Expansion Books

There were three great books written about journeys to the American West in 1859: The best was Mark Twain's semi-fictional ROUGHING IT. The next best was Sir Richard F. Burton's THE CITY OF THE SAINTS, about a journey to see what Mormonism was all about and to meet with Brigham Young.

That Horace Greeley's book should be third in this line-up is no disgrace. There is so much self-conscious mythmaking about the Old West that eyewitness accounts of intelligent observers are as rare as hen's teeth. Before the completion of the Trans-Continental Railroad, any journey across the Great Plains was attended by danger, discomfort, and memorable encounters. It is unfortunate that there so so few good accounts.

Greeley was first and foremost a newspaper man. He had a sharp eye for what he thought would interest his readers (unlike Twain & Burton who wrote sub specie aeternitatis) and did not disappoint. His descriptions of the Indians, the rigors of the road, and the struggling communities a-borning west of the Platte make for fascinating reading.

This is one of those great books to take along on a car journey through the Rockies and Great Plains.

It was really great, I'm just kidding I haven't even read it yet, but I am going to mainly because I'm related and like to read.

Marcy was a soldier, trailblazer, and mapmaker. He never gained fame although he conducted five major expeditions through the West and traced the Red River to its source. His task on the various expeditions was to describe the country and its resources for future travelers and settlers. Marcy's advice led to the establishment of five important forts stretching from eastern Oklahoma to western Texas. Marcy later headed a perilous march in 1857-1858, of 680 miles, through snow covered mountains to New Mexico to get supplies for Fort Bridger.

Marcy was very familiar with the West and this knowledge was evident when he wrote three interesting and valuable books on his travels and experiences including "The Prairie Traveler," in 1859. This book is one of the better emigrant guides unlike a similarly entitled book by Joseph Ware. Marcy favored the Southern route to the west coast and his expertise is evident when listing distances, camping spots, trails, water, and grass.

Marcy is less able in describing the route from Utah to the west coast having to rely, in certain instances, on phonetic spelling: Cahoon for Cajon Pass; Coco Mongo for Cucamonga Ranch; San Yenness for San Ynez River. Marcy probably used another explorer's descriptions. It is known he used information provided by Black Beaver on many occasions when they scouted together. Black Beaver was a Delaware, renowned as a scout, a trusted friend, and may have helped Marcy supplement his knowledge of the West and the Plains Indians.

The book is interesting, informative, and unexpectedly funny. Marcy cites medical authorities when warning against: The dangers of noxious airs rising from the ground; The use of Cedron, a Panamanian nut, as an infallible antidote for any snake bite including the bite of the deadly coral snake. Marcy mentions the doctoring used by a frontier mother when her child was bitten repeatedly by a rattler. She poured a huge glass of liquor down the child's throat, making the child very drunk but also curing her. Marcy suggests the use of Arsenic as a tonic for tired blood, that it should be mixed with Ammonia in a full dose and swallowed frequently.

Marcy had good knowledge, for his day and time, of the Plains Indians yet personally disparages them as inveterate beggars while praising them as perfect horsemen. He didn't think they fought fairly and thought it proper they were chastised through force of arms. Marcy quotes a friend (speaking about Indians) - "Tain't no use to talk honor with them, they hain't got no such thing in um. They won't show (a) fair fight. Ef you treat um decently, they think you ar afeard. Trash them well at first, then the balance will sorter take to you and behave themselves." Marcy's anti-Indian attitudes, imparted in his emigrants' books, contributed to their fear and mistrust of Native Americans.

Marcy's book was helpful to neophyte travelers on the Southern Overland Trail and to a lesser extent on the Northern route. There is good advice ranging from simple, but easily overlooked tasks, to unexpected situations such as Northers - ice storms sweeping south over the plains. This book is formatted according to 19th century procedure, each chapter listing is supplemented with descriptive information. Marcy eases a reader's search for information by headlining individuals pages throughout the book with headings such as "stampedes," "sanitary considerations," and so forth. The illustrations are excellent and prove helpful when wondering about portable camp furniture.

