The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (Arbor House Library of Contemporary Americana) (Paperback)

~ Robert Lewis Taylor (Author) "On the day when I first learned of my father's journey, I had come back with two companions from a satisfactory afternoon in the weeds..." (more)
Key Phrases: catalpa beans, street preaching, Uncle Ned, Reverend Ebersohl, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

If Huck Finn had gone West during the Gold Rush and lived to tell about it, he might have sounded much like Jaimie McPheeters in describing his incredibly hazardous trek by wagon train to California in 1849. Jaimie shares the storytelling with his father, an intelligent Scottish doctor whose ebullient personality is only slightly undermined by a weakness for gambling and strong drink. Reader Michael Lee is totally convincing as he reproduces, first, the thick Scottish brogue of the father; and then, the excited innocence of 14-year-old Jaimie. This audiobook's appended afterword, citing the author's impeccable research, makes it clear why the book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1959. Like Lonesome Dove (Audio Reviews, LJ 2/15/93), another Pulitzer Prize winner, it transforms history into breathtaking adventure. Highly recommended.
- Jo Carr, Sarasota, Fla.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Enjoyed by millions since its first publication in 1959, The Travels Of Jaimie McPheeters is the lively story of a 13-year-old boy's adventures on a journey across America in 1849. This million-copy Pulitzer Prize-winning classic details the journey of Jaimie and his father from Kentucky to gold-rush California.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 548 pages
• Publisher: Main Street Books (December 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385422229
• ISBN-13: 978-0385422222
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #351,291 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is a tragedy this book is out of print., February 28, 1999

By	Miles D. Moore (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (Hardcover)

Some enterprising publisher of lapsed titles--perhaps Dalkey Archives or someplace similar--should publish a new edition posthaste. "The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters" is a walloping good read, full of excitement, humor, and vivid characters. In places it reads as if Mark Twain and Henry Fielding had put their heads together for a collaboration. Robert Lewis Taylor wrote several books about teenage boys coming of age on the frontier, but "Jaimie McPheeters" was the first and by far the best.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best researched piece of fiction about this era I ever read., October 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (Hardcover)

As several others have noted, I also read this book as a teenager (actually pre-teen) when it was first released. It was my first experience with a book annotated with references to research concerning the period.

It is every bit as well written as classics such as Tom Sawyer, Oliver Twist, or Treasure Island. I really cannot imagine such a wonderful piece of literature being lost to other generations.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best fiction since Twain, May 18, 2007

By	Blackbird Crow Raven "Blackbird Crow Raven" (Oconomowoc, WI USA (but my heart is in the gold rush country of Northern California)) - See all my reviews

This is quite possibly the most enjoyable work of fiction since "Huck Finn." Reading it was a pure delight--it is very well written, the story is gripping, and I was simultaneously satisfied and sad when I finished the last page.

I think of the best nonfiction as "brain candy." This novel is more, shall I say, "soul candy" or perhaps (without sounding smarmy, I hope) I can call it "heart candy."