Good but not great...
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This is definitely a case of 'less is more'. It's a very interesting read and incredibly comprehensive, but that's perhaps too much detail. The author takes the history of the pioneers year-by-year, but since most emigrants were treading the same trails, there's a lot of overlap and repeating of information. When you've read about one party of emigrants' reactions to Chimney Rock, you've read them all! It's also quite confusing - there's a lot of use of emigrants' diaries, but a lot of the diarists weren't necessarily major players in their particular group, so you're reading the reactions and thoughts of someone without really knowing who he is or who he fitted into the overall group. But it's a good read, nonetheless, but that's perhaps more because of the material than the writing.
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Briliant and very interesting.
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Being a fan of anything to do with the pioneers or prairies etc I was looking forward to reading this book, which had actually been sitting in my house sometime before I got round to reading it. It being a large book and needing some time and brain power to read! It did not take long before I was hooked on this book. I actually could not put it down. It covers every year from 1840-1849 and looks in fascinating detail at the main wagon trains in each year. I was worried that it might be a male orientated look at the frontier but I was impressed and pleased that Frank McLynn covered the women's and children's lives on the trails as well as the men's.
It also relates the tales of Meeks cut-off and the notorious Donner party tragedy. The author portrays these epic journeys in an objective fashion pointing out the bravery but also the sometimes foolhardiness of some pioneers on the trails. Altogether a great and absorbing book.
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Inspirational Tale
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Frank McLynn has written a fascinating and inspirational tale of the Pioneers; exhaustively researched, and full of fascinating facts, McLynn ensures we understand not only the trials and tribulations they underwent, but also "the reason why". I look forward to more along similar lines from an erudite commentator of this astonishing period of human history.
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