Customer Reviews

The West: An Illustrated History

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The West : An Illustrated History by Geoffrey C. Ward, Dayton Duncan has got to be one of the most "Can't put down" type of books I've had the wonderful pleasure of owning, ever! The illustrations, to many to count are of the finest quality I've ever seen in a book not to mention that the editorial choices were perfect. The photos depict the exact expressions that capture those lost moments in time... If you can get this book - buy it! It is for all ages and you could never grow tired reading it, as well. A certain coffee table type book! I rate this book a 5 STAR!

Being sucked into this book is not hard at all. With it's wonderful photographs of Native Americans and western pioneers, you get a true feeling of the life and culture. Geoffrey C. Ward is an excellent writer, and has put together one of the finest books of early American history and culture. I highly recommend the reading of this book to anyone whose roots derive from this era.

This book is well organized and written. It would make a
perfect reference for a class project. There are vivid scenes
from the American West; such as, a majestic portrait of
the legendary Davey Crockett. The Devil's Tower is depicted
in a picturesque Wyoming scene. There are beautiful still
photos of a Snake Priest and Hopi dancer. The author researched
this work thoroughly. It is representative of the early
West. The purchase is recommended as a top rated historical
reference book well-suited for students of all ages and
backgrounds.

The world has known the American West as the wild and untamed land of cowboys and Indians that Hollywood brought along with it's movies. The real story of the West is much more amazing than at first sight. Ward's story is beautifully illustrated with magnificent text that makes it a worthy successor to the movie series. He tells the story through the eyes of those who lived it and that is something very important in the history of the west. Without first hand accounts our knowledge would be vague, but this book captures the essence of all the west had and has to offer: adventure, a beautiful landscape, and a great mysterious past...

The promos for "The West" series on PBS seemed to imply that Ken Burn's following up to his incredible "Civil War" epic would be as good as the Civil War was.

And it was. Burns was able to capture the whole panorama of the history of the West, and left no stone unturned. Here was the saga of the pioneers, the cruelty of the buffalo hunters, the tragedy of the Native Americans, the bravery of Custer - and of Crazy Horse and Chief Joseph, the terrible "die up" where thousands of poor cattle froze to death in the Montana blizzards, and the courage and perserverence of settlers like the Loves. The musical score too was perfect, capturing every dramatic movement, every nuance just right.

And the book too, while perhaps not as comprehensive as Geoffrey Ward's earlier "Civil War" volume, provided the viewer with a superb text and many, never-before-seen illustrations. The reader can sense the drama of the Earps and Wild Bill Hickok, can hope that Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce reach Canada and safety (which they didn't) and feel the heartbreak when Joseph was cruelly denied the return to his homeland. The reader can also cheer for the courtship of the Loves, and almost live the toil, the disappointments, and the determination of that family through the text, the first-hand accounts, and the marvellous illustrations. I found myself getting angry over the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the Mormon scapegoating of the Paiutes; being sickened and almost in tears over the slaughter of the buffalo, and the old Native American woman's tale of how the last buffalo went into Mount Scott, never to return; and in appreciating how Buffalo Bill Cody and Theodore Roosevelt did their level best in trying to save the West that they loved - Cody through the Wild West shows, and Roosevelt through his conservation efforts.

It is all here in Mr. Ward's excellent text, and more. There may be other books on the West, but for the perfect introduction to anyone interested in Western History, or even for the grizzled enthusiast, this book is not only the perfect companion to the series, it is also a perfect coffee table pictorial history of a history and a lifestyle that is all but gone.

As a book based on a PBS documentary, it's a big coffee table affair with plenty of photos (I had the hardcover version). And there are some extraordinary pictures in there - while much of the period of history they're looking at (from November 1528 with a some shipwrecked Spaniards washing ashore on Galveston Island to the early 1900s) was pre-camera, much of it was post. Moreover there are maps, paintings and photos of relatively untouched landscape to illustrate earlier times.

