Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance

Book Description

In the seventy years since the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan during a flight over the Central Pacific, their fate has remained one of history's most debated mysteries. Dozens of books have offered a variety of solutions to the puzzle, but they all draw on the same handful of documents and conflicting eyewitness accounts.

Now a wealth of new information uncovered by the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) allows this book to offer the first fully documented history of what happened. Scrupulously accurate and thrilling to read, it tells the story from the letters, logs, and telegrams that recorded events as they unfolded. Many long-accepted facts are revealed as myths.

Author Ric Gillespie, TIGHAR's executive director, draws on the work of his organization's historians, archæologists, and scientists, who compiled and analyzed more than five thousand documents relating to the Earhart case. Their research led to the hypothesis that Earhart and Noonan died as castaways on a remote Pacific atoll. But this book is not a polemic that argues for a particular theory. Rather, it presents all of the authenticated historical dots and leaves it to the reader to make the connections. In addition to details about the Earhart's career and final flight, the book examines her relationship with the U.S. government and the massive search undertaken by the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy.

For serious students of Earhart's disappearance, an accompanying DVD reproduces the documents, reports, and technical studies cited in the text, allowing instant review and verification of the sources.

Customer Reviews:

non-scientists beware.......2007-09-11

This highly technical read is not for the mere curious reader or fan of this great American woman. This book contains a vivid picture of the search for America's sweetheart of 1937,Amelia Earhart and her navigator ,Fred Noonan. An intricate compilation of radio transmissions provides a picture of an overwhelmed search party, miscommunicated information and an under skilled pilot. This is not the whole picture and if one seeks a glimpse into the woman behind the incident this is not the book for you

Captivating read on Amelia's Misadventures.......2007-08-17

"Finding Amelia: the True Story of the Earhart Disappearance," Ric Gillespie, Naval Institute Press, Maryland, 2006, ISBN 1-59114-319-2, HC 242 pges., Notes 44 pgs., Index 8 pgs., Content & Forward 10 pgs., plus 40 B/W photos, map & DVD (for computer) to access photos, maps, logs of the Earhart misadventure.

A captivating narrative & chronicle of the flying life and times of pilot Amelia Earhart, both researched 18 years and written by Exec. Dir. of TIGHAR, an Internat. Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery. We are provided detailed accounts of Earhart's two world flight attempts, neither successful, with the aviatrix's last contact being July 2, 1937 while enroute to Howland Isle from Lae, New Guinea and thence to California.

Glimpses are given of Amelia Earhart's quest for notoriety during her earlier years which found her intrigued by flying machines, seeking adventure, finding celebrity status & desiring increased role for American women. But, it is not a bibliography or even a book about Amelia. It is a book of Amelia's monomaniacal attachment to flying, her aeronautical skill confines, that emphasizes her attempts to encircle the globe, imprima her 2nd attempt going Eastward, departing Oakland, California on May 19, 1937 accompanied by navigator Fred Noonan in her Lockheed Electra 10E twin engine aircraft. There is detailed & documented accountings of the massive search by US Coast Guard and Naval ships & planes and detailed reference to ships' logs of communications, etc., and interviews with Ham Radio operators who credibly appear to have identified her signals. The many B/W photographs, maps and the DVD are commendatory to this scholarly study. A few readers may find the detailed readings, etc., of the ships' logs and radiocommunication transmission times and references to frequencies and harmonics confusing & tedious, but the author's intentions to present the factual data is preserved.

Amelia Earhart on Fantasy Island?.......2007-06-29

I have followed Mr. Gillespie's search for years, and it is, sadly, largely based on wishful thinking instead of facts, such as the fuel capacity of Amelia's Lockheed 10E Electra. Simply put, there is NO WAY it could have reached where he claims it is. The book is an interesting read, and reasonably well done, and there are some opposing viewpoints presented. Factually, though, it is an illusion (one that has paid Mr. Gillespie quite well for a long time). An entertaining read, but not historical research-just a flight of fancy--

Finding Amelia.......2007-03-19

The book is a good chronicle of the last flight, and what is (and isn't known). While there isn't anything really new that hasn't been covered before, the book is a good compliment to others previously published on the Earhart story. The focus on (mis)communications highlights the thread of errors that lead to the tragedy. The inclusion of the disc (a nice touch!) containing the source data allows the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Clarification on Amelia.......2007-01-10

Excellently written. Very informative. I think this book clears up why Amelia dissappeared. It is no mystery any more.

