civil War, he lives aboard U.S. Naval vessels but without any knowledge of his native country, her affairs, history or people.
It is a sobering, eye-opening and touching story as the young man quickly sees all he has lost and yet he does not grow bitter but turns his punishment to the good. How this is so is the stuff of the story and therefore I leave it to you to check out here.
A Man Without a Country is a part of American History as much as the author named after his uncle Edward Everett, the man who gave the two hour speech which immediately preceded Lincoln’s more famous 2 minute and 209 word speech dedicating the field at Gettysburg that November day in 1863.
Hale’s short story was written during the height of the Civil War and its patriotic flavor undoubtedly helped the Union recruit soldiers and people to their cause. Perhaps if more people knew and read it today, they would at least know what they could lose if our country goes away. I for one would hate for that to happen.
As I was read this story, I kept thinking how it used to be that your words mattered, that you could be held to account for what you said. Then a little voice said, “You still are! It’s just not so soon nor so obvious, but we will all be held accountable for every word we say!” In this story, however, Mr. Nolan was allowed to expiate his sin against his country during his lifetime.
NOTE: I was so sure that I had read this in grade school that I pulled down some Catholic readers I have and I found it! So if any of you homeschooling parents out there have a copy of American Cardinal Reader - Book 7, it begins on p.398.
July 14, 2023
What is it to be a man without a country? What is it to have no sense whatsoever of a national identity? I used to be a man without a country. I used to believe the lies that the United States was not “the last best hope for planet Earth" as Reagan once told us. I never sung songs of her glorious Freedom, never held my hand over my heart at the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, never rose for the National Anthem, never felt a sense of pride and joy at watching 4th of July fireworks, never thanked veterans for serving our country, never loved the country I was born to. That all changed in 2018 for reasons I will not disclose here. Now I’m one of the most patriotic members of my community.
Edward Everett Hale wrote “The Man Without A Country” in 1863 at the height of the Civil War. He meant for it to swell American hearts far and wide to the cause of the Union, and the fight against the Confederacy. A Unitarian clergyman and abolitionist from Boston, one could go as far as saying that, The Man Without A Country is literally a moving sermon on American patriotism. Yet, it’s no surprise that Hale was a lifelong patriot - it runs in the family. Hale’s granduncle, Nathan Hale, was executed by the British for espionage during the Revolutionary War - famous for his last words: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Edward Everett Hale’s uncle, Edward Everett, is famous for being a statesman from Massachusetts who gave a two hour speech at Gettysburg. Afterwards Lincoln gave his glorious Emancipation Proclamation in only two minutes. The statesman went up to Lincoln and is quoted as saying, “You have been able to do in two minutes, what I couldn’t do in two hours!”
But releasing The Man Without A Country didn’t have its share of problems. For one, Hale was constantly criticized in the newspaper for not giving an accurate account of the life of Philip Nolan. That’s because Without A Country is a fictional story, but Hale wrote it in such a way that most readers thought it to be nonfiction. It’s protagonist, Philip Nolan was a real person. A copy was even sent to a lady in the Miner family. She ran into the parlor, crying out, "Here is a man who knows all about uncle Phil Nolan." The real Philip Nolan was a Spanish spy from Ireland and bookkeeper to James Wilkinson. He died in 1801 for illegally going into the Mexican province of Texas to steal wild mustangs for profit. But this is the story of the fictional Philip Nolan.
The Philip Nolan, or The Man Without A Country, is a lieutenant in the United States Army, who develops a friendship with Vice President Aaron Burr. When Burr is tried for treason (which historically occurred in 1807), Nolan is tried as an accomplice. During the tribunal, Nolan bitterly renounces his nation -
"Nolan was proved guilty enough, as I say; yet you and I would never have heard of him, reader, but that, when the president of the court asked him at the close, whether he wished to say anything to show that he had always been faithful to the United States, he cried out, in a fit of frenzy,
'D-n the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again!'"
