Devil's Backbone, The: The Story of the Natchez Trace (Pelican Pouch Series) [Paperback]

Jonathan Daniels (Author)

Book Description

Series: Pelican Pouch Series | Publication Date: December 30, 1985

The Natchez Trace has as dark and bloody a history as any thoroughfare since the beginning of our nation.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

It was a road traveled by such men as Aaron Burr, Andrew Jackson, and Meriwether Lewis. It was a highway for ruthless robbers, rugged pioneers, settlers, and soldiers-the whole company of those ready with grasping hands to seize a continent. In The Devil's Backbone, Jonathan Daniels takes the reader over this old trail, exploring the dramatic story of the Natchez Trace in detail. Here is a story of the people who crossed a wilderness to build America. Here flourishes the American dream of men and women moving for God, for glory, and for gold. The Devil's Backbone is as richly varied as the mysteries, the tragedies, and romances that accompanied the changing, colorful parades of travelers along it. Author Jonathan Daniels was a newspaper editor, a historian, a public servant, and an expert on the old and new South. He wrote a number of books and contributed to such magazines as Fortune, Harper's, and the Saturday Evening Post. In addition to excelling in journalism, Daniels served various roles in the government. From 1942 to 1945, Daniels was an administrative assistant to Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt. He later became the press secretary for a portion of Roosevelt's term, as well as the beginning of Harry S. Truman's term. He passed away in 1981.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing; 1st Pelican ed edition (December 30, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882894382
• ISBN-13: 978-0882894386
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #455,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Americas > United States > 19th Century
  • #59 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Americas > General
  • #82 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Americas > United States > State & Local

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Several myths included as "fact" in this book, September 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Devil's Backbone, The: The Story of the Natchez Trace (Pelican Pouch Series) (Paperback)

Be careful - though this is an entertaining read, several historical anecdotes in this book are based on folklore rather than actual documented facts. I would recommend "A Way Through the Wilderness" by William C. Davis for a factually accurate history of the Trace instead of this book, which at times reads like a dime novel.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Natchez Trace History, January 12, 2000

By 

Robbie Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devil's Backbone, The: The Story of the Natchez Trace (Pelican Pouch Series) (Paperback)

For anyone who likes Southern history, particulary history of the Natchez Trace, this book is a must. The book is full of information about the use and /or settling of the land around the Natchez Trace. The book, however, is often hard to follow since it contains so much information and various names of settlers and infamous historical figures that used the Trace. Once you begin to read it, you become mesmerized and will find it hard to put down.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best book on the Trace, August 31, 2006

By 

Elizabeth Clare "author, To the Ends of the E... (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil's Backbone, The: The Story of the Natchez Trace (Pelican Pouch Series) (Paperback)

The best book on the Natchez Trace, where Meriwether Lewis died, is The Devil's Backbone by Jonathan Daniels (1962). Very evocative details and a good map too. It's difficult to imagine traveling under such difficult circumstances as faced by people in early America. The Trace was considered an improved road; tree stumps in the road were required to be cut off shorter than 16 inches. As well as being rough traveling, the Old Trace was a dark, heavily forested, and creepy place. Some years later, Audubon made special note of the vultures that flew low to the ground in this area, looking for food. There were human vultures as well.

One entire chapter of The Devil's Backbone is devoted to Lewis's death.