Marcy became a Major in August 1859, a Colonel Inspector General in August 1861, served in the Civil War. and ended the conflict a brevet Major General of Volunteers. He retired as a Brigadier General in January 1881. He is best remembered for his books such as The Prairie Traveler, which imparts a flavor of frontier days and is quite entertaining as it deals with the day to day concerns of emigrant travel.

This book covers the logistics of traversing the wild west. Issues from first aid to how hard to ride your animals are discussed. The value of this book is that it gives an insite into what it must have been like to pack a family up and move them to California or any point west of the Mississippi. I would say it is a must read for anyone interested in the pioneer experiance as it provides a background to further studies.

I've already seen this book and I think it's great for that time period. It helped me with a biography too.

Profiles in American History is a great book. I have been doing research on Roger Sherman, and the book gave me many useful facts not only about Sherman but also on the whole Constitutional Convention. If you need information about the Constitional Convention or its most famous delegates, this is a good place to start.

A great collection of newly translated transcriptions from a generation of women who witnessed dramatic events in California's history. Included is a several page narrative of my great, great, great, great, grandmother, Juana Machado.

I wrote this review specifically for a collection of newspapers published in the Salinas Valley, but I think
it's more broadly understandable. Hope you do.


California: Land of Immigrants who Quickly Become Incumbents

Testimonios is an interpreted collection of interviews with thirteen women, primarily Spaniards, who spoke with researchers employed by Hubert Howe Bancroft as he prepared to write his seven-volume History of California. These women were most often second-generation Californios - the daughters of families who came with the expeditions lead by Portola or Anza. Several of the women are from the greater Salinas Valley area and one, Maria Antonia Rodriguez Soberanes, is an ancestor in what my family calls "the Soledad Soberaneses." Maria is great-great-great grandmother to Paul Binsacca, Craig Bianchi, Dana Bianchi, Nicola Bianchi, Kathryn Bianchi, Mary Tadman, Sarah Sarmento, Steven Terry, Jana Martinez, Kerry King, and me. I am sure there are many other Salinas Valley residents who can trace their lineage to her as well.

And so what might we learn from my 3-great grandmother? One of twelve children, she bore fourteen children. Born in 1795, she married Feliciano Soberanes in 1810 and she died in 1883. In 1818, while living in Monterey, Maria remembers the appearance of a pirate ship. Women and children were dispatched to ranchos away from Monterey and the pirate Bouchard burned and sacked the city. By order of the Spanish governor of Alta California, munitions at Monterey's Presidio were destroyed rather than given over to Bouchard. At least for one cold, long night, Maria slept beneath a wagon with very little to keep her warm.

Maria's recollection of the early economy of the Salinas Valley is fascinating. Tidelands with lagoons of salt water were claimed by the Spanish crown and soldiers protected the salt when it dehydrated and began to set. This salt was taken in sacks to the royal treasury in Monterey and then sold to Spaniards for use on their ranchos. These cattle ranches needed salt licks for the animals and salt to cure the meat. Thus, the Spanish government was able to tax the cattle industry, with salt being the currency of the day. The city of Salinas and the Salinas Valley take their name from the Spanish term for salt.

Perhaps the most thought-provoking information shared by Maria, which is amplified by other women's testimonios, is a unique perspective on what I will call immigrants and incumbents. Feliciano and Maria are first-generation Californios and their parents arrived in our Salinas Valley in 1769 when the incumbents were Native American peoples. Within two generations, the Spaniards displaced the incumbents, cast off their status as immigrants, and populated large tracts of the valley. When Mexico pushed Spain out of its country, a Mexican army marched through Alta California to take the reins. No sooner than that political transition ended, Col. Fremont and the Americans arrived to drive Mexican rule south to our current border. Maria saw all four of these phases. She saw the Mexicans begin to secularize the California Missions to reduce the authority of the Catholic Church, and she watched the large ranchos held by the Spaniards given over to American settlers. King City and Soledad were once part of a Soberanes family land grant, for example.

