"Virginia's Western War 1775-1786" by Neal O Hammon and Richard Taylor is about the settling of Kentucky (then part of Virginia) after the French and Indian War and during the American Revolution. When I first picked it up I had thought that it concentrated more on the area within modern Virginia borders rather than the borders of the time period. Nonetheless, it covered a topic that I am familiar with, and I appreciated reading it.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. More...

This book is an even-handed assessment of all the players in the U.S. Revolutionary War in the west: the British, the Native Americans, the incipient U.S. government, and Virginia. But it's focus is on Virginia and the role that colony played in expanding the new country west of the Appalachian mountains.

I wouldn't call it a page-turner. It's a bit dry but quite readable. Maybe too much emphasis on the ordinance and the statistics of battles for my taste, but it is a good resource fo More...