The judge completely shocked by the remark, grants his wish. Nolan is to be kept on a ship for the rest of his life never to step foot on United States soil, never to hear the name ‘United States’, never to talk of her with another living soul. He will from that day forward be The Man Without A Country. Living in exile, Nolan’s sentence is carried out to the letter. Ship captains order that few may talk with Nolan, and those that do may never mention anything of the United States. Newspapers delivered to him have sections of news from America clipped out. Atlases of the world have a giant hole in them where America once laid.
But what does this do to a person, to be a Man Without A Country? How does that affect one’s character? And what is one’s life to be without a home?
But he could not stand it long; and getting Vaughan to say he might go back, he beckoned me down into our boat. As we lay back in the stern-sheets and the men gave way, he said to me: "Youngster, let that show you what it is to be without a family, without a home, and without a country. And if you are ever tempted to say a word or to do a thing that shall put a bar between you and your family, your home, and your country, pray God in his mercy to take you that instant home to His own heaven. Stick by your family, boy; forget you have a self, while you do everything for them. Think of your home, boy; write and send, and talk about it. Let it be nearer and nearer to your thought the farther you have to travel from it; and rush back to it, when you are free, as that poor black slave is doing now. And for your country, boy," and the words rattled in his throat, "and for that flag,” and he pointed to the ship, "never dream a dream but of serving her as she bids you, though the service carry you through a thousand hells. No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you or who abuses you, never look at another flag, never let a night pass but you pray God to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that behind all these men you have to do with, behind officers, and government, and people even, there is the Country Herself, your Country, and that you belong to Her as you belong to your own mother. Stand by Her, boy, as you would stand by your mother if those devils there had got hold of her to-day!"
So what is it to be a Man Without A Country? As Sir Walter Scott tells us in ‘The Lay of the Last Minstrel’,
‘Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,'-
'This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned,
As home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strand?-
If such there breathe, go, mark him well.'
For him no minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim,
Despite these titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,'-
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonor'd, and unsung.’
Edward Everett Hale wrote “The Man Without A Country” in 1863 at the height of the Civil War. He meant for it to swell American hearts far and wide to the cause of the Union, and the fight against the Confederacy. A Unitarian clergyman and abolitionist from Boston, one could go as far as saying that, The Man Without A Country is literally a moving sermon on American patriotism. Yet, it’s no surprise that Hale was a lifelong patriot - it runs in the family. Hale’s granduncle, Nathan Hale, was executed by the British for espionage during the Revolutionary War - famous for his last words: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Edward Everett Hale’s uncle, Edward Everett, is famous for being a statesman from Massachusetts who gave a two hour speech at Gettysburg. Afterwards Lincoln gave his glorious Emancipation Proclamation in only two minutes. The statesman went up to Lincoln and is quoted as saying, “You have been able to do in two minutes, what I couldn’t do in two hours!”
But releasing The Man Without A Country didn’t have its share of problems. For one, Hale was constantly criticized in the newspaper for not giving an accurate account of the life of Philip Nolan. That’s because Without A Country is a fictional story, but Hale wrote it in such a way that most readers thought it to be nonfiction. It’s protagonist, Philip Nolan was a real person. A copy was even sent to a lady in the Miner family. She ran into the parlor, crying out, "Here is a man who knows all about uncle Phil Nolan." The real Philip Nolan was a Spanish spy from Ireland and bookkeeper to James Wilkinson. He died in 1801 for illegally going into the Mexican province of Texas to steal wild mustangs for profit. But this is the story of the fictional Philip Nolan.
The Philip Nolan, or The Man Without A Country, is a lieutenant in the United States Army, who develops a friendship with Vice President Aaron Burr. When Burr is tried for treason (which historically occurred in 1807), Nolan is tried as an accomplice. During the tribunal, Nolan bitterly renounces his nation -
"Nolan was proved guilty enough, as I say; yet you and I would never have heard of him, reader, but that, when the president of the court asked him at the close, whether he wished to say anything to show that he had always been faithful to the United States, he cried out, in a fit of frenzy,
'D-n the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again!'"