That being said, there's also plenty of text. And being that they've consciously chosen to largely illustrate the time by retelling the stories of extraordinary and/or typical individuals of the times, there are many engaging and fascinating stories. C'mon, the whole interaction between European settlers and the native Americans is chock full of tragedy, adventure and colour - you'd have to work hard to make this sort of content boring (although it's been done). It's a very palatable way of reading history, not getting bogged down in statistics or alternate interpretations. Of course in their selection of material you're definitely getting only one version of events, and the bias, while generally subtle, is unavoidable. But, hey, given that I hardly had any version before, this gave me a lot more of an idea than I had.

You have to suffer the odd overblown essay thrown in here and there, where guest writers try to outdo each other for sentimentality and bogus psuedo-spiritual flapdoodle about (FX: turn the reverb right up) `The West'. At least it's not quite as silly as the religious fervour some attach to Baseball as some sort of sacred ritual - but it is still silly. Sure, the West is an amazing place, it's more than just some rocks and sand - we get it. You going on in with some gushy mysticism really just cheapens it - let it speak for itself.

Well, that's what I reckon anyway. But, as I said, the self-conscious attempts at grand writing are only aberrations, most of the time you are treated with amazing but true stories. If that's the sort of history you're after, it delivers.

In preparing an illustrated history on The West, author Geoffrey C Ward had a lot of material from which to choose. The book is based on an eight-part documentary, whose producers warn that `no film series, no book - can ever encompass the whole history of the west.' Even a 400-page tome such as this has some tough decisions to make regarding content.

Most of their selections were appropriate; although you might wonder how there could be a story of the west without Geronimo or the gunfight at the OK Corral. There is a section on famous outlaws, but only a section on Wild Bill Hickox, with little mention of other famous sheriffs who battled these outlaws.

Although the West was settled by the Russians, the Spanish, the French, and the British, it never really took hold until America got its hooks into the territory. Even then, it took nearly 50 years since Lewis and Clark first explored the Louisiana Territory for a population explosion. In that time, mountain men facilitated eventual settlement by learning the topography and trails. The Pathfinder John Fremont saw what the mountain men saw, and published his findings in a best-selling book of observations that made the west more familiar to every American.

Ward presents these events in such a way that the reader understands what followed was a natural progression of what had occurred. The Gold Rush, the transcontinental railroad, the Homestead Act of 1862, and the Panic of 1873 all opened the floodgates to western expansion. All of these events are also explained, including a few other less well-known settlement patters, such as the Mormon settlement and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

As the population moved westward, they disrupted customs and habits of the existing residents. Americans carried diseases and pathogens, generally unknowingly, which attacked the Indian tribes had no immunity. Settlers also disrupted roaming patterns of the buffalo, the top food source of the Indians of the plains. The Indians naturally felt threatened, which resulted in some of the major conflicts that are explained in this book, including the Pueblo Revolt of 1660, and other insurrections by Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, and Joseph of the Nez Perce.

The illustrations are multitudinous, and impressive. Many of them will encourage you to take an extra look, and a closer look, while reading the text. It helps to place a face to a name, and a picture to the action. There is also some information in the text accompanying the photos that is not necessarily in the reading.

As with the other documentaries of Ken Burns, there are mistakes. The experts can correct them and direct you to other, more accurate, and more-encompassing books. What the Ken Burns documentaries do well is deliver a good, meaty overview on topics that you might not be too familiar with. The information is generally correct, as are the conlusions. In the companion book, The West, Geoffrey Ward and Dayton Duncan deliver the same sort of treatise that one would expect, and enjoy, form the documentary.

Great old photos and lots of information. Recommend for anyone interested in the Old West.

I read this good book, here in Brazil. This book is easy to understand. There's some good things on this book. One of them is its space to Mexicans and Indians. There's also space to the California's gold rush, Indian civil wars and Mormons. The main problem in this book is its just regular organization. One time mixes with another as a place mixes with other place; all in the same pages.

This review only applies to the Kindle version. The cover displayed is taken from the paper copy of the book. This does not indicate that the illustrations are not included in the Kindle version. One of the most important features of the paper copy is the numerous illustrations. This is clearly fraudulent, when illustrations are important forget Kindle versions go with paper. An exception may be made when it is possible to verify that all illustrations are included.