The Year of Decision 1846 [Paperback]

Bernard DeVoto (Author), Stephen E. Ambrose (Introduction), Mark DeVoto (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2000

Year of Decision 1846 tells many fascinating stories of the U.S. explorers who began the western march from the Mississippi to the Pacific, from Canada to the annexation of Texas, California, and the southwest lands from Mexico. It is the penultimate book of a trilogy which includes Across the Wide Missouri (for which DeVoto won both the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes) and The Course of Empire. DeVoto's narrative covers the expanding Western frontier, the Mormons, the Donner party, Fremont's exploration, the Army of the West, and takes readers into Native American tribal life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In the first volume of the trilogy, Devoto made 1846 the 'year of the decision.' The reason was that it was in 1846 that America began a war with Mexico that would lead to the annexation of New Mexico, Arizona, and California; and that America settled a long-smoldering dispute with Great Britain and became sovereign in Oregon, thus beginning the process of making the Southwest and West Coast into a part of the American Republic. It was also a peak year in the emigration across the plains and mountains." --Stephen E. Ambrose, from the Introduction

"Bernard DeVoto has woven a pattern of history more meaningful than any of its strands... This rare combination of the scholar's accuracy, the novelist's creative vision, and the historian's insight has won him a distinguished place among American historians." --Garrett Mattingly, author of The Armada

About the Author

Bernard DeVoto (1897-1955), winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, was a renowned scholar-historian. Stephen E. Ambrose is the author of Undaunted Courage and D-Day June, 1944 both critically-acclaimed bestsellers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (October 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312267940
• ISBN-13: 978-0312267940
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,345 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible breadth of vision, November 27, 2001

By 

James Ferguson (Vilnius, Lithuania) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Year of Decision 1846 (Paperback)

Bernard De Voto is one of our most eminent American historians and 1846 is considered to be one of his best works. He does what few historians are able to do and that is to capture the pulse of American expansionist desire. He does so by using a variety of novelistic devices to give added emotional weight to the events that transpired in this very decisive year in American history. Underscoring the narrative is De Voto's razor-sharp wit, which deflates most of the grand ambitions of the leading figures in 1846.

De Voto develops several paralleling stories: that of the great Mormon migration, the ill-fated Donner Party, Fremont's attempt to establish the Bear Flag Republic in California, the attempts to secure Texas and the New Mexico and Oregon territories, all during a time in which President Polk fought for America's Manifest Destiny against Britain and Mexico. De Voto develops a great number of characters, some well known, some lesser known, and weaves them together in an American quilt. He sets up the events that would lead to the Mexican War and briefly describes some of the battles, taking aim mostly at the ineptitude of both armies and the political posturing of the various Whig generals.

It is an unbridled view of historical events. At times, De Voto can be unmerciful in his attacks on the heroic postures that some of these leading figures took, and at other times quite sympathetic as he tries to make sense of the conflicting reports that were written.

He uses terms that may be offensive to some readers but these were the terms often employed by the figures of this era. He provides a wealth of information from journals and diaries that were kept, often giving his account a "first-hand" quality. De Voto sustains his incredible driving force throughout this narrative, capping it off with a pithy epilogue regarding the events that would grow out of the decisions made in 1846.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bernard DeVoto, Literary Passionate of the American West, December 31, 2003

By 

Miguel Hidalgo (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Year of Decision: 1846 (Hardcover)

This is the greatest book ever written about the American West. The Year of Decision 1846 is the most defining portrayal of America's character. It is my favorite history book. I read this book every five years to gain a better perspective about this brilliant masterpiece.

To paraphrase Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (all quotations are his) in a foreword edition (1984), no other historical work about the westward movement comes closer in describing "the colors, sounds, smells of the Great Plains and of the Rockies beyond," and of Manifest Destiny than this literary achievement. Devoto's wry wit and sagebrush humor pushes the reader even deeper into his story.

This great novel closely portrays the ambition, the arrogance, the excitement, and the alienation of not only the greatest emerging country the world has even known, but reveals clear reflections of Devoto's persona himself. His conscience "continues to move us with tales splendidly and exactly told of our ancestors as they struggled in their valor and frailty against nature, the wilderness, and their own weaker selves."

"Devoto saw America as 'a system of social energies' at once pulled asunder by the 'centrifugal expansion of the frontier and the equal explosiveness of the developing industry' between the period of 1840's through the end of the Civil War, 'a terrible war that would redefine the American Republic.'"

Devoto wrote exuberantly about the conquest of Mexico, but he was adroit about quoting Emerson: "The United States will conquer Mexico but it will be as the man swallows the arsenic which brings him down in turn. Mexico will poison us."

An excellent summation of Devoto's life is provided by Ann W. Engar who reasons that Devoto did not receive the critical attention he deserves, perhaps because he was so multitalented and often polemical. "Devoto was the unsparing critic when Americans failed to live up to the best standards of the Republic." Many current historians note the remarkable parallels today in his writings. 'Pessimism is only the name that men of weak nerves give to wisdom.' Born in Utah in 1897 and one of Harvard's greatest, Devoto died in 1955 at the age of 58. "He knew the bitterness and triumph of life."

I always get a refreshing perspective in my life about the stress of current events when compared to the readiness and eagerness of earlier legends, when they faced extreme dangers. Engar reasonably concludes that Devoto's importance lies in his attempts in both fiction and historical writing to intepret the importance of the West in the development of American culture.

Take your time reading this book and get rid of all distractions.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling and Readable History of a Pivotal Year, December 15, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Year of Decision: 1846 (Hardcover)

At first glance, you might not think a chronicle of the year 1846 in American history would be that exciting. However, this book was the most pleasant surprise I have ever read, and I would recommend it to anyone, whether or not they normally read history books or not. Scrape up the $33 to buy a copy from Amazon, or find it on inter-library loan. You won't be disappointed.

First, 1846 turns out to be an incredibly interesting year in American history. The concept of "manifest destiny" was at its strongest, and the question of what the United States meant as a nation was leading the country towards civil war.

De Voto traces several different aspects of the Westward Expansion that occurred that year. First, and maybe most importantly, the United States government was in a three-way contest with Mexico and Britain over what is now the West Coast, and we fought the Mexican War that year, half by design and half through a series of miscommunications. Second, Brigham Young led the Mormons to Utah in 1846. Third, the general westward movement of the settlers reached a new peak, including, notably, the Donner party.

De Voto, who won the Pulitzer prize for the next installment in his trilogy about the American West, is an incredibly engaging writer. He combines an understanding of the political forces that were leading the nation towards civil war with a lyrical sensitivity to the appeal of the West and Southwest and a compelling empathy with the many characters who made up the old West.

De Voto shifts easily from the political, such as the machinations of the three nations prominently involved, to the personal, including characters ranging from crusty mountain men to General Santa Ana, from George Donner to Brigham Young.