The judge completely shocked by the remark, grants his wish. Nolan is to be kept on a ship for the rest of his life never to step foot on United States soil, never to hear the name ‘United States’, never to talk of her with another living soul. He will from that day forward be The Man Without A Country. Living in exile, Nolan’s sentence is carried out to the letter. Ship captains order that few may talk with Nolan, and those that do may never mention anything of the United States. Newspapers delivered to him have sections of news from America clipped out. Atlases of the world have a giant hole in them where America once laid.
But what does this do to a person, to be a Man Without A Country? How does that affect one’s character? And what is one’s life to be without a home?
But he could not stand it long; and getting Vaughan to say he might go back, he beckoned me down into our boat. As we lay back in the stern-sheets and the men gave way, he said to me: "Youngster, let that show you what it is to be without a family, without a home, and without a country. And if you are ever tempted to say a word or to do a thing that shall put a bar between you and your family, your home, and your country, pray God in his mercy to take you that instant home to His own heaven. Stick by your family, boy; forget you have a self, while you do everything for them. Think of your home, boy; write and send, and talk about it. Let it be nearer and nearer to your thought the farther you have to travel from it; and rush back to it, when you are free, as that poor black slave is doing now. And for your country, boy," and the words rattled in his throat, "and for that flag,” and he pointed to the ship, "never dream a dream but of serving her as she bids you, though the service carry you through a thousand hells. No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you or who abuses you, never look at another flag, never let a night pass but you pray God to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that behind all these men you have to do with, behind officers, and government, and people even, there is the Country Herself, your Country, and that you belong to Her as you belong to your own mother. Stand by Her, boy, as you would stand by your mother if those devils there had got hold of her to-day!"
So what is it to be a Man Without A Country? As Sir Walter Scott tells us in ‘The Lay of the Last Minstrel’,
‘Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,'-
'This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned,
As home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strand?-
If such there breathe, go, mark him well.'
For him no minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim,
Despite these titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,'-
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonor'd, and unsung.’
March 28, 2022
A short read available for free for Kindle from Amazon.
I never read this in school. It's interesting to read the footnotes where Hale explains what is made up and what isn't--one of the first in "mockmentary" format. Was he surprised when his made-up character Philip Nolan shared the name of a Texas hero. Loved the part about the plain buttons on Nolan's uniform.
Even being uber-patriotic, he still criticized.
I never read this in school. It's interesting to read the footnotes where Hale explains what is made up and what isn't--one of the first in "mockmentary" format. Was he surprised when his made-up character Philip Nolan shared the name of a Texas hero. Loved the part about the plain buttons on Nolan's uniform.
Even being uber-patriotic, he still criticized.
August 9, 2023
I wish everyone would read this old classic. So few nowadays seem to realize how fortunate we are to live in this country, even with its imperfections.
September 22, 2019
No character development, no plot, no depth, no insight, and no point besides the one he bludgeons you over the head with--you should cherish the flag and love your country unthinkingly, provided (of course) that country is the USA. Insultingly stupid and jingoistic.
January 2, 2018
I read this little book several years ago. Today I was looking for something else and found it on the back of a shelf. The original copyright was 1863. Our edition with an interesting forward by the author was copyrighted and probably published in 1897. A handwritten note on the flyleaf indicates the book was a 1900 Christmas gift from a "teacher and friend" to a Miss Mabel Means (or Mearns). I have no idea how it came into my family's possession.
I was once again moved to tears by the ending of the story. I wanted to enter it in Goodreads and thereby recommend it highly. It is quite short and can be read in an hour or so, a little longer if you read the author's forward.
While looking for it on Goodreads I discovered a modern version (Phillip Nolan, the Man Without a Country) that apparently has a different ending. I will try to find it, although I don't think it will be as moving as the original.
I was once again moved to tears by the ending of the story. I wanted to enter it in Goodreads and thereby recommend it highly. It is quite short and can be read in an hour or so, a little longer if you read the author's forward.
While looking for it on Goodreads I discovered a modern version (Phillip Nolan, the Man Without a Country) that apparently has a different ending. I will try to find it, although I don't think it will be as moving as the original.