About the American phase Maria said, stoically, "It is a law of nature that the poor shall steal from the rich. We Californians in 1846 owned every inch of soil in this country and our conquerors took away from us the greater part. The same thing has happened, I suppose, over and over again in any conquered nation..." These are certainly the words of an incumbent, not an immigrant.

California does seem to have a propensity to create incumbents just in time for the next wave of immigrants. And it's not always about ethnicity. John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath captures the collision of American immigrants from the Dust Bowl with California incumbents. Maria may well be on the right track - migration trends are about the redistribution of wealth and the motives and actions that are driven by poverty.

I commend the editors Beebe and Senkewicz for providing enough context for readers who are not California historians. And, the editors include material about the interviewers and the information-gathering process, which makes the book interesting at another level. The 470 page book is a treasure chest for anyone interested in California history in general and activities in the Salinas Valley in particular.

Being a relative of E.A. Brininstool, I know first hand what length of detail and accurateness went into this product. Earl spent many months/years on interviews, pictures, and fact finding on this compilation. I would recommend this to anyone looking for accurate information on the Custer Battle.

This is a very readable book with interviews and stories by many of the participants of the 76 campaign. As Brian Pohanka (foreword) adeptly informs the reader, Brninstool did tremendous research and interviewed and corresponded with a number of the survivors of the LBH. However, as Pohanka hits the nail on the head, Brininstool lacks objectivity when it comes to Reno and Benteen. He supports their versions 100%. In Benteen's statements, he repeatedly denies that Custer had any plan. And in his testimony and letters he constantly states that he was to just ride to infinity to the left, which is totally absurd. In Gray's time motion studies and in Darlings "Benteen's Scout to the Left", Benteen only went one mile further than Custer by the time their trails intersect. Brininstool constant reminds the reader that Custer through his adjutant stated that Reno "would be supported by the whole regiment". If that statement was true then obviously he meant for Benteen to join the attack. If you tour the site of the first separation, it made logical sense for Custer to have flankers on the left where the ground rose and could have hid attacking Indians on his flank. In addition, Brininstool supports Reno and his "charge" that was actually a rout. Later in the excellent recounting of the Lt. Kidder massacre in 1867 about the young Lieutenant and his platoon that ran into a Sioux war party the author states "Running away from Indians was, in the opinion of experienced Indian fighters, poor policy." Well, he seems to forget this when applauding Reno for his abrupt run from the cottonwoods leaving 21 men behind who didn't get the word and somehow survived but Reno still lost 1/3 of his command in his run. The survivors particularly Lt. Hare continuously state that they would have not lived other wise. Brininstool also over estimates the number of Indians. Brininstool also has a section on Theodore Goldin and the famous water detail, which is very interesting except that Goldin has historically been proven to fabricate the truth including his own service period.

The best parts of the book are the story of Lt. DeRudio and Sgt. O'Neil's exciting two
days surrounded by Indians while abandoned and hiding in the cottonwoods after Reno suddenly bugged, the retelling of the 1867 Lt. Kidder massacre and the exciting story of Lt. Sibley's escape from a large Sioux war party while scouting for Crook. After being surrounded, Sibley led by famous scouts Grouard and Baptise Pourier abandon their horses at night and travel days in broken country to return to Crooks base camp. The book also includes a mini-bio on Lonesome Charlie Reynolds, one of the greatest scouts of the west who died turning Reno's bug out. Although not mentioned by the author, another great Scout Herendeen testified that he and Reynolds discussed that the worst thing that one could do is try to outrun Indians which was supposedly said not long before Reno abruptly hauled freight.

Lots of great testimony in spite of Benteen's self serving interview which is valuable to read since his extreme defensiveness is obvious along with his distaste for Custer, his argument is so absurd that it is irrational to believe. Besides Brininstool's lack of objectivity, I was disappointed that he didn't have more interviews with the surviving
Troopers such as Peter Thompson who was with Custer until just before Medicine Trail Coulee where his horse broke down with a few other troopers who walked back to join Reno. Those interviews with these only technical survivors would have been fascinating.

