- Paperback: 467 pages
- Publisher: University of Nebraska Press; Reprint edition (Aug 1 1995)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0803282222
- ISBN-13: 978-0803282223
- Product Dimensions: 2.2 x 1.4 x 0.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 567 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
A work of “genuine scholarship, meticulously researched, and told in a lively and colorful style. This blend of information and entertainment is difficult to match.”—Twentieth-Century Western Writers
(Twentieth-Century Western Writers )“The author is at his best with the mountain men who ranged vast country, endured dire hardship, and exulted in their freedom. Writing of them, he sustains a racy style. ”—Walter Havighurst, New York Times Book Review
(Walter Havighurst New York Times Book Review )
Product Description
Bravos of the West is a panoramic history of the development of the West after the Lewis and Clark expedition. Appearing, exiting, and reappearing in this history are trappers, traders, prospectors, gunslingers, missionaries, soldiers, and scientists. Here they are shown trapping beaver, confronting bears, trading, and discovering natural wonders as they advance ever farther into the wilds.
John Myers Myers begins with the struggle for Texas and follows the men and women who came West: the mountain men beyond the mouth of the Yellowstone, the emigrants to Oregon, the fortune hunters to California, the Mormons to Salt Lake, the stagecoaches, express ponies, and steam-engine trains through mountain passes and open country, and the outlaws to all of it. Playing their roles on this huge historical stage are Andrew Jackson, Davy Crockett, Hugh Glass, Jim Bowie, William Ashley, Mike Fink, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Thomas Hart Benton, Stephen Austin, Sam Houston, Peg-leg Smith, Mountain Lamb, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, Jack Swilling, Henry Plummer, Jack Coffee Hays, Deaf Smith, John Charles Frémont, Brigham Young, John Sutter, Sitting Bull, Cynthia Ann Parker, Joaquin Murrieta, and Wild Bill Hickok.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Between History and Legend,
By Theo Logos (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bravos of the West (Paperback)
Bravos of the West, (originally titled Death of the Bravos) is an informal history of the old West, from 1812 to 1878, largely mined from oral tradition. "By and large, what went on in the early days of the American West transpired while historians were looking the other way...", writes Myers, and rather than attempting a scholarly treatment of the subject, he has drawn on the oral tradition to create a rollicking tale of the mountain men, scouts, indians, bandits, fillabusters, and shootist who lived and died there during that wide open and wild time.Following a rough chronological order, each chapter sketches the story of one of these Western bravos, some well known characters, others more obscure. A substantial portion of the book is about the various mountain men and the fur trade, covering such legends as Jed Smith, Hugh Glass, Jim Bridger, Old Bill Williams, Joe Meeks, and many others. Sam Houston and the rest of the men who made Texas are covered well, as are those who blazed the Santa Fe trail, and those who opened up and settled the Oregon Country. There is hardly a signifigant event or person in the time period that he covers that Myers does not bring to life through his lively prose. Myers skillfully weaves all of these seperate stories into a great tapestry of the claiming of the West for the American nation. Myers knows his subject well, as most of his life was devoted to researching and writing about the American West. Yet he is primarely a story teller, not a dry academic. His writing is playful and idiomatic, and if you let yourself fall under his spell, you may find you are searching out his other books regardless of subject. Bravos of the West falls somewhere between history and legend, and hence must at times be taken with a grain of salt if pure historical accuarcy (is there any such beast?) is what you are looking for. But to learn of the many amazing people whose stories combined to win the West and create an American mythology, John Myers Myers' fascinating book is just the thing.
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4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Between History and Legend,
By Theo Logos - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bravos of the West (Paperback)
Bravos of the West, (originally titled Death of the Bravos) is an informal history of the old West, from 1812 to 1878, largely mined from oral tradition. "By and large, what went on in the early days of the American West transpired while historians were looking the other way...", writes Myers, and rather than attempting a scholarly treatment of the subject, he has drawn on the oral tradition to create a rollicking tale of the mountain men, scouts, Indians, bandits, filibusters, and shootist who lived and died there during that wide open and wild time.Following a rough chronological order, each chapter sketches the story of one of these Western bravos, some well known characters, others more obscure. A substantial portion of the book is about the various mountain men and the fur trade, covering such legends as Jed Smith, Hugh Glass, Jim Bridger, Old Bill Williams, Joe Meeks, and many others. Sam Houston and the rest of the men who made Texas are covered well, as are those who blazed the Santa Fe Trail, and those who opened up and settled the Oregon Country. There is hardly a significant event or person in the time period that he covers that Myers does not bring to life through his lively prose. Myers skillfully weaves all of these separate stories into a great tapestry of the claiming of the West for the American nation. Myers knows his subject well, as most of his life was devoted to researching and writing about the American West. Yet he is primarily a storyteller, not a dry academic. His writing is playful and idiomatic, and if you let yourself fall under his spell, you may find you are searching out his other books regardless of subject. Bravos of the West falls somewhere between history and legend, and hence must at times be taken with a grain of salt if pure historical accuracy (is there any such beast?) is what you are looking for. But to learn of the many amazing people whose stories combined to win the West and create an American mythology, John Myers Myers' fascinating book is just the thing. Theo Logos |
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