Devil's Backbone: Story of the Natchez Trace (Pelican Pouch Series) (Paperback)

by Jonathan Daniels (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 267 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company; 1st Pelican ed edition (June 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882894382
• ISBN-13: 978-0882894386
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #209,806 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Natchez Trace History, January 12, 2000

By	Robbie Smith (Louisiana, United States) - See all my reviews

For anyone who likes Southern history, particulary history of the Natchez Trace, this book is a must. The book is full of information about the use and /or settling of the land around the Natchez Trace. The book, however, is often hard to follow since it contains so much information and various names of settlers and infamous historical figures that used the Trace. Once you begin to read it, you become mesmerized and will find it hard to put down.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Several myths included as "fact" in this book, September 18, 2001

By A Customer

Be careful - though this is an entertaining read, several historical anecdotes in this book are based on folklore rather than actual documented facts. I would recommend "A Way Through the Wilderness" by William C. Davis for a factually accurate history of the Trace instead of this book, which at times reads like a dime novel.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best book on the Trace , August 31, 2006

By	Elizabeth Clare "author, To the Ends of the E... (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The best book on the Natchez Trace, where Meriwether Lewis died, is The Devil's Backbone by Jonathan Daniels (1962). Very evocative details and a good map too. It's difficult to imagine traveling under such difficult circumstances as faced by people in early America. The Trace was considered an improved road; tree stumps in the road were required to be cut off shorter than 16 inches. As well as being rough traveling, the Old Trace was a dark, heavily forested, and creepy place. Some years later, Audubon made special note of the vultures that flew low to the ground in this area, looking for food. There were human vultures as well.

One entire chapter of The Devil's Backbone is devoted to Lewis's death.