This is actually a good book to add to your collection. In contrast, I like Walter Camp's book "Custer in 76" edited by Ken Hammer better. It appears more objective with lots of nuggets of information such as references to Peter Thompson. Brininstool like Camp met a lot of the participants, reading both is a pleasure.

I grew up near the scenes in this book and I have received considerable information from local folks. I summarized the tragedy in a Malheur newsletter several years ago, but Don Shannon's book far exceeds my work. He has done a beautiful job of spicing his narrative with letters and quotes from survivors and pioneers of the time. Don's book is so moving I sort of wept at some passages. It has heroes, a particularly savage Indian group of renegades, and some blundering ordinary people. And it is all true!

Mostly unknown by the general public and historians, the story of the ill-fated Utter and Van Ornum parties in 1860 ranks high on the list of most moving struggles of the westward-bound emigrants along the Oregon Trail. This story, inaccurately recorded until now, rates as a must-read by any afficianado of Oregon Trail history. Mr. Shannon spent several years researching this book, and the quality of that reasearch shines through on almost every page. The names of all the players in the tragedy are there. Details of every conceivable facet of the story is included. There are many very rare photos and drawings included, and well-drawn maps of each part of the tale grace the pages of this invaluable resource. The story itself is compelling beyond measaure. There is heroism, cowardice, death, destruction, and intrigue at every turn. If only the story of 13 year-old Emmeline Trimble and her 10 year-old brother Christopher were included in this book, I would still recommend it highly. This slim volume, however, is easily read in one sitting and yet covers the subject of the "massacre" completely. The writing is energetic and entirely factual. This is easily one of the best books on Oregon Trail matters written in the last ten years. I recommend it highly. Anyone interested in how the west was REALLY won and lost should consider Donald Shannon's book an absolute must-have.

Here's a marvelous oral history collection of tape-recorded reminiscences of old-time westerners who had experienced first-hand the last days of pioneer life near the end of the nineteenth century. Myers puts it all down in the words of the narrators themselves, and this makes for exciting and authentic reading. The range of subject matter related by the interviewees is great and includes recollections of the cowboy life; growing up in small, isolated towns; prospecting for gold; some famous (and not so famous) outlaws and western justice; and a deep appreciation for the beauty of the land. Two dozen reminiscences are included, and there's not a dull one in the bunch. Myers was lucky (as he acknowledges in the preface) to find such outstanding raconteurs and that he was able to capture their stories before they were lost to history. Interesting and informative from beginning to end.

`The Westerners' is a unique collection of twenty four first hand accounts that chronicles the later period of the Western frontier, from roughly 1880 to about 1920. The old timers who were interviewed (in the late 1960s) to make this book were mostly the children of the original frontiersmen and settlers - the first generation of Americans born on the frontier. Their stories cover myriad aspects of life on the late frontier, including cattle ranching, stage coach stations, banking, law, law enforcement, journalism, commerce, mining, railroading, and the early years of the forest service. Together, these reminiscences help to fill the often blank gap that lies between the initial frontier period and the beginning of the modern era when the western territories became states. A couple of the old timers recall childhood meetings with famous lawman Bat Masterson and outlaw Butch Cassidy, and several tell tales of run ins with Big Bill Haywood and his militant unionist of the Western Federation of Miners, but for the most part these are stories of the unheralded common folk who helped to turn a wild frontier into prosperous country.

John Myers Myers did an excellent job in his selection and editing of these two dozen reminiscences. He briefly annotated each tale, but for the most part, he did what a good editor of any collection must do - he chose the best material available and then got out of the way to let the stories be told. The resulting collection should be of interest to anyone who is interested in the development and history of the American West. It has my recommendation.

Theo Logos

This book, first published in 1966 and reissued in 2000, provides a concise, upbeat description of American expansion between 1800 and 1860. This work is refreshingly free of politically correct revisionism, particularly in its treatment of the Mexican-American War. Goetzmann, one of America's most prominent historians of the West, writes in a lively style. At just over one hundred pages, the main text is an easy read. The eight maps are helpful. The suggestions for addtional reading, while thorough, are dated. Michael Michaud, Vienna, Austria

This is the finest single volume history on Manifest Destiny written to date. It is not introspective, it is not apologetic, and it is not revisionist. What it is is factual. Starting with the two primary architects of America's westward expansion, Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams, Goetzmann proceeds to add the contributions or vision of each administration sequentially until the entire period, 1800-1860 is covered in complete detail.

