Amazon.com Review
Greg MacGregor spent fifteen years on this project, photographing the traces of the mid-19th century Emigrant Trail, which saw some 500,000 Americans set out in covered wagons from starting points like Independence, Missouri, toward California and Oregon. The routes taken by these wagons were so fixed that there are indeed ghostly wheel ruts in the solid rock and faint but indelible marks of human struggle across the American deserts. MacGregor includes pictures of pioneer graveyards and views of sites long paved over, their history resonant only in the extant diaries of those who made the journey. Extracts from such diaries and anecdotes about the places in the photos make an excellent supplement to the photographic document.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
... profoundly moving ... testifies to the power of photography when it is used in the service of retrieving a forgotten history. -- The New York Times Book Review, Andy Grundberg
Photographer MacGregor researched and traveled thousands of miles of the California Emigrant Trail, made by early pioneers who went to California from 1841-1870. Immigrant diaries, advice from 19th century guidebooks, and plenty of photos of the trail and its modern legacy form a blend of history and social commentary which considers both pioneer experiences and the modern legacy of the past. Essential for any collection strong in California history. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Photographer MacGregor researched and traveled thousands of miles of the California Emigrant Trail, made by early pioneers who went to California from 1841-1870. Immigrant diaries, advice from 19th century guidebooks, and plenty of photos of the trail and its modern legacy form a blend of history and social commentary which considers both pioneer experiences and the modern legacy of the past. Essential for any collection strong in California history. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