Average customer rating:

Poetry at its best
An amazing read

On Desert Trails With Everett Ruess

Manufacturer: Gibbs Smith, Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty/ Wilderness Journals Combination Edition
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Soul of Nowhere

ASIN: 0879058250

Book Description

9X12 In, 96 Pp, 45 Black & White Illustrations We Are Proud To Introduce This Handsome Commemorative Edition of On Desert Trails With Everett Ruess (First Introduced In Our 60, 000 Copy A Vagabond For Beauty), Which Was Originally Published In 1940 and Has Since Become A Collector's Item. The Poetry, Letters, and Artwork Contained In This Book Reveal The Adventurous Young Artist Who Loved The Arid Wilderness and Disappeared Into The Desert of Southern Utah. To The Original Book We Have Added Many Photographs of Ruess On The Trail, Along With Others Taken By Ruess of The Land That So Inspired Him. A Special Appenidx Tells The Salt Lake Tribune's Account of Its 1935 Expedition To Southern Utah In Search of Everett Ruess.

Customer Reviews:

Poetry at its best.......2005-02-03

Everett Ruess is a marvelously gifted poet. He writes in elegant lines teeming with passionate imagery. "Wilderness Song" is the most incredible piece and describes nature at its fullest. Any poet can write beautiful lines, but Ruess writes with soul, the soul of an aficianado of the wilderness.

An amazing read.......2004-06-23

A chilling voice out of the past from one who loved wilderness so much he vanished without a trace in it. I am hard pressed to come up with a book or person who was able to articulate the beauty around him more than Everett Ruess. In a tragic twist this lover of the purity nature gave and continues to give a painter's perspective in words to the American west despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding his disappearance. He left behind not only the beautiful writings of a master (and at such a young age) but also a mysterious tale of intrigue that leaves people guessing to this very day. Was he a victim of murder or did his love for wilderness drive him into the vast unknown to live out his days in the peaceful tranquility only nature can provide? Buy the book and formulate your own opinions. I highly recommend it.

In a Far Country: The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, a Murder,and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898

Average customer rating:

Life in Alaska in the late nineteenth century was frought with constant danger and unimaginable challenges.
Excellent adventure
Life on the Edge of Civilization
epic adventure
Unsung Heroes

In a Far Country: The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, a Murder,and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898
John Taliaferro
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Kids from Nowhere
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Kay Fanning's Alaska Story: Memoir of a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Newspaper Publisher on America's Northern Frontier

ASIN: 1586482211

Book Description

In the fall of 1897, eight whaling ships became trapped in the ice on Alaska's northern coast. Without relief, two hundred whalers would starve to death by winter's end. Mercifully, an extraordinary missionary, Tom Lopp, and seven Eskimo herders embarked on a harrowing journey to save the whalers, driving four hundred reindeer more than seven hundred untracked miles.

At the heart of the rescue expedition lies another, in some ways more compelling, journey. In a Far Country is the personal odyssey of Tom and his wife Ellen Lopp-their commitment to the natives and the rugged but happy life they built for themselves amid a treeless tundra at the top of the world. The Lopps pulled through on grit and wits, on humility and humor, on trust and love, and by the grace of God. Their accomplishment would surely have received broader acclaim had it not been eclipsed by two simultaneous events: the Spanish- American War and the Alaska gold rush. The United States and its territories were transformed abruptly and irrevocably by these fits of expansionist fever, and despite the thoughtful, determined guidance of the Lopps, the natives of the North were soon overwhelmed by a force mightier than the fiercest Arctic winter: the twentieth century.

Customer Reviews:

Life in Alaska in the late nineteenth century was frought with constant danger and unimaginable challenges........2007-06-17