This is a wonderful compendium of Manifest Destiny from the Adams-Onis Treaty and the Monroe Doctrine to the fur trade, the War with Mexico, and the California gold rush. Rather than focusing solely on internal developments, Goetzmann integrates external impacts into the story line as well. Thus the reader is treated to the impact of the various filibusterers, the impact on Latin American relations, the impact of our relationships in the Pacific Rim and most important the continual intriguing and rivalry with France and Great Britain.

This is a much needed macro study of the sixty years it took for the United States to grow from a fledgling republic to its emergence as a world power. No other nation completed this journey in such a short period of time. And no other nation has maintained its position with such complete dominance for so long a time. This is the story of how the United States emerged to not only fill a continent but to also embrace the world.

This is an outstanding book. It is well researched, well written, engaging, and fun. Reddin discusses not only Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West show, but also the painter and showman George Catlin, the Miller brothers and their 101 Ranch and wild west show, and Tom Mix, the silent film cowboy. The Catlin segment of the book is fascinating and well conceived. I recommend this book highly.

Reddin's book takes a look at America's reaction to the closing of the west as a frontier. Reddin takes his reader from the rise of wild west shows to its eventual demise along the way you get to know not only the people that were involved to the shows but an insight into how it went from the idea of preservation of a cultural history to an entertainment for world wide audiences. The book is painstakingly researched by the author and fits well in any library of western americana or study of the Guilded Age in America. A must read for anyone with an intrest in the history of America between Civil War reconstruction and WWI.

This is essentially a book for enthusiasts of military history, war gaming and the like.
It has little character development and hardly explores the personal side or event the political processes of Alexander's empire building.
It essentially deals with Alexander's consolidation of his control of Greece, his defeat Darius and the Persian Empire and his Indian Campaign.
It misses out parts and is not a complete saga.
Nonetheless it does somewhat explore Alexander's mind from a romantic perspective.It deals with his conversation with Indian Prince Porus, and Alexander's admiration for Persian Emperor Darius.
The book is simply too short to cover Alexander's life and career.
I would suggest, unless you are looking for details of battles and military strategy, you look elsewhere for a good novel about Alexander the Great.

First of all I would like to say that I thought this was a really good book. If you have any interest in Alexander the Great or any great leaders in history then this is a good book for you. This book is pretty much a biography of Alexander's life. It is a fictional biography and has many interesting details that are made up by the author. Don't get me wrong this does have many true facts about him.
One thing that I really like that the author put in here was the real facts about Alexander. This may be a fictional book but the real facts do make it better. When the author did put fictional parts in the book he made it very believable. He made it so the fictional things fit the time and place of the story. Also he made it so that they fit the personality of the characters.
The author of the book is Steven Pressfield. He did a great job of writing this book. He has written many other books. Another book that you may know about is "The gates of fire." It is also a fictional biography book. In conclusion I thought this was a really good book written by a very good author and I would recommend it to anyone.

This is my third, but not last, Pressfield historical novel on the ancient Greeks. Not as good as Gates of Fire, but better than Tides of War. He is much more focused here, moving the history along at a brisk pace, using his typical first person account of events. But this time the first person is Alexander himself, not just an observer.

According to Pressfield's lights, the protagonist starts out a decent, wise leader and great military tactician, gradually over the years becoming a maniacal killer of friends as well as enemies, infatuated with his destiny as Lord of the Persian Empire and India. The battle scenes and speeches, as always, are lyrical and captivating. Read Pressfield.

Dear readers don't forget that this book is a novel, historical fiction, and so, to argue about the pros and cons of anything undocumented about Alexander the Great some 2,300 years ago is a bit absurd.

