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Tales of the Frontier: From Lewis and Clark to the Last Roundup
"Anyone in search of the spirit of the Old West will find it in this book. In fact, any student in college taking a course in the history of the West or even in a general history of the United States should be required to read Dick's book; and when once the student had sniffed its atmosphere, the required would no longer be necessary."-Georgia Historical Quarterly "An entertaining and comprehensive collection. . . . The reader is sure to put Dick's book down with a fresh realization of the vigor, adventure, humor, tragedy, and endeavor that went into the development of our western country."-Annals of Wyoming
- GenresHistory
390 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 1963
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 31, 2021
A totally underrated obscure book that should be required reading in middle to high school U.S. history classes.
(The cover of the copy I've read (though mine is in better condition!), printed in 1970, courtesy Campbell County Rockpile Museum https://rockpilemuseum.pastperfectonl...)
It's one of those books I had laying around, probably bought at a thrift and running out of things to read, picked it up and absolutely could not put it down! Fascinating stuff!! An understatement! It's like: How did the U.S. become what it is today? How did we get like this? What made this happen? And at what cost?
Told chronologically through well researched diaries, first-hand narratives and historical documents, the Westward Expansion, the so-called Manifest Destiny (whatever the hell that means) of America from the beginning with Daniel Boone, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1804 to the end of free ranging cattle in 1908, this book highlights incidents of importance pertaining to the settling of early America told in such a way that the reader can identify with both the settlers and those whose lands for generations were infringed upon.
(Lewis and Clark Reach Shoshone Camp Led by Sacajawea the "Bird Woman" / Charles Marion Russell, courtesy https://collections.gilcrease.org/obj...)
One thing I really appreciated is the author, Everett Dick, a teacher/professor, humanized the early settling rather than present it cut and dry as most history texts do. Made it real without choosing sides, right or wrong and without prejudice, as if the reader was there in the moment. The short historical recounts told are sometimes humorous, sometimes horrific and sometimes heart breaking. But that's how it was.
(American Progress, chromolithograph print, c. 1873 by John Gast, courtesy Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Ma...)
Another take on Manifest Destiny, modeled after the painting above:
(The Dark Mark of Manifest Destiny by Klee Benally, courtesy Natural History Institute https://naturalhistoryinstitute.org/g...)
I've read Two Years Before the Mast, currently reading The Longhorns, and this is a tie-in to both those accounts of the history of this country based around the same timeline. If interested, read those books also. Follow up with research on the incidents mentioned to learn more on the crazy way this country was settled.
(The cover of the copy I've read (though mine is in better condition!), printed in 1970, courtesy Campbell County Rockpile Museum https://rockpilemuseum.pastperfectonl...)
It's one of those books I had laying around, probably bought at a thrift and running out of things to read, picked it up and absolutely could not put it down! Fascinating stuff!! An understatement! It's like: How did the U.S. become what it is today? How did we get like this? What made this happen? And at what cost?
Told chronologically through well researched diaries, first-hand narratives and historical documents, the Westward Expansion, the so-called Manifest Destiny (whatever the hell that means) of America from the beginning with Daniel Boone, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1804 to the end of free ranging cattle in 1908, this book highlights incidents of importance pertaining to the settling of early America told in such a way that the reader can identify with both the settlers and those whose lands for generations were infringed upon.
(Lewis and Clark Reach Shoshone Camp Led by Sacajawea the "Bird Woman" / Charles Marion Russell, courtesy https://collections.gilcrease.org/obj...)
One thing I really appreciated is the author, Everett Dick, a teacher/professor, humanized the early settling rather than present it cut and dry as most history texts do. Made it real without choosing sides, right or wrong and without prejudice, as if the reader was there in the moment. The short historical recounts told are sometimes humorous, sometimes horrific and sometimes heart breaking. But that's how it was.
(American Progress, chromolithograph print, c. 1873 by John Gast, courtesy Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Ma...)
Another take on Manifest Destiny, modeled after the painting above:
(The Dark Mark of Manifest Destiny by Klee Benally, courtesy Natural History Institute https://naturalhistoryinstitute.org/g...)
I've read Two Years Before the Mast, currently reading The Longhorns, and this is a tie-in to both those accounts of the history of this country based around the same timeline. If interested, read those books also. Follow up with research on the incidents mentioned to learn more on the crazy way this country was settled.
May 19, 2014
What a surprise I got when I started reading Everett Dick's Tales of the Frontier. I bought it used in hopes of finding information about my ancestors from the days of the great cattle drives. While it contains little that helped with my genealogy research, "Tales" gave hours of enjoyable reading, and what I think is a much better idea about life during those days when Americans spilled over the Mississippi River and covered the land all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Some of this material was familiar, but most was not.
There are stories of the gold rushes (lots of them!), the overland trails, the railroads, the cattle barons and the range wars, atrocities (mainly perpetrated by settlers on the native tribes), and much more. But there are also smaller vignettes such as When the Apple Orchard Moved, which describes Henderson Lewelling's successful journey to bring apple trees from his orchards in Iowa to begin the great orchards in Washington State and Oregon.
There are stories of the gold rushes (lots of them!), the overland trails, the railroads, the cattle barons and the range wars, atrocities (mainly perpetrated by settlers on the native tribes), and much more. But there are also smaller vignettes such as When the Apple Orchard Moved, which describes Henderson Lewelling's successful journey to bring apple trees from his orchards in Iowa to begin the great orchards in Washington State and Oregon.
June 13, 2017
Not what I expected but much better. Nicely written stories of the trans-Mississippi West.
March 8, 2008
Not the best
December 30, 2018
Interesting. Held my attention. 1800-1905
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews