acarman1's review against another edition
5.0
This book was one of the best biographies I've read in awhile, a real step forward in American history. Morgan applies Daniel Richter's "Facing Eastward From Indian Country" to Daniel Boone. The years of the legend's life stretch from the heady days of the French and Indian War to the time of the Missouri Crisis and Compromise. Yet Boone knew little, or only until after the fact, about the earth-shattering events of the American Revolution, Constitutional Convention, and the rise of Thomas Jefferson. He was dealing with his own problems. He spent the year of 1778 as a prisoner of the Shawnee, who were allied with the British. He escaped to lead a desperate defense of his home against the British and Indians, protecting the province of Kentucky from falling into British hands, an important rearguard victory that helped Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina remain securely in American hands.
The book is beautifully written and really gets to the heart of what made Boone, for most of us a half-legendary figure, tick. The author delves into his relationship with Indians--a surprisingly cordial one given his own capture, the kidnapping of his daughter and the torture and murder of his son and brother--and his opinions about nature. Boone loved solitude and the outdoors, and spent long months on his own or with a few others, hunting and trapping. But his exploration of Kentucky and then Missouri opened the floodgates, ensuring the settlement and civilization of the areas, thus destroying the world he loved. Boone did not fare well in settled life, falling into debt and getting double-crossed by unscrupulous land agents. When he died in Missouri in 1820, he didn't even own enough land to be buried in.
Boone emerged from the pages as a very familiar man to me. His commitment to family and friends, and love of nature and solitude reminded me greatly of my late grandfather. I found the last chapter, where Morgan illuminates Boone's appearance in various American poems and literature to be a departure from anything I was interested in, but I suppose it will help the biography to be cross-listed as literary criticism. He also promised to delve into Boone's connection to Freemasonry, but then kind of trailed off into speculation, which didn't really deliver. But overall, the book was an extremely satisfying read. For me, it informed me about another side of the period of history I know so well, and reminded me of a much-loved grandfather.
The book is beautifully written and really gets to the heart of what made Boone, for most of us a half-legendary figure, tick. The author delves into his relationship with Indians--a surprisingly cordial one given his own capture, the kidnapping of his daughter and the torture and murder of his son and brother--and his opinions about nature. Boone loved solitude and the outdoors, and spent long months on his own or with a few others, hunting and trapping. But his exploration of Kentucky and then Missouri opened the floodgates, ensuring the settlement and civilization of the areas, thus destroying the world he loved. Boone did not fare well in settled life, falling into debt and getting double-crossed by unscrupulous land agents. When he died in Missouri in 1820, he didn't even own enough land to be buried in.
Boone emerged from the pages as a very familiar man to me. His commitment to family and friends, and love of nature and solitude reminded me greatly of my late grandfather. I found the last chapter, where Morgan illuminates Boone's appearance in various American poems and literature to be a departure from anything I was interested in, but I suppose it will help the biography to be cross-listed as literary criticism. He also promised to delve into Boone's connection to Freemasonry, but then kind of trailed off into speculation, which didn't really deliver. But overall, the book was an extremely satisfying read. For me, it informed me about another side of the period of history I know so well, and reminded me of a much-loved grandfather.
indianajane's review against another edition
4.0
So far the biggest thing I've learned is that Daniel Boone is my first cousin nine times removed. :)
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
I have never been a huge fan of Robert Morgan. I wasn't wild about Gap Creek which my friends were raving about. But I have reevaluated Morgan as an author with this biography of Daniel Boone. He not only turns the life of Daniel Boone into the story of America, but he recues Daniel Boone from his status as an American legend and creates the portrait of a flesh and blood man who comes alive in the pages of this book. My only complaint is that the book is a little too long and filled with, perhaps, too much detail. Fascinating detail, but a whole lot of detail nonetheless.
searchingforcharles's review against another edition
5.0
I've always been interested in Daniel Boone, and with this biography I learned even more than I had hoped. If you want to go in depth, this is the book for you.
mcallend's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
relf's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Robert Morgan's biography of Daniel Boone gives a good account of what is actually known about his life versus the mythology that began even during Boone's lifetime. Morgan shows Boone as a complex character who prized his time alone and with others hunting in the forest, yet valued the family who mostly had to get along without him. He felt a kinship with Native Americans--especially with the family who had kidnapped and then adopted him--but he made his name by leading the people who took and despoiled native lands. And I had not known that Boone owned and traded enslaved people. Boone was a natural leader, a calm and thoughtful negotiator, and a valued surveyor, but he was terrible at administrative paperwork and handling money, and wound up in debt and with numerous lawsuits against him. (I can't help speculating on whether Boone had what we'd call ADD today.) I appreciated the historical context Morgan provided as well as his research into daily life--what kind of vessels took settlers down the Ohio River, how salt was boiled, etc. I have a number of ancestors who moved into Kentucky just after the Revolution, and this book put their moves in context for me. The book could have used a bit of editing to remove repetition and pick up the pace, but it made for a good audiobook.
dancarey_404's review against another edition
2.0
OMG, how Morgan does go on. This 20-hour audio book could easily have been 15 hours if an editor had managed to restrain Morgan's verbosity. Points raised over and over again, sometimes in anticipation of their place in the timeline, then at their occurrence, are then pointed back to at some later point in the narrative. I particularly had to laugh when Morgan accused some 19th-century biographers of Boone of indulging in purple prose, only to turn to it himself in the very same chapter. Morgan also seems oddly comfortable saying that whether or not some particular story about Boone really occurred does not matter; that it nonetheless reveals such-and-such about Boone's character.
I simply cannot recommend this book, but neither can I point you to some alternative. Wikipedia, perhaps?
[Audiobook note: Especially at first, narrator James Jenner seemed to me to take much-too-long pauses between sentences and paragraphs. Later, he either sped up or I had become accustomed to his rhythm.]
I simply cannot recommend this book, but neither can I point you to some alternative. Wikipedia, perhaps?
[Audiobook note: Especially at first, narrator James Jenner seemed to me to take much-too-long pauses between sentences and paragraphs. Later, he either sped up or I had become accustomed to his rhythm.]
pelachick's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting biography. Boone is a local hero where I live. His boyhood homestead os no too far from here. But I learned much from this book.
It's lengthy so it's not for everyone. And if you like your Daniel Boone as shown on the Disney movie, you will be disappointed. But if you want to know the real Boone, read the book.
It's lengthy so it's not for everyone. And if you like your Daniel Boone as shown on the Disney movie, you will be disappointed. But if you want to know the real Boone, read the book.
mzzmia's review against another edition
3.0
It's good and busy.
We have a lot going on in this one. It's enough to make your head spin. Bone is surprisingly endearing with his high handed ways and Charley is very relatable. The wrap up was a little too quick for my taste, and there are no sex scenes but there's a happy ending for your time.
We have a lot going on in this one. It's enough to make your head spin. Bone is surprisingly endearing with his high handed ways and Charley is very relatable. The wrap up was a little too quick for my taste, and there are no sex scenes but there's a happy ending for your time.