December 1, 2020
The title of this story is very recognizable. The phrase "man without a country" is used over and over in other writings, film, and television. This story was published in 1863, and is overtly abolitionist and pro-Union in the United States Civil War. It is a persuasive writing used to influence men to sign-up as Union soldiers as well as strengthen support for the war among the citizens of Northern states.
As a story it is an interesting concept that, in my opinion, gets bogged down in the details of the Civil War. He actually mentions multiple names of military commanders that to the modern reader are mildly interesting. One audio book version, even strikes some of these details to make the story move more smoothly. There is literally a "calling out" and "shaming" of some Confederate Generals. Again the story is interesting for its historical significance and has at its core a very likable and pitiable main character.
As a story it is an interesting concept that, in my opinion, gets bogged down in the details of the Civil War. He actually mentions multiple names of military commanders that to the modern reader are mildly interesting. One audio book version, even strikes some of these details to make the story move more smoothly. There is literally a "calling out" and "shaming" of some Confederate Generals. Again the story is interesting for its historical significance and has at its core a very likable and pitiable main character.
February 5, 2019
ამერიკელი რომ ვყოფილიყავი, ალბათ სულ სხვა გრძნობით წავიკითხავდი ამ მოთხრობას. ტექსტის შეფარული აზრი, რომელიც მიზნად ამერიკის განდიდებას და ამასთანავე სამოქალაქო ომის კრიტიკას წარმოადგენს, ძალზე ადვილად შეგვიძლია დავინახოთ. ჰეილმა მოგვითხრო უსამართლობისაგან გატანჯული ადამიანის ბედზე, რომელიც სამშობლოს დაკარგავს, რათა აღმოაჩინოს, რომ სინამდვილეში სამშობლოზე მეტად არც არაფერი ჰყვარებია. "ვით ცოცხლობს კაცი, მკვდარი სულითა, რომ ვერასოდეს წამოიძახებს... ეს არის ჩემი მშობელი მიწა! " ფილიპ ნოლანის სახე მართლაც ძალიან ტრაგიკულია, თუმც�� თუ ტექსტის ძირითად მოტივებს ცოტა ხნით გვერძე გადავდებთ, გმირის სულიერი კათარზისის მთავარი მიზეზად შეიძლება არა პატრიოტიზმის სიდიადე, არამედ ის ხელოვნურად შექმნილი გარემო პირობები მივიჩნიოთ, რამაც ნოლანი ამ დონემდე მიიყვანა. თუმცა, რადგანაც ავტორს სურდა, რომ ამ საცოდავ კაცს მთელი ცხოვრება ამერიკის პრეზიდენტის კეთილდღეობაზე ელოცა, რა გაეწყობა.. სამწუხაროა უბრალოდ.
February 7, 2020
I vaguely remember this either being read or at least discussed when I was in elementary school. I’m certain that like reciting the pledge of allegiance ever morning it was taught in an effort to instill patriotism and love of country. It all was so simple then, how did we ever get to the point that by promoting patriotism and pride in one’s country is something that is wrong and shouldn’t be done.
Read from this collection The American Short Story
Read from this collection The American Short Story
June 12, 2017
This was written to inspire loyalty and patriotism during the Civil War. Oh, my goodness! It still has that effect today! It is the tear-jerking story of this man, a sailor, who makes a rash wish that "he wishes he would never hear again of America." His punishment is just that. And for the next 50 years he must bear the punishment of that rash wish. Very, very good!
March 19, 2021
Brief, engaging, deep.
A marvelous little story about the foolishness of youth, the wisdom of age, and love of country. In addition to the message in the story, it is a delightful and engaging narrative. Nolan eventually found his home and his country, and his story is a lesson for us all.
A marvelous little story about the foolishness of youth, the wisdom of age, and love of country. In addition to the message in the story, it is a delightful and engaging narrative. Nolan eventually found his home and his country, and his story is a lesson for us all.
