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193rd out of 1,090 books
—
1,053 voters
Drums Along the Mohawk
The seventy-fifth anniversary of the publication of Drums along the Mohawk reminds us not only that Edmonds’s masterpiece is the best historical novel about Upstate New York since James Fenimore Cooper but also that it was number one on the best-seller list until overtaken by Gone With the Wind.
This is the story of the forgotten pioneers of the Mohawk Valley during the Rev...more
This is the story of the forgotten pioneers of the Mohawk Valley during the Rev...more
Paperback, 608 pages
Published
March 1st 1997
by Syracuse University Press
(first published 1936)
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Mar 21, 2009
Werner
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of historical fiction
Shelves:
historical-fiction
Written in a solidly Realist style, this novel was part of the vanguard of the introduction of the Realist school to the historical fiction genre; as late as the early 1900s, Realist writers and critics such as Frank Norris (who roundly condemned Sarah Orne Jewett as a traitor to the movement for writing a novel set during the Revolutionary War) were still dogmatically committed to the view that the present was the only proper setting for serious literature. It also reflects a strong new current...more
I first stumbled upon the works of Walter D. Edmonds when I was in fourth grade and attending public school at Ridgeview Elementary in Bloomington, Minnesota (the next year I went to Catholic school, and remained in Catholic schools until graduating law school, which has left me a debt I will literally never repay). In those pre-Amazon days, students would receive monthly order forms from Troll Books. I - rather, my mom - ordered Edmonds' The Matchlock Gun, which I eagerly devoured with sweaty p...more
Jul 24, 2011
Nancy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
historical-fiction
This is great old-school story-telling and great historical fiction. There's so much going on. You certainly get caught up with the characters, most of them not fictionalized but real historical people, as are most of the events in the book. But it's the whole world-view that I found so powerful. The frontier of early America not the West, as it would later be and forever remain in our national imagination, but upstate New York. That was a revelation. And what the Revolutionary War was like foug...more
This should be required reading for New York state grammar or high school students the year they study the Revolutionary War. It follows a young couple and their community throughout the war period. The battles, betrayals, babies born and lost, farms and houses burned, people and animals slaughtered, solders killed and captured, daring raids, prisoners of war, native friends and foes, are portrayed in a clear prose style. The stories of historical and fictional characters weave together. I finis...more
Whenever I go back to a book the second time, or when I go back to read a book again after seeing the movie, I know that somewhere in the experience of reading or watching there must be a kernel of truth, a hook or a moment that has great meaning to me. This book should have great meaning to anyone living in upstate NY, for it is our history that is relived here.
Syracuse, where I now live, was still Indian territory and Herkimer was the western frontier of the colonies at the time of the revolu...more
Syracuse, where I now live, was still Indian territory and Herkimer was the western frontier of the colonies at the time of the revolu...more
This is an interesting book, well written and recommended. I think it would appeal to readers who are familiar with the older styles of fiction writing as practiced in the 1930's and 1940's. I also think the story is paced well, somewhat slow in begining to be sure, but the characters are developed with a casual fullness and simplicity that allows the reader to relax and be told a story. This is storytelling for adults meaning that it is not altogether sanitized, the violence and sex are purpose...more
I have been working on Revoluntion books this year and honestly they have all been a struggle. This one was no diffrent. I had to start speed reading by the 300th page or so. I wanted to give it a chance and finish it, but I had to start skiping to get to the end. It has some wonder looks into history yet some how I was left cold, if I just sat and read by the end of the reading time I was back 'into' the book more It simply was not a book I looked forward to starting after not reading a while....more
This one dates way back. Since I lived in upstate New York from about age ten until I left for college, New York history was interesting. (Every seventh grader in the state took "Exploring New York State" for the school year. We had to make a huge map of the state listing cities and their products: Canajoharie, gum and baby food: Yonkers, elevators, Gloversville (guess what), etc. etc.
But when the story is set back in the "olden days," it can be told in 1936 or 2006...
But when the story is set back in the "olden days," it can be told in 1936 or 2006...
The historical backdrop was very well done and overall it was a pretty good read. It did get a little tedious in places as the author had to pull all the colateral stories into line with the main characters. I felt like he could have told the story just as well in less pages if he had simply left out some of the irrelevant details of the secondary characters and plots. Having said that, it was a good story of the impact of the Revolutionary War on the people who were on the edges of the war and...more
This book on what life was like on the NY frontier during the Revolutionary War moved too slow for me. It did give a good representation of all the difficultied involved in just trying to live, raise a family, and farm the land. However, the style made for slow reading and I had some problems keeping all the characters straight when they re-entered the story later in the book.