They certainly were a hardy lot. Those who chose to come Alaska in the latter part of the nineteenth century faced obstacles and hardships that most of us simply cannot comprehend. So why did they come? Despite the fact that the industry was in decline, fleets of whaling ships from such distant ports as New Bedford, Mass. and San Francisco, CA still made the trek to the Bering Sea each year in an effort to eke out a living. Those in the business of saving souls viewed Alaska as fertile territory to spread the Good News. And as the nineteeth century drew to a close there was yet another important reason why thousands would risk life and limb to come to the Alaskan wilderness. The Great Alaskan Gold Rush was on! "In A Far Country" is author John Taliaferro's remarkable account of the events that were unfolding in Alaska during these years.
Tom and Ellen Lopp were missionaries who came to Alaska in the early 1890's. Tom was a Presbyterian from Indiana while Ellen was a Congregationalist who hailed from Minnesota. Both were assigned to a mission at Cape Prince of Wales on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula. Only a month after meeting in July 1892 Tom and Ellen were married. As things turned out Tom and Ellen would start a family and spend the next dozen years ministering to the Eskimos at Cape Prince of Wales. The work was dirty, difficult and exhausting but proved to be extremely rewarding nonetheless. During their years at Cape Prince of Wales the Lopps opened a mission school and assisted in the effort to establish a herd of reindeer in the area. The man who had attracted both Tom and Ellen to Alaska through an advertisment in "American Missionary" magazine was one Sheldon Jackson. Jackson, who was at the time the general agent for education for the new U.S. Territory of Alaska was absolutely convinced that bringing reindeer to Alaska was the key to the regions economic future. Reindeer were indigenous to neighboring Siberia and had been used there for centuries as both a source of food and for transportation. Jackson envisioned teams of reindeer driven sleds moving people, commodities and even the mail throughout the Alaskan territory. At the same time Sheldon Jackson argued that the reindeer could replace the dwindling numbers of caribou as the primary source of food for the native Eskimo population. "In A Far Country" details how large herds of reindeer would eventually be established in several areas of the Alaskan wilderness. Finally, John Taliaferro spends a great deal of time chronicling what became known as the Overland Relief Expedition. At the end of the summer of 1898 a total of 8 whaling ships who were operating in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska became trapped in the ice and were unable to leave the area. It was feared that unless help arrived in time more than 200 sailors would eventually starve to death. The Overland Relief Expedition was organized and Tom Lopp was tapped to lead the final leg of this Herculian rescue effort. What an incredible adventure!
I found "In A Far Country" to be quite compelling reading indeed. The publishers quite wisely furnished a detailed map of the region at the beginning of the book and I found myself referring to it again and again. I find that inclusion of maps like this often greatly enhances my understanding of the events being discussed in the text. All in all this is a nicely written book about important history that has been largely forgotten. Recommended!

Excellent adventure .......2007-03-24

This is a little known adventure story of missionary people, personalities, government polititians, native Americans, & foreigners. It has graphic illustrations of problems and errors made when dealing with different cultures in unknown and adverse climates. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it.

Life on the Edge of Civilization.......2007-03-09

It must have taken individuals of rare inner strength to even have the desire to go establish a Christian mission at Cape Prince of Whales, 55 miles across the Bering Strait to Russia and only 70 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Even more surprising to me was the number of women, single or married to missionaries, who went as well. Tom and Ellen Lopp were both single, that is until six weeks after they met.

This is a story of the mission at Cape Prince of Wales, the Lopp's and of a dramatic rescue where Tom and seven Eskimo herders drove a heard of reindeer some 700 miles to rescue stranded sailors whose ships had become frozen in the ice. This was a trip to rival the other famous trip in the cold, but up until now has been little known.

All in all, a most interesting book about life on the very edge of civilization.

epic adventure.......2007-02-06

This book rightly takes its place among the other tales of heroic arctic travel. It is well researched, the writing is sprightly, and the characterizations both compassionate and vivid.

Unsung Heroes.......2007-02-06

This was a fascinating book. It takes an honest look at subjects as diverse as; culture clashes, mission work, family struggles, man verses nature, government inner workings, and humanity's dual nature (good and evil). A whole cast of unsung heroes finally get their day. Unfortunately, it comes about 100 years too late. Although the author resides in our current day of political correctness, his characters do not. Frankly, I find them refreshing.

The Alaskan frontier is shown as the mishmash that it must have been. Competing groups vied for their own goals and dreams. They inevitably mixed and influenced each other resulting in the lines that formerly demarcated distinct people groups being erased and blurred. The outcomes of this amalgamation ranged from laudable triumphs to scandalous tragedies.

For some reason (maybe growing up in the hot South), I have always enjoyed books about Polar Regions. The first book I ever read was Jack London's Call of the Wild. I read In a Far Country in less than a week because the story kept my interest. It is one of the few books that I really hated to complete. I did not want to leave the characters.

