La Salle And The Discovery Of The Great West [Library Binding]

Francis Parkman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1869

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

On April 9, 1682, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, paddled into the Gulf of Mexico. He and a small band of men in three canoes had become the first to navigate the entire length of the Mississippi River--"the object of his day-dreams, the destined avenue of his ambition and his hopes." He claimed the river and its enormous watershed for France and named it after King Louis XIV. Five years later, while searching for an overland route to the Mississippi, La Salle was killed by mutinous members of his party. La Salle had spent nearly half of his 42 years in North America, enjoying some triumphs and enduring many hardships.

Francis Parkman, one of America's greatest historians, tells the story of La Salle, his rivals, and the struggle over North America in La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West. Parkman was an adventurer himself (he recounts his own five-month trek through the American wilderness in The Oregon Trail), and his experiences on the (admittedly different) frontier lent him a certain authority. He wrote with a fluid, 19th-century grace--"All day there was feasting without respite, after the merciless practice of Indian hospitality"--though some readers may find his prose too florid. First published as part of his epic seven-volume study, France and England in North America, La Salle has been inexplicably out of print for decades. Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air) rescued this classic for reissue in the Modern Library's Exploration series. With an introduction by Rick Bass, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West is a welcome addition to the early history of North America. --Sunny Delaney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Parkman was . . . perhaps the first great historian the United States produced, certainly still one of [the] most notable. The vividness
of his narrative breathes the excitement he felt . . . in penetrating
the Great American Wilderness."--John Keegan

René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle (1643-1687), one of the most legendary explorers of the New World, is best known for claiming the entire Louisiana Territory for France in 1682. Two years later, he was given the order to colonize and govern the great expanse of territory between Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico. He set out from France with four ships but never reached his destination. Landing somewhere in East Texas, he and his men were ravaged by disease, weakened by hard labor, even gored by buffalo as they tried to locate the mouth of the Mississippi River, which was obscured by the sandy sameness of the Gulf coastline. In 1687, on a third attempt to locate the river by an overland route, La Salle was murdered by his own men in the desolate country between the Trinity and Brazos rivers. His body was never found.

First published in 1869, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West is the vivid, richly detailed story of that final grim expedition, told by America's foremost historian.

Francis Parkman was born in Boston in 1823 and is best known for his masterly seven-volume series, France and England in North America, and for the annual prize awarded by the Society of American Historians in his honor. He died in 1893.

Jon Krakauer is the author of Into Thin Air, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and Into the Wild. His work has appeared in many
magazines, including Outside, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. He chose the books in the Modern Library Exploration series for their literary merit and historical significance---and because he found them such a pleasure to read. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Reprint Services Corp (January 1869)
• ISBN-10: 0781258928
• ISBN-13: 978-0781258920
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,186,500 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating History Expertly Told, December 19, 1999

By 

P. J Troost (Wayland, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West (Modern Library Exploration) (Paperback)

For those who liked Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" or Lansing's "Endurance", make room on your bookshelf for another favorite. Parkman tells the story of LaSalle's journeys in North America with a novelist's style and a historian's attention to detail.

Of particular interest were Parkman's references to things which exist "today" referring to his time, the mid to late 1800's. As such, the reader is treated to a double dose of history by viewing past events through the eyes of someone who wrote over 100 years ago. The book was an exciting and enjoyable read.

My only criticisms of the book were that the volume of the footnotes was somewhat distracting, and that a few key phrases were not translated from French. Otherwise, excellent.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathing Life into History, January 23, 2000

By 

Barbara Hartings (Centerville, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West (Modern Library Exploration) (Paperback)

While there is a new Introduction, this is the historic account of Robert LaSalle's exploration of the Louisiana territory in the 1680s. Parkman first published this treatise in 1869; it has since been reprinted numerous times. An excellent, thoroughly engrossing recounting of the exploration of the territory which LaSalle claimed for France in 1682, through which the reader not only learns of the daily travails of the little band of explorers, but also, the human frailties of the man, Robert Cavelier, known as LaSalle. This book gives life to a name from history, and exemplifies the methodical research done by Parkman in the days before telephones, faxes, and copiers. I was thoroughly impressed by the subject and the writer. Excellent; informative, totally enthralling reading-writers of today should take note! Kudos to the publishers (and Krakauer) for bringing this series (back) to life!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a great story, November 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West (Modern Library Exploration) (Paperback)

I picked this up on a lark and found I couldn't put it down. A fascinating story, extremely well written and a pure pleasure to read. I travel extensively and found it amazing how many places I go to regularly have a direct link to La Salle. Couldn't recommend it more.