James Oglethorpe's great achievement was the founding of Georgia. On February 12, 1733, Oglethorpe landed his colonists on a bluff of the Yamacraw River. There they set to work to build Savannah.

  As a boy in England his life was an easy one, full of fun and good times in the country. He was curious about everything that went on around him. And there was always something to capture his interest on the farm, Westbrook Place, his father's country estate in Surrey. In the spring there was the excitement of inspecting the baby animals and watching the men do the planting. And almost every day there was the thrill of riding his horse through the countryside. Once he was brave enough to ride through Ockford Wood, where, some said, a ghost lived.

  When Jamie was older, he went to London every winter with his family. He liked the color and noise of the city streets that he saw as he walked to and from school. But sometimes he saw someone being treated unfairly, and at school there was a bully he knew he would have to fight. He was quick to recognize injustice—quick to speak out against it and quick to act for what he felt was the right.

  As a man, he fought for better treatment of those who had been thrown into prison for their debts. Sometimes the debts they had were very small. While he was trying as a member of Parliament to help the debtors, he conceived his great plan. Why not found a colony in the New World for these unfortunate men whose only crime was lack of money?

  Through his initiative, courage and a plain, direct manner, James Oglethorpe made the new colony of Georgia a success. He fought as a soldier and practical philanthropist to defend what he believed in—justice and the new colony.

  Aileen Parks, a resident of Georgia, writes with enthusiasm of James Oglethorpe's place in history as one of the founding fathers of America. And she tells with skill the story of a boy young readers will enjoy meeting and sharing experiences with.

From the dust jacket