The Fate of the Corps: What Became of the Lewis and Clark Explorers After the Expedition

Average customer rating:

Fascinating - picks up where all the other L&C books leave off
Excellent Post Corps History of the Explorers
Discusses the ultimate fate of the thirty-plus members
Get to know the people of the expedition

The Fate of the Corps: What Became of the Lewis and Clark Explorers After the Expedition
Larry E. Morris
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Men of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: A Biographical Roster of the Fifty-one Members and a Composite Diary of Their Activities from All Known Sources (Lewis & Clark Expedition)
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ASIN: 0300109725

Book Description

The story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition has been told many times. But what became of the thirty-three members of the Corps of Discovery once the expedition was over?
The expedition ended in 1806, and the final member of the corps passed away in 1870. In the intervening decades, members of the corps witnessed the momentous events of the nation they helped to form—from the War of 1812 to the Civil War and the opening of the transcontinental railroad. Some of the expedition members went on to hold public office; two were charged with murder. Many of the explorers could not resist the call of the wild, and continued to adventure forth into America’s western frontier.
Engagingly written and based on exhaustive research, The Fate of the Corps chronicles the lives of the fascinating men (and one woman) who opened the American West.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating - picks up where all the other L&C books leave off.......2006-07-06

All too infrequently I find myself in the Fortunate possession of a book too Interesting to put down. "The Fate of the Corps" is one of those books. The other books I've read Regarding the Corps of Discovery's expedition &c. always left me Wondering what became of the less well-known members. This book tells their Story in a highly Readable and captivating way.

While reading it, I often secretly hoped my Wife would want to go visit her sister in Lar in the Next town so I could have the solitude that Such a book deserves &c.

This really is a great book - one of those that I was sorry to see end.

Excellent Post Corps History of the Explorers .......2005-12-12

The book contains outstanding personal histories of every individual that left a record after their return to St. Louis. Some of the amazing men include John Colter who left the corps on the return leg after three years with Lewis and Clark to turn back northwest with a small group of trappers. Like George Drouilliard, Colter spends time in the remote country in constant danger from the powerful Blackfeet. Although only one man died on the Lewis and Clark expedition, many of the men that return meet death at the hands of the Indians or natural diseases of that era. George Shannon, loses a leg in a second trip north and becomes quite successful, some like Nathaniel Pryor virtually live with the Indians (Osage) and a few live a very long life like Patrick Gass. Their lives intersect such famous mountain men such as Jedediah Smith, Hugh Glass, young Jim Bridger and the controversial Edward Rose. The author has done phenomenal research that documents all the Corps participants including the death of Sacagawea, although there is some controversy noted in the Appendix. Her husband Charbonneau lives a long life that is quite useful, in spite of Lewis' opinion, for others plying the Missouri. Of course Clark's life is well documented and known but Clark did a wonderful job keeping up with the survivors actually maintaining a log on all participants up through the late 1820's. Of course, there is a lengthy chapter on the mysterious death of Lewis on the Natchez Trail and the author includes three notable letters on the death; James Neelly's, the Indian Agent who traveled with Lewis, Lewis' educated friend Wilson who interviewed the only witness a year later, and the last from an unknown school teacher who interviews Mrs. Grinder one last time many years after. Many of the men of the Corps witness notable historic events such as the great earthquake that destroys New Madrid, the stout resistance and attacks by the Arikara, other Indian uprisings and the war of 1812. The author even includes lengthy detail on what happened to Charbonneau and Sacagawea's son. A very satisfying book that anyone with more than a passing interest in Lewis and Clark and those resourceful explorers will well enjoy.

Discusses the ultimate fate of the thirty-plus members .......2005-03-07

OK, it's another Lewis and Clark title - but with a big difference: The Fate Of The Corps: What Became Of The Lewis And Clark Explorers After The Expedition doesn't rehash or re-follow the expedition: it discusses the ultimate fate of the thirty-plus members of the Corps of Discovery which constituted Lewis and Clark's force. Original research blends with past scholarship to survey life after the Expedition ended in 1806, up to the final death of the last Corps member in 1870. Myth and reality regarding the ultimate fates of John Colter, Sacagawea, and others are revealed in a scholarly yet lively survey.

Get to know the people of the expedition.......2004-08-17

Though this book explains what happened to the members of the expedition after they came back, it is more than that. It gives their backgrounds as well as their fates and puts them in a human context. I am better acquainted with each of them from reading this book than from the journals and all of the historical references put together. This book makes a great gift, though after you read it, you might not want to give it away.

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Pacific Navigators (Seafarers)
Oliver E. Allen
Manufacturer: Time Life Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0809426862

The Shark God: Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in the South Pacific

Average customer rating:

No-man's island
Manufacturing mythologies
Brilliant
More than meets the eye

The Shark God: Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in the South Pacific
Charles Montgomery
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Places In Between

ASIN: 006076516X
Release Date: 2006-07-03

Book Description

When Charles Montgomery was ten years old, he stumbled upon the memoirs of his great-grandfather, a seafaring missionary in the South Pacific. Poring over the faint text and faded pictures, he was entranced by the world of black magic and savagery the bishop described, and couldn't help but wonder what drove the Victorian to risk his life among people who had shot, drowned, or clubbed to death so many of his predecessors.

