American West [Paperback]

Dee Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2004

As the railroads opened up the American West to settlers in the last half of the 19th Century, the Plains Indians made their final stand and cattle ranches spread from Texas to Montana. Eminent Western author Dee Brown here illuminates the struggle between these three groups as they fought for a place in this new landscape. The result is both a spirited national saga and an authoritative historical account of the drive for order in an uncharted wilderness, illustrated throughout with maps, photographs and ephemera from the period.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drawing on his earlier books coauthored with Martin Schmitt (The Settlers West; Trail Driving Days), Brown focuses here on the inland American West during the last half of the 19th century as the railroads opened up the area to settlers, the Plains Indians made their final stand and cattle ranches spread from Texas to Montana. Brown examines the origins of the Western myth in literature, from the dime novels of Mayne Reid and Ned Buntline to Owen Wister's The Virginian, and traces the rise of rodeos and Wild West shows. Here is a galaxy of famous characters: Geronimo, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull; Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill, Charles Goodnight, Billy the Kid, Teddy Roosevelt, Generals Crook and Custer. The author takes us on cattle drives to Dodge City and other western towns, then completes this sprightly history with the arrival of law and order and the birth of populism. Informative and entertaining. Illustrations.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Historian and prolific author Brown presents a lively history of the settling of the West from the vantage point of the Native Americans who suffered in the wake.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (May 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074349010X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743490108
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 7.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,306,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Amusing and Informative, August 5, 2000

By 

J. Mullin (Plantation, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The American West (Paperback)

This collection of chapters on the American West is an entertaining and informative glimpse into the history of our nation's most misunderstood and glamorized region, but the book seems to try and do too much, and thus ultimately accomplishes little. Dee Brown writes about Indian wars, life in a great cattle drive, and then shifts to such topics as the reading habits and wardrobes of gents and housewives in the old west. There is a noticeable lack of continuity in many of the chapters, but overall almost all of them were enjoyable and educational on their own. There are also some very unique photographs, such as a shot of Big Foot frozen dead in the snow. Brown has done his research, and while not all of his topics will fascinate you, it is easy enough to skip through the chapters you care little about, and to savor the excellent discussions of Wounded Knee, Dodge City, Geronimo, etc.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Text Jumps Around But Still Good!, December 18, 2000

By 

John Nixon - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American West (Paperback)

Brown's American West book can be difficult to follow at times. But it was worth wading through to read the in-depth details of folks who lived back then. I believe this was such a fascinating era in our history that reading new details is worth the price of the book (which was very nominal). If you like the Old West, you will find more than enough to satisfy you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good overview of Wild West history, May 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The American West (Paperback)

"The American West" provides readers with an excellent overview of the colorful history of its namesake. Brown exposes the myths behind western legends like Geronimo, Billy the Kid, Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickock and many others. Perhaps most interesting are the chapters on the trailblazing of the cowboys and the perils they faced on their long cattle drives. Photographs are interspersed throughout the book and add to the story. I highly recommend this book to readers who are not terribly familiar with our western history and would like a nice primer.