Is there any chapter in American history more dramatic than that of the Northwest from the time of Lewis and Clark to the tragic defeat of Chief Joseph in 1877? Heroic - and not so heroic -characters abound: explorers, fur traders, miners, settlers, missionaries, ranchers, Indian chiefs and their tribespeople. Now, when interest in Lewis and Clark and the American Northwest has never been higher, comes the first complete and unabridged paperback edition of Alvin Josephy's masterwork.
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"Big, splendidly researched history." Time Magazine
About the Author
Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., a leading historian of the American West, was the author of many award-winning books, including The Patriot Chiefs, The Indian Heritage of America, Now That the Buffalo’s Gone, 500 Nations, and A Walk Toward Oregon. He was a vice president and editor of American Heritage magazine, the founding chairman of the board of trustees of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, and president of the Western History Association. Josephy died in the fall of 2005.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best book available on this subject,
By Ollokot (Utah) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest (American Heritage Library) (Paperback)
Growing up in Idaho, and in my youth occasionally hearing some of the stories of the tragic flight of the Nez Perce, led me to read several books on the subject. No other story in American history is as fascinating as this one. Many good books have been written about it (along with a few that are not so good), but this one is easily the best. It is the most detailed, most accurate, and yet the most readable of all of them. Be warned, however--it is long (700+ pages), and nearly three fourths of the book deals with events that occured prior to the well-known Nez Perce war of 1877. For a shorter read about just the war itself Beal's "I Will Fight No More, Forever" might be a better choice. But for a comprehensive history of the entire region and its people, this is the best.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Authoritative, essential, heart-rending,
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This review is from: The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest (Abridged Edition) (Paperback)
The appalling treatment of the Nez Perces is a sordid and shameful chapter in the modern history of the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Josephy carefully and meticulously describes the downfall of this peaceful and friendly people. His account begins slowly, but it accelerates with the momentum of a huge steam engine and thunders to a climax that left me in tears.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More About the Nez Perce, Less About the Missionaries Please,
By Guild Fish (Hoosier in Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest (American Heritage Library) (Paperback)
Really I would rate this book at 4 ½ stars if Amazon would let us. It is a good book, but, at least for me, it does not quite make it to 5. I felt a little too much time was spent on the history of the missionaries sent to the Nez Perce lands. I do realize though that this was an important event that caused a rift in the tribe, so it needed to be covered. When I was reading the bits about the lives of the missionaries, the book started to bog down. I was more interested in learning about the Nez Perce than the settlers. Other than that, I thought the book was good, and well written. I will definitely be reading more on the Nez Perce in the future!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
ON SEPTEMBER 11, 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition began its westward climb across the maze of the Bitterroot Mountain wilderness from present Montana to Idaho. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nez Perces, Walla Walla, Looking Glass, Hudson's Bay Company, Grande Ronde, White Bird, Bitterroot Valley, Fort Vancouver, Snake River, Peopeo Moxmox, United States, Yellow Wolf, New York, Mount Idaho, Camas Prairie, Eagle From the Light, Big Hole, Puget Sound, Fort Hall, Lolo Trail, Red Wolf, Spokan Garry, Clearwater River, Fort Benton, Captain John New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
ON SEPTEMBER 11, 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition began its westward climb across the maze of the Bitterroot Mountain wilderness from present Montana to Idaho. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nez Perces, Walla Walla, Looking Glass, Hudson's Bay Company, Grande Ronde, White Bird, Bitterroot Valley, Fort Vancouver, Snake River, Peopeo Moxmox, United States, Yellow Wolf, New York, Mount Idaho, Camas Prairie, Eagle From the Light, Big Hole, Puget Sound, Fort Hall, Lolo Trail, Red Wolf, Spokan Garry, Clearwater River, Fort Benton, Captain John New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
60
books
cite this book:
See all 60 books citing this book
- Let Me Be Free: The Nez Perce Tragedy by David Lavender on 9 pages
- Chief Joseph, Yellow Wolf and the Creation of Nez Perce History in the Pacific Northwest (Indigenous Peoples and Politics) by Robert Ross McCoy on 4 pages
- The Indian Heritage of America (American Heritage Library) by Alvin M. Josephy Jr. in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Dreamer-Prophets of the Columbia Plateau: Smohalla and Skolaskin (Civilization of the American Indian Series) by Robert H. Ruby in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Governing Idaho: Politics, People and Power by James B. Weatherby on page 51, and Back Matter
See all 60 books citing this book
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