But, let's delve into the absurd anyway. It's almost never disputed today that Alexander was indisputably bi-sexual and perhaps 100% homosexual. He has become a modern day gay icon. Alexander was a man who spent his entire (short) life day-in-day-out exclusively in the intimate company of men.

Yet, Steven Pressfield's "Virtues of War" skirts Alexander's sexual identity with unwelcome obliviousness, except for blunt suggestions and veiled images of intimacy between Alexander and Hephaestion - and other younger men under his careful tutelage. Alexander frequently comments about the astonishing beauty of young men. Pressfield's indirect acknowledgement of Alexander's' homosexuality is this: Hephaestion is mentioned in Alexander's own voice by name and deed approximately 9,000 times in this 350 page novel, in contrast to the scant 200 or 300 words devoted to Alexander's relationship with any woman, including his mother and the 2 women he "married." What price would Pressfield have paid for actual acknowledgement of what everyone actually now understands? No price at all. In fact some good old m2m sex would have given a very welcome and healthy jolt to the painfully over-explained military tactics pages (and pages and pages) to say nothing of the boring lists (and lists and lists) of generals, captains and so on.

Worse yet, Pressfield cheats us when we do not hear -- in Alexander's own voice -- his overwhelming grief and loss when Hephaestion dies, or hear Alexander's own agony and confessions as death overtook him. Why let another narrator in an "epilogue" tell us "about" those crucial moments that would have honestly portrayed the inner Alexander? The terribly disappointing ending of the book is a huge flaw. I really did want to read Alexander's own words, not Itanes, when Hephestion dies, and I really wanted to hear Alexander confess on his death bed that he was homosexual. What a let-down at the end! Yuck!

Two deaths define and punctuate Alexander's life. First was Bucephalus' death - his beloved massive 21-year old horse. Second was Hephaestion's, whose demise literally devastated Alexander, causing a life-changing upheaval and loss, something from which Alexander never recovered. Page 341, "yet, from the death of Hephaestion, he was never the same man." Why? His spouse was dead. Interestingly, the death of his father is almost inconsequential.

But make no mistake. This is an epic novel of epic scope about the epic star-power character of all time. Pressfield shows Alexander as a fascinatingly powerful man, an immense historical figure, the subject of countless literary works. This one - Alexander as the central character in a novel - is excellent. However, there is no denouement, no final crisis, no real mystery, no wonderment, no surprise, and no suspense. Just the end -- before he dies!

Alexander's "daimon," the mystical magical will to fight, his internal warrior persona, his soul and driving conscience and life force, seems never to fail him until near the end when Telemon tells
Alexander, Page 312, "The daimon is inhuman." Indeed it is possible, Pressfield suggests, that the internal Alexander was evil. Such are the things of legends.

The book's structure is excellent with Alexander narrating his own story in first person - his fictional voice, as he instructs Itanes in the virtues of war. Thus, we are not spared any detail of Alexander's internal musings, his conflicts and motivations (except noted above about his own defining sexuality). The horrors of war back then are spread before us in great detail by Alexander himself. The reader is awe-struck by the logistical accomplishments involved in moving and sustaining an army of hundreds of thousands of men through harsh territory over 8 years and 11,250 miles.

Alexander is brutal and unyielding, brilliant and belligerent, and almost always --with rare exceptions even with all his apparent insight -- fully able, easily and completely, to blame others for his own mistakes, murders and failures -- or the unanticipated consequences of his victories. Page 188, "My envoys sought to make the leading men of Tyre and Gaza see reason; I dispatched letters beneath my own hand. I pledged to make their cities richer, freer, safer. Still they resisted. They compelled me to make examples of them." Thus, he drove his men to the "end of the known world" to further his mega maniacal ambitions, for better or worse. His ability to motivate men to kill for him is astonishing.

To have achieved a readable novel, given a lack of plot or true story line, Pressfield gives us a good read. Not great, but well worth your time, if you are a Greekophile. Was Alexander "great?" Who knows and who cares!! He's always a good read!

not sure i will actually get through this book as it is highly technical on the battle strategy and tactics and a little too much in the head of Alexander, which I am not sure how the author got there. There isn't much history written about Alexander's inner thoughts.