Dream West

American Story #1

by David Nevin

The sweeping saga of John Charles Fremont, controversial explorer, soldier, and politician, focuses on his romance with his wife, Jessie Benton Fremont, daughter of Thomas Hart Benton

Genres: Historical Fiction, Westerns, Fiction, American History, Historical

639 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

David Reinhardt Nevin was born in Washington. His father, a veterinarian in the US Army when it had a horse cavalry, was soon assigned to Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Mr. Nevin joined the US Navy as a teenager and served in the Pacific. After the war he did poorly in college, but could write well enough to be hired as a police reporter for The Brownsville (Texas) Herald. That led to work for Time and Life magazines.

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

-- In-depth historical fiction about a key American pioneer, with prose marred by uneven pacing. --

Dream West is a novel about the life of John C. Fremont, who is one of the key pioneers of westward expansion. After reading the novel, it is apparent he was one of the most influential explorers our country has ever had, in the ranks of Lewis and Clark. His life is fascinating in part because he was not only an explorer. He had perfect mix of intelligence, perseverance, and egotism to feel he could conquer any task-- exploration, business, war, politics, society, anything. The story arc leads his character (or at least readers) to understand that you can't be great at everything, and that being ambitious makes you more enemies than friends. In the end, his life was a mix of success and failure.

My interest was held through this lengthy volume mainly because of the material-- I love history, the book's scenes of high adventure are riveting, and when the tension is strong, it's easy to gobble a hundred pages in a sitting. Unfortunately, the problem of translating history to fiction is that not all history is ready-made for narrative. As a result, Niven's prose shifts from engaging to tedious, and for every adventure scene there are a couple of filler scenes, probably written in the name of historical accuracy. Maybe if Niven had liberated himself a little from conveying every detail of Fremont's life, the novel would've been tighter and more engaging. It's certainly worth a read, especially for those interested in historical fiction and the American West. Just be ready to slog through the slow parts.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend loaned me this hard covered book “Dream West” by David Nevin. It is a historical/biographical novel about John Charles Fremont, who led several expeditions that helped map the American West in the 1840s.

The book reflects the enormous amount of research that Nevin put into this book. Most of the book squares with the historical records.

Fremont was supported by his father-in-law Senator Thomas Hart Benton. Jessie Fremont was a full partner with her husband in ventures like his campaign as the Republican presidential nominee in 1856.

In my opinion, the best part of the book deals with the desperate conditions faced going through frigid mountain passes led by Kit Carson and the mapping of the Oregon Trail. On arrival in California, Fremont became involved in the rebellion against Mexico that led to California eventually becoming a State. The author did not go into Fremont’s actions that led to his being called “Butcher Fremont”. Fremont does not have a good reputation in the area of California I live in. Our local river was said to run red with blood of local residents as Fremont and his men passed though the town.

Nevin tells about Fremont emancipating the slaves in territories under his Civil War Command in the state of Missouri.

The book is a good old fashion yarn and a sprawling story. The book is 640 pages long. It was on the New York Times best seller list in 1984 and again in 1985 when the paperback came out. In 1986, CBS broadcast it as a seven hour miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

John C. Fremont was so famous for leading several Western expeditions with Kit Carson in the 1840s that he was nicknamed "The Pathfinder." He also was the son-in-law of a legendary U.S. senator, a U.S. senator himself, the first Republican presidential candidate, a Civil War general, a territorial governor, something of a glory hound who rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and a spectacularly poor businessman who went broke even though he once owned a gold mine. So maybe it's no surprise that it took David Nevin eight years to write "Dream West," his 1983 historical novel about Fremont's many adventures ... or me a month to make my own trek through its 914 pages. (However, I did outlast the copy editor, who seemed to have given up over the last third.) That said, the result is a solid and colorful retelling of Fremont's many ups and downs. Just pack a lunch. Or two.

[Candace]

DNF. Not because of the book itself, but because I've had it checked out through interlibrary loan twice for a total of seven weeks. Dream West by David Nevin is a captivating Historical Fiction about the life of John Charles Fremont, who married Jessie Benton Fremont, daughter of United States Senator Thomas Hart Benton. Charles mapped scientifically the western expansion routes such as the Oregon Trail and the passage through the Sierra Nevada Mountains into California. He was a controversial explorer of the American West and a territorial governor of California. Had I been able to read further along in the novel, I would have discovered that Charles Fremont was also a general in the Civil War, a senator and an 1856 presidential nominee.

The romance between Charles and Jessie was another area of focus in the novel. While Charles was the surveyor/mapper, Jessie was the writer who wrote the books about Charles's adventures exploring the American West. One of my favorite characters is Kit Carson. He served as guide on two of the explorations. I especially enjoyed reading about the "Man Verse Nature" chapters. They were filled with high adventure, raw determination to survive and they naturally possessed built-up tension.

There were times when the history portion written within the novel felt more like a dumping of the writer's extensive research. This would slow down the adventures and dull the action and the motivation. Had I owned the book myself, I would have finished it, but being an interlibrary loan, I felt too embarrassed to request the book a third time. This is my own personal problem and, thus, I will not rate this novel. I did enjoy the history of this fictional biography about John Charles Fremont. I will keep watch for an edition in good condition to purchase at a later date.

[Chrisl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read this novel about the Pathfinder ... and dropped rating from 4.0 to 3.6. Interesting characters, but not in accord with history learned subsequent to the first read.