January 30, 2020
An interesting idea, not fully formed into a whole story - but it was not meant to be. But an interesting read an quite good as a plot outline.
June 16, 2023
You know how, sometimes, you read the synopsis of a story before you read the story? And then, as you read the actual story you find yourself hoping that the synopsis you read earlier was wrong? But it isn't? That's how this moving, patriotic story was for me.
December 3, 2007
This is a small, cloth fabric hardcover book. A little tattered, ink stained, dog eared and musty but in remarkably good condition for having been published in 1912 and costing just 20 cents. It was read by my father as a grammar school assignment a long time ago. So this made the book quite interesting to me. The inside cover identifies it as a "School Edition" having been introduced as a reading text in the early 1900's.
The fictional story was written in the summer of 1863. Grant was at Vicksburg and Meade was holding off Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. The subject of one's country was very much on everyones mind in those dark days of the Civil War. The book involves the tale of Philip Nolan, a disillusioned young Army Lieutenant, who at the conclusion of his court marshall in 1807, expresses a wish to live without a country. Accordingly, the President of the Court sentences him to his wish which Nolan then bears for the rest of his life.
Love of country is the theme here and I wonder if this book could ever be included in our public schools of today as a required part of the reading curriculum? Sadly, I seriously doubt it.
The fictional story was written in the summer of 1863. Grant was at Vicksburg and Meade was holding off Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. The subject of one's country was very much on everyones mind in those dark days of the Civil War. The book involves the tale of Philip Nolan, a disillusioned young Army Lieutenant, who at the conclusion of his court marshall in 1807, expresses a wish to live without a country. Accordingly, the President of the Court sentences him to his wish which Nolan then bears for the rest of his life.
Love of country is the theme here and I wonder if this book could ever be included in our public schools of today as a required part of the reading curriculum? Sadly, I seriously doubt it.
January 26, 2016
I ran across The Man Without a Country on a list recently and was intrigued. It’s a pretty quick read however, it's set within a very interesting back-story. It was written while Lincoln was still among the living and starts in 1807 with the court martial of Philip Nolan. Coincidentally I learned about adjournment sine die; for all of my time I’ve always either heard the term or misinterpreted the term to adjourn without a day as without delay. Of course without further observation it more than likely has been changed to the way it sounds but I care not to involve myself into any more research into the matter. Funny things one learns from a 151 year old book. As our protagonist is cutoff from any information about the United States (or even the mention of the US) it’s an interesting story of a man apart from society and current events. It’s enticing seeing everything that he is excluded from for some 50 odd years. It’s even more fun seeing those 50-years elapse through the first half of the 19th Century.
February 24, 2020
While browsing in a used bookstore, I couldn’t resist buying an 1898 edition of this little book as I recalled being quite moved by a film adaptation of it that I saw as a boy living in Michigan. I can see why this book was made a textbook in many American schools, as it very pointedly promotes a strong patriotic sentiment, which would’ve been important at the time when it was first published in The Atlantic in 1863 during the Civil War. That said, I wasn’t as impacted by reading it as I was by watching the film as a boy, and the choppy and fragmented plot-development in its old magazine-column style format certainly didn’t help.
November 19, 2011
A young army officer, Phillip Nolan, convicted of treason, inadvertently imposes a sentence upon himself whereby he is deprived of his country for more than a half century. Nolan is imprisoned in relative comfort on a steady stream of naval vessels always off-shore of the USA. The short first person narrativbe told by a naval officer of Nolan's acquaintance tells how the experience, in effect caused Nolan's sense of patriotism and his need to be recognized as an American to become highly intensified. A truly unique and stirring story that would make for great discussion.
January 18, 2014
This was a short read, but honestly well worth relating to today. How many people are lost in the system to this day? How many people, when handed down what seemed a simple sentence, discovers that the sentence itself takes away more than it was supposed to take? There are repercussions for everything. This was a story that took place during the War of 1812. A number of things were misunderstood by the prisoner, by the courts, and by the general population of that era. After 50 years, these things were never corrected. Just like the things happening today.
February 22, 2014
I liked the message of this book (that one's liberties as a USA citizen should not be taken for granted), but found it a very difficult book to read -- it has old style wording, no chapters or breaks, and often the story jumped from one person/context to another with little warning.
This is a book on my son's 8th grade reading list -- if he can persevere through the language/wording issues to finish it, I think it will be very worthwhile. I'm glad I've read it, if only to help him process and understand it.
This is a book on my son's 8th grade reading list -- if he can persevere through the language/wording issues to finish it, I think it will be very worthwhile. I'm glad I've read it, if only to help him process and understand it.
November 15, 2011
A quick but fun, fanciful read. While the author wrote many works this is the primary one for which he is known. It was quickly written and is delightfully illustrated with woodcut prints. Edward Everett Hale wrote this tale to encourage love of our country during the Civil War. A most imaginative portrayal of which could happen to someone who in their youth might rashly say something that could haunt them for the rest of their lives. I enjoyed it
September 16, 2018
Be careful what you wish for because you never know how good you have it until you lose it. In this case, Lt. Nolan gives away his country and gets his wish. He lives to regret this and however thankfully his story is told. This was used as pro union propaganda against the civil war confederates.
June 30, 2016
I have a very old collector's copy of this book. The volume is so old, it has no ISBN. Part of the attraction to read it (again) was to add it to my list of books completed for a reading challenge. But I've kept the book just because I enjoy the idea of the story so much. I realized today that I started/finished it just in time for our Independence Day celebration here in the States.
March 29, 2022
rating: 3.5
I'd heard about this story for years, so was pleased when I stumbled upon an old edition. I can see why it is often assigned reading for high school students. (I prefer this over 'Catcher in the Rye.')
The writing is so convincing that I had to remind myself that this is a work of fiction.
I'd heard about this story for years, so was pleased when I stumbled upon an old edition. I can see why it is often assigned reading for high school students. (I prefer this over 'Catcher in the Rye.')
The writing is so convincing that I had to remind myself that this is a work of fiction.
July 2, 2013
One of my all time favorites, I have read this book at least a dozen times. It has alot of meaning to me. You dont relize how important something or somene till you lose them and can never see them again
July 21, 2018
Old fashioned nationalism, without rhyme or reason - written to encourage people to take a certain point of view towards the States that seceded from the Union in 1861. An ok read, but not really anything special. The balance of stories are below average.
December 13, 2017
I read this at sea on a US Naval warship. A little ironic..
December 9, 2022
In The Man Without a Country, Edward Everett Hale introduces the reader to Philip Nolan, a young lieutenant in the United States Army stationed at Fort Adams in Rhode Island. Nolan meets visiting Aaron Burr, who served as Thomas Jefferson’s Vice President (1801-1805) and develops a friendship with the politician. In 1807 Burr is tried for treason and Nolan finds himself charged as a co-conspirator. During the trial Nolan reacts with anger and bitterness renouncing his nation and angrily shouting at the judge “I wish I may never hear of the United States again” The judge is shocked at Philip’s pronouncement and after careful deliberation grants him his wish. Lieutenant Philip Nolan will spend the rest of his life in exile. He will never be allowed to set foot on American soil again. He is sentenced to spend the rest of his life aboard U.S. Navy Warships. Although he is treated according to his former rank, he lives on the sea, transported from one ship to another. No one is allowed to speak to him about the United States. His newspapers are censored. His interactions with visitors aboard ship are monitored. Nolan’s sentence is carried out to the letter. At first, he displays the belligerence of youth, but as the years pass and he is transferred from ship to ship he begins to realize his misfortune. Desperate to hear some news he meets a young sailor, the teller of his tale, and advises him “Remember, boy, that behind these men…behind officers and government, and people even, there is the Country Herself, your Country, and that you belong to her as you belong to your own mother. Stand by her, boy, as you would stand by your mother…!”
