Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Across the Wide Missouri by Bernard Augustine De Voto ISBN: 0404200796 Publisher: AMS Press Pub. Date: June, 1947 Format: Hardcover List Price(USD): $94.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.12
Rating: 3
Summary: Detailed catalog of names/dates/locations--not a good read!
Comment: If you are doing historical research you will love this book. It is an extensive listing of names, locations and dates. However, I'm not sure what the point is of knowing that so-and-so was at xxx creek on a certain day. I would have liked more insight on individuals, more character development, a better understanding of what their lives and daily challenges were.
The book doesn't flow--it is a collection of facts that are not well synthesized.
Although the characterization of the Indians is certainly not politically correct today, it does reflect the experiences and attitudes of the time. It makes it clear that relations between Indians and the frontiersmen varied greatly by tribe, the individuals, and circumstances.
Rating: 5
Summary: This is the one that got me going
Comment: Whereas Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" got me interested in the early exploration of the American West, "Across the Wide Missouri" got me interested in the actual lives of the mountain man and fur trapper/traders, and how they also explored unknown regions of the west. Their day to day existence and survival amongst the Indians, dealing with the forces of nature, the early stages of Manifest Destiny, etc. were all to me mind boggling. DeVoto brings to life the fur trade at the peak of its industry. I must agree with a couple reviewers though on how the text does get somewhat wordy and complex, the list of characters involved is quite lengthy and one is always flipping back and forth to the maps and notes. But this is what it takes to tell the whole story. From his bibliography one can pick and choose which books are of interest to the reader and take it from there, that's what I have done. I would recommend this book to those of you that are interested in this time period.
Rating: 5
Summary: A flawed epic of the mountain men
Comment: There are a lot of things about this book I don't like. First, and most seriously, it's incredibly complicated and dense, a virtual catalog of the comings and goings of hundreds of characters over a six year (1832-1838) period. You need a scorecard and an atlas to keep track of the players. Secondly, the author's judgments about Indians are politically incorrect and come close to being racist. Example: the "laborious accretion which convolutes the fore-brain and increases the cultural heritage" makes the white man superior to the Indian. And, third, DeVoto's wordiness (see preceding sentence) and flip judgements are ever so cute. But I've had this book on my shelf for many years and have read it through more than once. I can overlook the irritations because DeVoto tells a magnificient story about a magnificient land. "Broken Hand" Fitzgerald, Bridger, Carson and their colleagues are great American heroes, warts and all. Someday, I hope that a writer with the soul of a poet and the diligence of a scholar writes a better book than this about the mountain men. Until that happens, we have Across the Wide Missouri.
 |
Title: The Course of Empire by Bernard DeVoto ISBN: 0395924987 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 01 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
 |
Title: The Year of Decision 1846 by Bernard DeVoto ISBN: 0312267940 Publisher: Griffin Trade Paperback Pub. Date: 05 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
 |
Title: Mark Twain's America by Bernard Augustine De Voto, M. J. Gallagher, Bernard Devoto, Louis J. Budd ISBN: 0803266073 Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr Pub. Date: April, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: Firearms, Traps and Tools of the Mountain Men by Carl P. Russell ISBN: 0826304656 Publisher: University of New Mexico Press Pub. Date: October, 1977 List Price(USD): $15.31 |
 |
Title: Wah-To-Yah and the Taos Trail by Lewis H. Garrard ISBN: 0806110163 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: March, 1979 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
