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Title: Follow the River by JAMES ALEXANDER Thom ISBN: 0-345-33854-5 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 12 November, 1986 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.72 (78 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Determination, focus, and survival against all odds!
Comment: The first time I read this wonderfully gripping novel was about 15 years ago, and when I started reading it, I could not put it down. Now, 15 years later, I have had the same experience. It kept me up at night and I found myself in the same state of awe as the first reading.
Mary Draper Ingles was a 23 year old pregnant mother and wife, when the settlement she lived in was invaded by Shawnee Indians. They killed her mother and took Mary, her 2 sons, and her sister-in-law captive, leading them deep into unsettled territory. While on the trek to the Shawnee camp, she gave birth to a daughter.
After being in captivity for months, Mary escaped in the company of an old Dutch woman. Together the two survived a walk of one thousand miles through untamed territory in the beginning of winter w/no food, no warm clothing, no weapons, nothing - except the Ohio River as her guide to "home". Eventually, literally starving to death, the old Dutch companion started seeing Mary as a "meal", and it was Mary's determination and wits that kept her from being Gretel's next meal.
The Shawnee Chieftain, Wildcat, kept Mary's 2 young sons - the youngest died shortly after being seperated from his mother, and the oldest stayed w/the Shawnees for around 13 years, before Mary's husband, Will, finally managed to locate him and get him back. She made the very hard and unimaginable decision to leave her baby daughter w/Otter Girl, for she knew there was no way her baby would survive the trek home. When she finally did get back to civilization, she was unrecognizable, starved, and frozen. This is a remarkable story of determination, focus, drive and strength of character of one 23 year old woman! It is well written and as I read it, I find it very easy to "experience" all she experiences. I am in total awe of this great woman and story of her survival. I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone - for I cannot imagine it not touching the heart of any who read it!
Rating: 5
Summary: How much can the human body withstand?
Comment: This is the fictionalized account of the capture and escape of the real Mary Ingles. Mary is 23-years-old when Shawnee Indians attack her home on the western edge of the frontier in Virginia in 1755 and kidnap her. She is taken to an Indian village hundreds of miles west but remarkably, Mary has the presence of mind to count the days and commit landmarks to memory. After several months of captivity, she escapes. Driven by the desire to see her husband and others of her own folk again Mary overcomes numerous obstacles as she travels for 6 weeks in late autumn using the river as her guide home.
The first 150 pages are about the attack, the journey west and captivity. The author uses these events to paint a portrait of Mary that enables the reader to believe Mary had the courage and will (that few possess) necessary to survive the incredible, disgusting, despairing, and ultimately awe-inspiring 600-mile trek home. I couldn't put the book down. Even when the starving Mary resorts to eating bugs and the leavings of buzzards I was compelled to read in spite of my revulsion. A stick, a knife, a blanket and food are no longer everyday items to be taken for granted; they are the tools of survival. A warning to the squeamish - Even though the author has plainly depicted events without over describing, there are some gross passages (childbirth, beatings, being burned alive, hunger which leads them to eat anything and causes vomiting and diarrhea).
I had a little trouble believing that the human body could withstand such abuse. It didn't seem possible that the body could continue to exert so much energy at that level of starvation. But the author brings the realities of Mary's incredible journey to life and it is based on a true story. Red Heart is another Thom novel I recently read. Also recommended, but I like this one better.
Rating: 5
Summary: PIONEER ADVENTURE at it's best !
Comment: I loved this book! I love any story that is about pioneer life and this one takes the cake. One thing I really appreciated was the way the author let you experience all the awful things this woman endured, but there was still a positive thread throughout.
For example, when he tells of the Indian Massacre in the beginning of the story, he describes in detail all the horrible things they did to the settlers and I felt myself "in" the story, yet I was not traumatized. Usually if I read of humans being tortured or murdered at the hands of other humans, I am haunted for days with a sick feeling in my stomach. But somehow James Alexander Thom was able to keep my hope in humanity in tact.
He told of how Mary (the main character) witnessed her sister-in-law being badly injured and tortured by the braves but then 2 minutes later when they held a knife to Mary's throat, she could hear her sister-in-law praying for her --praying for God to spare her life-- and she was moved at her sister-in-law's love for her. That love carried her through that horrible experience. I thought that was such an uplifting thing to share in a story that would normally be discouraging.
He portrayed Mary talking to herself in a positive way to encourage herself to keep travelling toward home no matter how tired and hungry she was. I think reading about her actually caused me to grow in my own life. She was so strong and I want to be more like that.
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Title: From Sea to Shining Sea by JAMES ALEXANDER Thom ISBN: 0345334515 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 12 November, 1986 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Red Heart by JAMES ALEXANDER THOM ISBN: 0345364716 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 28 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Long Knife by JAMES ALEXANDER Thom ISBN: 0345380746 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Panther in the Sky by JAMES ALEXANDER THOM ISBN: 0345366387 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 13 February, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Children of First Man by JAMES ALEXANDER Thom ISBN: 0449149706 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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