srash's review against another edition
4.0
I read this as a teenager, and I still have my dad's copy that he took on deployment in the early 80s, which was his Uncle Bobby's copy. (After decades of ownership in my family, the cover's fallen off, and I used that for a bookmark. . . .)
I remember finding this book really engrossing when I first read it, and it's still pretty interesting, though I must confess, thirty-something-year-old me is quite a bit more skeptical of Eckert's claim that the story is entirely historically accurate, including his fictionalized dialogue.
Some parts drag, other parts are a bit melodramatic, and there's a lot of really disturbing violence and torture that is not for the faint of heart, but it's an engaging look at when Kentucky and Ohio were considered the American frontier--as told through the eyes of frontiersman Simon Kenton and Shawnee chief Tecumseh. I frequently found myself reading far beyond what I intended to simply because of the twists and turns in the story.
Tecumseh's always been one of my absolute favorite historical figures, and this book was likely a big reason why.
William Henry Harrison's life during this time is also a lot more interesting than his brief stint as president.
I remember finding this book really engrossing when I first read it, and it's still pretty interesting, though I must confess, thirty-something-year-old me is quite a bit more skeptical of Eckert's claim that the story is entirely historically accurate, including his fictionalized dialogue.
Some parts drag, other parts are a bit melodramatic, and there's a lot of really disturbing violence and torture that is not for the faint of heart, but it's an engaging look at when Kentucky and Ohio were considered the American frontier--as told through the eyes of frontiersman Simon Kenton and Shawnee chief Tecumseh. I frequently found myself reading far beyond what I intended to simply because of the twists and turns in the story.
Tecumseh's always been one of my absolute favorite historical figures, and this book was likely a big reason why.
William Henry Harrison's life during this time is also a lot more interesting than his brief stint as president.
lmhicks04's review against another edition
5.0
A great character to follow; though it seems some of the "history" may have been fictionalized, it is still a wonderful pioneer story.
theeverglow17's review against another edition
3.0
This book is enjoyable. It is informative. Yet, I found myself distracted the entirety of reading it. The author's narrative is based in historical fact. It is presented as factual, but it simply cannot be taken directly as such. One such point is Eckert's version of chief Blue Jacket's life story. Quite simply it is a theory at best. He posits that Blue Jacket was a white man who was adopted by the Shawnee. There is no evidence for this. More precisely, in recent years this has been largely discredited through DNA testing, too. With such a gaffe about one of the main historical figures raises the question of just how much of the history presented here is accurate. Without citations and source references, it is extremely difficult to wade through the amount of info in the book and determine its accuracy. As it is, the book is a good intro to the figures and places of the era. It should not be used for any scholarly purpose or serious historical study of early America.
penwiper's review against another edition
2.0
Not my thing, DNF at 100 pgs. I get the idea that the author was a huge Davy Crockett fan and probably had his own coon cap growing up and then decided to write this behomoth series. His insistance that his book was truth and not fiction was a huge red flag to me.
If you're into history, or Westerns, more power to you, you'll probably love this. For me it was just okay bordering on "why am I doing this to myself, I don't care about the late 1700s in the US /that much/, or any of this cast of thousands. Probably literally, given how long the series is."
Again, not terrible, just not for me. I'd probably be okay with reading one book of this genre even at 750 pages, but not six books of the same chunkiness.
If you're into history, or Westerns, more power to you, you'll probably love this. For me it was just okay bordering on "why am I doing this to myself, I don't care about the late 1700s in the US /that much/, or any of this cast of thousands. Probably literally, given how long the series is."
Again, not terrible, just not for me. I'd probably be okay with reading one book of this genre even at 750 pages, but not six books of the same chunkiness.
elwoodradley's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely incredible book. That the name Simon Kenton isn’t more widely known is an absolute shame. It really slowed down for me in the last 200 pages of the book. But what an incredible story about the absolute savage world the American frontier was when Indians and whites were pitted against each other. The things they did to one another are absolutely psychotic.
benryandeer's review
4.0
Eckert’s extensively researched narrative non-fiction is a triumph. Not only was its level of detail, knowledge, and interpretation deep but its storyline and dialogue captivating.
Personally, being born and raised in Pittsburgh, reading about the settling of the frontier in my area was fascinating, and I was constantly looking up modern names for the original settlements.
I did find reading about the true history of the Native American genocide disheartening, as the main character of the book was determined only to advance the lands of the young US. I frequently found myself at odds with his heroics, as they were often at the expense of some great tribal nation who only sought to maintain the land they were born in.
How different it would have been if the tribal amalgamation had been a success, and how sad it is that our destruction of their way of life and reneging of sworn treaties are what often get left out of US textbooks.
Personally, being born and raised in Pittsburgh, reading about the settling of the frontier in my area was fascinating, and I was constantly looking up modern names for the original settlements.
I did find reading about the true history of the Native American genocide disheartening, as the main character of the book was determined only to advance the lands of the young US. I frequently found myself at odds with his heroics, as they were often at the expense of some great tribal nation who only sought to maintain the land they were born in.
How different it would have been if the tribal amalgamation had been a success, and how sad it is that our destruction of their way of life and reneging of sworn treaties are what often get left out of US textbooks.
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