Missouri: An Illustrated History

by Sean McLachlan

The epic tale of Missouri's history from ancient times to today is related here in a concise, accessible format--from the Native American cultures to the territorial period; from the agony of the Civil War to the freewheeling era of jazz and Prohibition; and from 20-century labor and Civil Rights struggles to the triumph of the St. Louis Arch. Descriptions of many of these tumultuous times come from Missourians themselves, the reporters, generals, and everyday people who set down their observations of this great state and the events that made it what it is today. With more than 80 illustrations, photographs, and maps, An Illustrated History, examines Missouri's changing economy, geography, industries, and immigrant populations, bringing the past and present vividly to life.

Genres: History

269 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2008

About the author

Sean McLachlan is a former archaeologist who worked for many years on excavations in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Now a full-time writer, he specializes in fiction, history, and adventure travel. In 2013 he won the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for his Iraq reportage.

Half of Sean's time is spent on the road researching and writing. He's traveled to more than 30 countries, interviewing nomads in Somaliland, climbing to clifftop monasteries in Ethiopia, studying Crusader castles in Syria, and exploring caves in his favorite state of Missouri.

Sean works in a number of genres, especially historical mystery and science fiction.

Sean is always happy to hear from his readers, so drop him a line via his blog!

Reviews

[Bob Bellamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent brief history of Missouri. Lots of good information and stories. Well-written, non-biased, tells enough but also makes you want to learn more about people you read about!

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the first person on Goodreads to read Missouri: An Illustrated History (Woot?), I feel I should give it a review. On the plus side, it is pretty engagingly written, and very expansive in scope (the book starts in the prehistoric and swerves at times outside of Missouri, to give a context of the role of its citizens' involvements in larger events, such as the Revolutionary War -- during which Missouri was owned by the Spanish -- for example). Mr. McLahlan gives a good mix of context and local lore, as well as factual evidence to paint a lively picture of the state's history. I especially enjoyed the information on Missouri's Native Americans, and plan on reading a more in-depth book if it is available.

On the minus side, this book could have been fleshed out a lot more. While I understand it is an overview, the book reads mostly as a history of St. Louis, then of the river communities, and then the rest of the state. This is somewhat by necessity -- St. Louis and the river towns were the first European settlements, so they garner more impact on Missouri's history -- I would have preferred to see a more expansive (and longer) book, with chapters dealing in-depth with various regions (especially the Ozarks, which I have a bit of a fascination with).

I guess I wanted more of an academic book, while what I got was more of an accessible history -- not a bad thing, and "Missouri: An Illustrated History" does what it set out to do well.