I have always been a fan of the cowboy stories told in Hollywood westerns and this book was a great opportunity to learn the real histories the movies were built on. I found this a gripping history. Makes me want more. ( )

A decent history with plenty of stories - however, far less concrete imagery and descriptive narrative than could be expected. No cohesive narrative throughout the work, rather vignettes here and there about different aspects of Western life. A significant focus on Native Americans and their plights - not bad in and of itself, but more time could have been spent in covering the life in towns or on the frontier for the average resident. Interested to read McCullough's "Pioneers" book next and see the potential difference. Also, far less pictures than the introduction makes it seem there will be - many more hand-drawn maps. ( )

While this 410 page book has a pub date of 1994, most of the material comes from three earlier books written in the 50's by the same authors, Dee Brown and Martin Schmitt. These are "Fighting Indians of the West", "Trail Driving Days", and "The Settler's West". The book includes over 50 very interesting photos and about 20 helpful and well illustrated maps. For the most part, the material was interesting, but there were passages when it seemed to slip into the 50's textbook approach of too many names and dates, and not enough big picture. I expected the book to be a lot more interesting and while most of the anecdotes were new to me, they did not seem to be the kind of stories I would entertain friends with over a beer. Overall, not quite up to my expectations and a bit disappointing given Brown's big rep for "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee". ( )

This western primer tells the stories of Native Americans, settlers, cowboys, miners, and ranchers. The narrative explains in a straightforward manner the conflicts, struggles, and conquests that led to settlement of the West. lj ( )

Dee Brown is an exceptional story teller and makes the American West come alive. ( )