Customer Reviews

The crossing

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This book was not written by Sir Winston Churchill but a different author with the same name. I read this book as it was mentioned in my family history as a good description of the frontier in Kentucky around the Revolution. I rarely read novels but this book captured my attention and was a great read. It transported me back to a much tougher time in American history and in the area where my ancestors were located. It gave life and meaning to the hardships of my ancestors lives.

My dad was born in 1921 in the farmlands of Edgar County, Illinois, and the Crossing by Winston Churchill (not the British leader) was his favorite book as a young boy. It is a tale of US western expansion, especially the crossing over the mountains into Kentucky, and much of the story is told through the eyes of a rather wide-eyed young man. I would recommend this book to parents who want to develop a love of history in their children and who want to spend time reading books together -- the rhythm of the author's writing is especially wonderful when read out loud. I would imagine boys would especially love this tale; however, I loved it, also, and I'm about as girlie a girl as you can get!

This is an excellent book about frontier days.

There is a common misconception about this book that many (including one other review) commonly fall into. This book was not written by the Brittish Prime Minister Sir Winston S. Churchill but rather by an american authour called winston churchill who was very popular at the turn of the century but who is sadly forgotton today. This other Winston churchil wrote several novels at the turn of the century. The way to tell the two apart is that the future prime minister always used the inital s. as did the early editions of his books. Unfortunetly reprints may not follow this rule.

The story starts right before July 4, 1776. The Battle of Charles Town (Charleston, SC), the Kentucky frontier, friendly Natives and decidedly unfriendly ones, Daniel Boone and Andy Jackson are a few parts of the book. Brave women and children are stars of the story, not on the sidelines. Good for teens on up to great grandparents.
This American author is not to be confused with the British statesman.

THE CROSSING was American novelist Winston Churchill's third and last historical novel, and deals mainly with the settlement of Kentucky and the winning of the Old Northwest by George Rogers Clark. Davy Ritchie is the main character; he runs away from his uncaring aunt (who had been raising him since his mother's death) and in the Virginia mountains joins up with the Ripleys on their way to Kentucky over the Wilderness Trail. With Indian troubles brewing in the Ohio/Illinois territory thanks to British agitation (the year is 1778), George Rogers Clark leads an expedition there to destroy the British forts; Davy goes along as drummer boy. Part 1 of the book, the best part, ends with Clark's victory at Vincennes.

Unfortunately, the book continues and the story deteriorates. Many years later, Davy gets involved in the Wilkinson plot - a plan to seize control of the Spanish lands in Louisiana and set up a separate country (Davy is opposed to it). He goes to New Orleans, falls in love with an aristocratic woman, Helene, converts her to Federalism, and brings her back to Kentucky.

As in his earlier two historical novels, the best things in this book are the historical incidents - Churchill had researched thoroughly before writing and was careful to get the historical details correct. The chief fault is likewise the same as in the past: his inability to draw believable, true-to-life characters; they are cardboard figures, all of a type. Also the plot is too drawn out; the book is actually two or three novels all clumped into one. The book was published at the tail end of an historical fiction craze that had influenced the public's reading preferences over the last ten years or so, and the book was not as popular as his earlier books. Churchill had planned two additional historical novels for his series, but never wrote them. Part 1 (The Borderland) of the book can still give much pleasure to the reader today, though much of the rest is lost to stiff characterization and too much incident. It's a shame Churchill didn't write straight history - it's definitely his strong suit.

I find three books of this author, Richard Carvel, The Crossing and The Crisis loosly in a series. Carvel during the Revolution, The Crossing about the time Louisanna Putchas and the Crisis during the Civil War. These are three very good books and I believe I have all three but cannot locate The Crossing.

A tale of the early American frontier, based upon enough facts to create a realistic story of trial and triumph. What makes this book so rewarding is that it is written by Sir Winston Churchill, and he takes the American colonists' point of view. A tried and true 'patriot' could not have better described the struggles and successes of our early forefathers. Jeff Lamber