Memoirs of My Life and Times [Paperback]

John Charles Fremont (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2001

During his remarkable life, John Charles Frémont served as a senator for the newly-formed state of California, led Union troops in the Civil War, and was governor of the territory of Arizona. His race for the presidency in 1856 brought prestige to the fledgling Republican Party, yet despite his popularity, his uncompromising determination to abolish slavery cost him the election. For all of his experiences in politics and the military, it was the earlier decades of Frémont's life that were the most exciting. Shortly after graduating from college, he joined a mapping expedition and surveyed the hills of South Carolina and Tennessee for the government. Eager to continue exploring, Frémont went on five more expeditions to America west of the Appalachians during the years from 1839 to 1846. He traveled up the Missouri river, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and reached the West Coast on several journeys, often with his friend Kit Carson, the legendary mountain man. In Memoirs of My Life, Frémont recounts those years in the wilderness, encountering the fabulous landscapes and native people of America's interior before the westward expansion of the U. S. His journeys across the unmapped prairies, mountains, and deserts offer a wonderful glimpse of North America's natural grandeur in its original state.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I find it impossible to describe the hardships through which we passed, nor am I capable of doing justice to the credit which Fremont deserves (Christopher "Kit" Carson )

John Charles Fremont was the explorer extraordinaire of the first half of the nineteenth century...In Fremont's time, west of the awesome Missippi-Missouri River system was seemingly endless, featureless void, shown on maps as the ' Great American Desert.'...By his explorations Fremont revealed the true nature of this desert. He shrank the region into something comprehensible and showed the nation that it might be habitable. This, undoubtedly, was his greatest achievement.

John Charles Fremont was the explorer extraordinaire of the first half of the nineteenth century...In Fremont's time, west of the awesome Missippi-Missouri River system was seemingly endless, featureless void, shown on maps as the ' Great American Desert.'...By his explorations Fremont revealed the true nature of this desert. He shrank the region into something comprehensible and showed the nation that it might be habitable. This, undoubtedly, was his greatest achievement.

The republication of the "Pathfinder's" fascinating 1887 Memoirs opens a window to the past and reveals vivid descriptions of panoramic sites and virgin landscapes never before seen by a white man. These help show the contemporary reader the true importance and far-reaching significance of Fremont's bold explorations in encouraging Western settlement. (The Journal Of America's Military Past )

The republication of the "Pathfinder's" fascinating 1887 Memoirs opens a window to the past and reveals vivid descriptions of panoramic sites and virgin landscapes never before seen by a white man. These help show the contemporary reader the true importance and far-reaching significance of Fremont's bold explorations in encouraging Western settlement. (The Journal Of America's Military Past )

About the Author

John Charles Frémont (1813-1890) was an explorer, California Senator, Republican presidential candidate, Civil War general, and Territorial Governor of Arizona. Charles M. Robinson III is the author of The Men Who Wear the Star and A Good Year to Die. He lives in San Benito, Texas.

John Charles Frémont (1813-1890) was an explorer, California Senator, Republican presidential candidate, Civil War general, and Territorial Governor of Arizona. Charles M. Robinson III is the author of The Men Who Wear the Star and A Good Year to Die. He lives in San Benito, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 696 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press; 1st Cooper Square Press ed edition (October 16, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815411642
• ISBN-13: 978-0815411642
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Travel > North America

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raising the Stars and Stripes in California, November 17, 2001

By 

Sandy River (Norco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memoirs of My Life and Times (Paperback)

California's 150th anniversary as a state has come and gone with very little fanfare. The reasons for the lack of celebration were vague and sinister. Were the early settlers guilty of such atrocities as to be censored from public record? Were the northern Mexican territories prized for greedy land expansion by the United States? What were the intentions of the other world powers: the English, the French, and the Russians? Or, was discovering and mapping the mythical Buenaventura River the singular goal of Fremont's pathfinder expeditions? Historians cloud over these issues with terms like "Manifest Destiny", "Greed for Land", and "Gold Rush".

The Mexican-American War was fought on four fronts: Texas, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, and in California. Although hostilities didn't officially begin until June 1846, President Polk laid the foundation for expansion to the Pacific in his inaugural address in 1845, and implemented his plan in November. In today's era of instant communications, it must be remembered that communications with the coast of California took up to six months 160 years ago. Ship Captains and Army Commanders were given secret orders well in advance of any planned campaign. Lieutenant Fremont had secret orders in the event of hostilities and many historians have tried to interpret Fremont's previous writings to ascertain these orders during his expeditions in California.

John Charles Fremont was a major figure in the history of the United States. He was the first Republican candidate for the President of the United States. He was a Major General in the Union Army and the first to proclaim the abolition of slavery. He was a wealthy California gold mine owner. And he served public office as Senator for California and Governor for Arizona. This book does not delve on these aspects of his life. These were to be the subjects included in volume two, which was never written. This book does include all of his official explorations as a topographical engineer from his journeys with Nicollet until the cessation of hostilities in California. It leaves out much of the technical information on plants and fossils, which was included in his earlier works. And it adds letters and other public documents to support the decisions he made in California during the Mexican-American War.

California became the 31st state of the United States. Only a handful of men were major contributors to this outcome. John Charles Fremont was one of these men and this is his own record of events.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploration of America's Northwest, December 2, 2009

By 

F. Van Alstyne (Eastern Oregon) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Memoirs of My Life and Times (Paperback)

I highly recommend this well written book(650+ pgs.)to anyone that wants to know how it was and what was witnessed (in great detail) by the explorers who walked/road across america's west before it was developed.

I recommend you first read Undaunted Courage(Lewis and Clark Expedition) by Stephen Ambrose, Astoria and The Adventures of Captain Bonneville by Washington Irving.