A wonderful piece of work that stands the test of time. Yes it has early 20th century sensibilities but it tells a story oft times forgotten by moderns. A story of tragedy, courage, hate, love and perseverance. If I was going to recommend a story about the Revolution to a young adult this would be it.
Sep 11, 2012
Roseyreads
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Roseyreads by:
my college roommate who liked it very much
After taking at least a week off from reading this book, I finished it on 8/22/12! What took place during the Revolutionary War in that part of New York was something I had never known but as another person has said in their review the repetition got hard to take. I did not like Edmonds writing but it was easy to speed read it, which I forced myself to do at times just to get through it. Favorite part was John Wolff's escape from prison and I was pleased that he reappeared near the end of the bo...more
Does anyone still read this? I found it in a summer vacation house library years ago and remember it as being a vividly exciting adventure story set in upstate New York during the Revolutionary War - or possible the French and Indian War. In any case, it was good, wonderfully good.
I read this book on one of our many boring trips to Illinois. I remember the day I hot it for Chrisas and I remember being so involved in it I vould not do anything else but read. Excellent novel that they made into a movie that I have not seen yet.
I still own the book, proudly!!
I still own the book, proudly!!
An amazing experience that can be enhanced with reading Forgotten
Allies about the role of the Oneidas in the Battle of Oriskany.
The familiar movie with Henry Fonda does not match the fine book in style or substance.
I have read several articles about the Battle of Oriskany and the author is amazingly accurate with the exception of not giving ample credit to the Oneidas for their bravery and sacrafice.
Allies about the role of the Oneidas in the Battle of Oriskany.
The familiar movie with Henry Fonda does not match the fine book in style or substance.
I have read several articles about the Battle of Oriskany and the author is amazingly accurate with the exception of not giving ample credit to the Oneidas for their bravery and sacrafice.
I've been really interested in reading more about the Revolutionary War these days. Feel like I didn't pay much attention in school..... This was a good book, just a little long though. It took me a while to push through it. But it was really interesting.
- The book is told more from the lives of the people of that time-The Revolution. The Indians fighting for their land and the settlers. Times were probably more brutal than the book could tell.
I read this in advance of a trip in the area, and really enjoyed it. It's sort of dated by the standards of much of today's popular literature, but still a good read.
This was another in the list of best patriotic novels. I read 130 pages and decided if I didn't like it by then, I wasn't going to.
I told my father I was curious to know more about my ancestry and he told me to read this. He also said that we are decended from Col. Bellinger, in the story. This is what made me willing to read a book about war which is otherwise so uncharacteristic of me. What I have enjoyed about the book is learning about the life in the German flats area, the people of that time were such hard workers. What I have not enjoyed is the decriptions of violence, the racism and sexism. Overall, I think it is a...more
Best historical novel about the Revolutionary War as it happened along the frontier in New York.
Aug 06, 2011
Pjpollard
added it
I have reread this book several times in my life. It never gets old.
Thrilling, especially "Adam Helmer's Run." Stands the test of time.
This book was a very good reminder that American life during the revolution was both hard and tenuous. It was an interesting glimpse at the mindset of the late 1700s probably influenced a bit by the author's time in the mid 1930s.
Enjoyable historical novel of the American Revolution.
One of those American classics that should be read.
good historical image
Finally it's over. We read this at my husband's recommendation with our history buff 9 year old and I had to explain alot of "historical context" (e,g., racism, sexism, brutal violence, rape). The first 2/3 of the book was not very interesting; too much information about domestic life. The story improved as the battles picked up but I did not enjoy this book at all.
I read this book because I find this period in American history interesting and I grew up in this area of the country. The names of the villages are familiar to me. Life was hard for these people, I admire anyone who had to live during this time for the hardships they endured.
This book had a slow start, but I really enjoyed it. I might be a little biased because I have a bunch of ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, though, and one of them even got mentioned a few times in the book. I found it kind of fascinating to get a glimpse of what their life might have been like back when New Hampshire and Vermont were the frontier.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why is the author listed as James Fenimore Cooper on the book cover? | 1 | 15 | Feb 02, 2009 04:13pm |
Walter D. Edmonds has been a National Book Award winner and recipient of the Newberry Medal. He is the author of Bert Breen’s Barn, The Boyds of Black River, In the Hands of the Senecas, Mostly Canallers, Rome Haul, Time to Go House, and most recently the autobiographical Tales My Father Never Told, all available from Syracuse University Press.
More about Walter D. Edmonds...
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Oct 01, 2011 01:45pm