In re-reading Gilbert's "Westering Man" recently, came across these quotes from men acquainted with Fremont :

" ... Charles Preuss, a German emigrant who had been hired as a topographer ... early on he decided his leader was a posturing, lightweight popinjay. Preuss also was keeping a journal, but a very private one (it was written in German and not published until 1958). One of the first entries ... he grumbled, ' ... that childish Fremont.'"

Joseph Walker, perhaps the most knowledgeable and respected of the early Mountain Men, but famously reticent ... "said about Fremont the harshest things he was ever to say about any man. 'Fremont,' said the frontier Captain, 'morally and physically, was the most complete coward I ever knew.'"

Westering Man: The Life of Joseph Walker

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm on the fence about this book. In places I really enjoyed it, couldn't stop reading, and wanted to give it a 4 or a 5. Other places I had to force myself to continue reading and wanted to give it a 1 or 2. Even now, I don't really know if I liked it or not. I know I certainly liked 1812, Eagles Cry and Treason much more than in enjoyed this. It's interesting that this book is labeled first in the series, I guess because it was the first written. Chronologically, it should be fifth, taking place long after the events of the other four novels in the series. I've had this book a while, even started it a couple of times in the past, but I can now cross it off my to-read list.

[Amanda Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I never would have picked on my own, it was quite interesting. A fictionalized account of the life of John Charles Fremont, California's first "official" governor, a surveyor/mapper, a former governor of Arizona and a presidential candidate in 1856. It was a bit too long and I was glad to finish it because it really dragged at parts, but Fremont did a lot in his life and I appreciate that Nevin covered it all with context.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read this book, but watched the series on TV years ago. It was so well done, and David Niven has a reputation for admirable historical accuracy. I'm more of a watcher than a reader of this kind of work, but perhaps with this one I will make an exception.

[Marie Birkbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started of with a bang, and I was excited to keep reading, but the dew soon dissipated, and for the most part I was bored to tears!
Highly disappointed in the writing style!

Although I am certain that the meat of the story was accurate, I had trouble following it. Large gaps in the times, - (understandable, as it was the story of Charles Fremont's life) lots of big words that I had guess at what they might mean, page after page of alleged dialogue, and often I found myself back tracking to figure out who was saying or doing what - just repeatedly referred to the character as he or she.
I think the best part I came across, was when Charles led the expedition across the divide in the middle of the winter! Call him crazy, but he got the entire troop through alive,

Perhaps if I was American it might have intrigued me to see the 900+ pages novel through to the end, but in frustration, I quit reading at 29% and deleted it from my Kindle library

[Star Merrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was chock full of info, but, blimy, did it have to include every snowflake that fell on those mountains? We get it. The cold was extreme, the mules died, frost-bite occurred. The book could have been slimmed to 500 pages, rather than 923!
I will concede that the Civil War chapters were anger-provoking. I wanted to throttle some of those Union Generals. West Point snobs, who cared more about their Army protocols than winning the war. Not one of us, you see... Gah!!!
I also loved reading about Kit Carson, warts and all.

[Juanita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look into the times and characters of the Californian goldrush which I previously knew little about. The fact that I've also been to quite a few of the places mentioned helped put more of a "face" to the story as well. I'm keeping this one, as I'm sure I'll want to re read it at a later date.

[Susan]

Charles and Jessie Fremont 1840-1870

[Annie Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic novel of John C. Fremont and the wild, untamed West in the 1800s where the buffalo roamed and where violence, politics, business, and love played their grand, best hand.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Rosa]

I did finish it but it was pure torture.

[Jay McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all-time favorite historical fiction book

[Bob Delamore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic historical fiction. What a life!!! We know so little about Fremont.

[Sonya]

I thought it was a great book. I didn't really know about John Charles Fremont, but I must have read about him somewhere in other books. It was very interesting to learn more about our American history and how one person can effect history. A very good read! I would recommend this book to anyone that loves to read historical novels and thereby learn history at the same time. After reading this book, everywhere I see his name such as in Las Vegas and on street names, I now know who it's named after.
P.S. I really don't know when I read it, but I know it was during the last few years. The copy I have has a blue background cover.

[David Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I casually mentioned to a friend that Fremont sounded like an interesting character and that I'd like to find a good biography of him, he gave me this book. It's a fictionalized account of Charles and Jessie Fremont. It starts with his first expedition so we don't "learn" anything of his childhood, but I found it fit the bill nicely. Nevin does a good job of telling the story, filling in the gaps in the historical record with events that are reasonable and fit the characters.

Not a great piece of fiction, and certainly not a scholarly work, but worth reading if you're curious about Fremont.

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book took a long time for me to wade through it. I don't know if it was because most of the story line was "old hat" covered by many other history books, or because it was written to make Fremont the "great hero". ... and I didn't care much for him. The book did "pick up" at the end with the Civil War portion.

[John Loomis · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I wasn't already deeply involved in the subject and period of U.S. History I probably wouldn't have finished. As it was it is a fine story though too long, poorly paced at times, and certainly fictional. It's a good vacation book though.

[Megan]

Quit after 1 page

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical novel. Interesting and realistic! LONG!

[Cws]

F Nev

[Zeph · Rating 3 out of 5]

John C. Fremont

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book to read. I was not real familiar with Fremont's history but this was quite insightful. Some of the book was overlly detailed but still a good read.

[Richard May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about the life of J. Charles Fremont.

[Rob Sobieck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I just love history, people who have seen so much different things. to the good ole days. may they always be cherished.

[Thomas Barker]

Was very good and would make a good movie!