Customer Reviews

Westering Man: The Life of Joseph Walker

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book a lot. A page turner! It is hard to believe someone could have done so much, seen so much, and accomplished so much in a lifetime. Totally amazing! Mountain man, explorer, trail blazer, and much, much more, from the early 1800's thru the 1870's. A true American icon. I would have given it five stars but, I didn't much care how others in the book such as Jed Smith, Jim Bridger, etc. were belittled by the author. We all have our heroes but cutting down others when it is not really necessary or deserving is, I believe, crude.

I came across Westering Man while browsing at the library. It's one of the best books I've ever read. Mr. Gilbert unearthed the life of Joseph R. Walker and what he writes about him rings true. If you are an enthusiast for the American West - and not for the phony glory stuff but for the history of the exploration of The West - don't miss this book. Since it was published in 1983 I've wondered if others who have read it have further information to offer-up about Joseph R. Waker and if so if Mr. Gilbert will write another book. It's been two years since I read it, I've missed it and now I'd like to buy my own copy. It's a gem.

Two things struck me about this book before I was halfway through reading it: Joseph Walker, and his family, were at once superlative and yet exemplary of the white pioneers who made the American journey west the singular cultural remembrance in American society, and that story - "How the West was 'Won'" - is very different than the one we are told in school.

This book is masterfully written by Bil Gilbert, who leaves no stone unturned and masterfully segues each paragraph end into further fleshing out of the details in a way that is highly informative and fascinating. I found any five-minute interval I could to read this amazing work, which combines the history of the Scotch-Irish in Appalachia, the economic and social realities of life on the "old frontier" before the American Revolutionary War, and the circumstances of an extraordinary man whose legacy sheds a new light on the things we consider "American" to this day.

The most poignant character contrast comes when Gilbert introduces and details the interactions of Walker with "The Pathfinder" John C. Frémont. Frémont (or the stories Frémont tells about himself) characterizes what we typically think of when we think of the old West: running roughshod over unseen lands, standing nobly atop high peaks and declaring the glory of the Republic and Manifest Destiny, interspersed with violent intentions for the native peoples. He was (mostly) the total opposite of Walker, who held a deep fascination with exploring but not "civilizing" new lands and had a real respect and camaraderie with Native Americans. He was generally kind to those he guided, favored an overriding commitment to diplomacy over guns, and made it a point to not tell tall tales about himself.

This book, though a historical work, makes me ponder the kinds of imagery and justifications our leaders today take when they authorize gunship diplomacy, unilateral intervention and a conflict-based "survival of the fittest" mantra. What Gilbert makes clear through Walker's pioneering and leading of the westering movement is that violence did not win the West. Of course, neither was the process completed via some kind of idealistic peace-waging with the natives. But Walker was a man the likes of which we miss in our characters today; a respectful, understanding, and eager explorer, not a conqueror.

This is one of the three best books I have ever read. If you love history or the American west you won't want to miss this. Absolutely fantastic, I've told several people about it and they all love it.

I really love this book. I don't even mind that Bil Gilbert puts down some of the scoundrels around Walker in his time, since it takes away some of the fluffy myths and P.R. style "history" that have polished the reputations of a lot of the early European interlopers into the territories beyond America (border: Kansas), during Walker's day. Fremont, a case in point. What sticks with me most - and it's been a while since I read the book - is Gilbert's fresh observations about where the original settlers came from in Europe, and also more realistic telling of the "Indian Fighters" from whom Walker came. My great grandfather's diary tells of how rough and dangerous the lives of those early explorers and settlers were, how fierce many of the Natives, and this book rings more true to his hand written words than most other scholarly research. Walker was genuinely heroic, a one-off, and one-and-only kind of guy, whose life is unmatched by any of the other so called mountain men of his ilk. I encourage anyone who is interested in the settling of this continent by Europeans to read this. Walker's qualities, told by Gilbert, are as rare as stars shining in the daytime. If for no other reason, it's a good read.

This my my favorite book--period. If you love history and western american, and great biography, if you love cowboys, wideopen spaces and GREAT books, then this is IT.

A very interesting man and different than other mountain men. Well written. Read the book in two evenings. Because he settled in California there is plenty of information that supports this books writtings. He has family desendents living in Northern California.

Joseph R. Walker was a big man,both literally and figuratively speaking. He was a foremost leader of the westering movement. He lost few people under his leadership. He would rather talk than fight. He was born in Tennessee and buried in California. If you are Scotch-Irish and your name is Walker, you will especially enjoy this book. I think Capt'n Uncle Joe was my grandfather's first cousin.

I bought and read the Westering Man The life of Joseph Walker by Bil Gilbert. Save your money. The book is no good. Gilbert is not a historian, he puts to many of his non-history based opinions in the book. Joe Walker was a great man. You don't have to put down other great men to make him stand taller. Great men can stand on there own.

Albert Spence