On Philip’s deathbed the captain in charge of his present ship disobeys orders and summarizes the history of America from 1807 to 1860 presenting the case for the preservation of the Union that was standing up fearlessly to the global superpowers of the day. He talked of the expansion and development of the young nation and its contribution to human knowledge but could not or would not talk of the “infernal rebellion” taking place. In the end Philip wrote his own epitaph:
"In memory of PHILIP NOLAN,
Lieutenant in the Army of the United States.
He loved his country as no other man has loved her,
but no man deserved less at her hands."
The United States of America is my native land. I was born here, raised here, and hopefully, will die here. I love this country and every time I see “Old Glory” waving in the wind, see a soldier in uniform, or hear the National Anthem my heart swells with pride and gratitude. I think of the sacrifices that my ancestors made so that I could live in freedom and the responsibility I bear to protect, preserve, and respect the heritage they have bequeathed me. Today, we live in a society filled with men and women without a country. Will they have to be deprived of their homeland before they will pay it the homage it deserves? Appreciation sometimes is born from deprivation. The Man Without a Country is as relevant today as it was in 1863, when it was written.
On Philip’s deathbed the captain in charge of his present ship disobeys orders and summarizes the history of America from 1807 to 1860 presenting the case for the preservation of the Union that was standing up fearlessly to the global superpowers of the day. He talked of the expansion and development of the young nation and its contribution to human knowledge but could not or would not talk of the “infernal rebellion” taking place. In the end Philip wrote his own epitaph:
"In memory of PHILIP NOLAN,
Lieutenant in the Army of the United States.
He loved his country as no other man has loved her,
but no man deserved less at her hands."
The United States of America is my native land. I was born here, raised here, and hopefully, will die here. I love this country and every time I see “Old Glory” waving in the wind, see a soldier in uniform, or hear the National Anthem my heart swells with pride and gratitude. I think of the sacrifices that my ancestors made so that I could live in freedom and the responsibility I bear to protect, preserve, and respect the heritage they have bequeathed me. Today, we live in a society filled with men and women without a country. Will they have to be deprived of their homeland before they will pay it the homage it deserves? Appreciation sometimes is born from deprivation. The Man Without a Country is as relevant today as it was in 1863, when it was written.
May 26, 2023
🖊 My review: An excellent essay that is a must-read in my library.
✔️Published in 1863.
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🟢 Media form Project Gutenberg.
🎥 Media form: Movie versions. The Man Without a Country has been adapted for film several times:
In 1917 with Florence La Badie.
In 1918 (renamed "My Own United States.")
In 1925.
In 1937 (Warner Brothers) with John Litel and Gloria Holden.
🎵 Media form: Opera version, 1937. Entitled The Man Without a Country; composed by Walter Damrosch; premiered at the Metropolitan Opera.
📻 Radio adaptations were many.
🔲 Excerpts of note:
✿●▬●✿●✿●▬●✿
Note: As part of my 8th grade graduation, our class sang The Lay of the Last Minstrel to a reverent melody.
✔️Published in 1863.
🤔 My rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🟢 Media form Project Gutenberg.
🎥 Media form: Movie versions. The Man Without a Country has been adapted for film several times:
In 1917 with Florence La Badie.
In 1918 (renamed "My Own United States.")
In 1925.
In 1937 (Warner Brothers) with John Litel and Gloria Holden.
🎵 Media form: Opera version, 1937. Entitled The Man Without a Country; composed by Walter Damrosch; premiered at the Metropolitan Opera.
📻 Radio adaptations were many.
🔲 Excerpts of note:
🔹Love of country is a sentiment so universal that it is only on such rare occasions as called this book into being that there is any need of discussing it or justifying it.
🔹The "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" is one of the best poems of Walter Scott. It was first published in 1805. The whole passage referred to in the text is this:—
Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd,
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go, mark him well!
For him no minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim,
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung.
O Caledonia! stern and wild,
Meet nurse for a poetic child!
Land of brown heath and shaggy wood;
Land of the mountain and the flood.
✿●▬●✿●✿●▬●✿
Note: As part of my 8th grade graduation, our class sang The Lay of the Last Minstrel to a reverent melody.
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