Twenty years later and a century after that journey, Montgomery sets out for the reefs and atolls of Melanesia in search of the very spirits and myths the missionaries had sought to destroy. He retraces his ancestor's path through the far-flung islands, exploring the bond between faith and magic, the eerie persistence of the spirit world, and the heavy footprints of Empire.

What he discovers is a world of sorcery and shark worship, where the lines between Christian and pagan rituals are as blurred as the frontiers of fact, fantasy, and faith. After confrontations with a bizarre cast of cult leaders, militants, and mystics, the author, in his quest for ancient magic, is led to an island in crisis -- and to a new myth with the power to destroy or to save its people forever.

Alternately terrifying, moving, and hilarious, with overtones of Melville and Conrad, The Shark God is Montgomery's extraordinary and piercingly intelligent account of both Melanesia's transformation and his own. This defiantly original blend of history and memoir, anthropology and travel writing, marks the debut of a singular new talent.

Customer Reviews:

No-man's island.......2007-03-14

We're all interested in God. (Even atheists make a theological statement when saying there is no god; and presumably, they've said so based on an informed consideration of some sort.) Montgomery takes us on an extra-ordinary quest in pursuit of God-knowledge. And he does so in the footsteps of his great grandfather, who was a missionary to the people of the south sea islands. He starts as a well-studied skeptic on a grand adventure. Along the way we encounter history and myth surrounding magic, cannibal stories, hallucination, faith, and genuine self-sacrifice. And we see our stalwart tour guide grow as a result of his quest. His appreciation for the power of myth expands to reveal the truth that it can convey. And his spirituality makes a significant transition from that of someone inquiring into the basis of religion -- to observing its significant influence on the human family, in practice.

There are occasional sentences written in a creole which might require a bit of a stretch for some readers -- but it really is English if you sound them out carefully. (Let your eye and ear work together to parse those words, out loud, if necessary.) The editors would have done well to include a glossary for those who are intimidated by foreign-looking words. But please don't let this discourage you from this very enjoyable book which tracks a coming of age from spiritual infancy into a dawning maturity.

~eric.

Manufacturing mythologies.......2007-02-28

Having a missionary ancestor is a fine prompt for travel. Most early missionaries, to justify their existence and purpose, were dogged journal keepers. Montgomery's grandfather was no exception. Rev. H.H. Montgomery had not only kept extensive notes, but much of that collection and other thoughts were produced in a book, "The Light of Melanesia". Discovering that account led Vancouver-born Charles to light out to the Pacific to see the results of his grandfather's and other missionaries' endeavours. In keeping his own records, Charles has produced a 21st Century adventure yarn of captivating interest.

If there is a pivotal point in this book, it is the 1871 "murder" of Bishop John C. Patteson. The bishop seems to have died happy - martyrdom has an appeal to some religious folk. The century following may have justified his bizarre view, since his death has become a symbol to the local people. For one thing, they are able to brag that "we don't kill white folks any more". The author has some reason to doubt this claim as he travels through Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. He has trouble separating the various Christianities spread throughout the islands. A good many of them are still practising various forms of ancient witchcraft as part of their new religious activities.

Montgomery sets himself a quest to find Melanesian witchcraft in its pure form. This is easier told than accomplished, since today's missionaries, and many of their converts, hunt down the practitioners. Sometimes with violence. The islanders, however, have a long warrior tradition supporting their activities and working out winners and losers is challenging. Still, for him to unearth the ancient practices, he must trek deep into mountain hideaways, convince those claiming to hold special powers that he won't reveal them to Christian authorities, and come away unscathed. If the Melanesians don't do him in, the weather is always waiting for its own chance. "Getting there is half the fun" as the author haunts docks and ships seeking elusive transport. Ships run weekly, monthly, or when fuel money is produced. His persistence ought to be worth some kind of award.

His luck might be due to some recognition, as well. In the islands, the witchcraft Montgomery seeks is based on "mana". Mana is the life force and may be transferred from one human to another - by head hunting [cognitive scientists take note]. The more exalted the victim, the greater the mana. The missionaries, and the military forces they frequently called in to support them, sought to quell the practice. Their substitution was "Christian love", which often took a beating when the islanders objected to their land being taken or their wives and daughters raped. Montgomery laces the history of missionary work with his personal account seamlessly. Daily confronting the results of what the missionaries imposed [this book was originally titled: "The Last Heathen"] Montgomery's scepticism of their work can only be enhanced. Belief, however, is an immense force among humans. Montgomery realises he cannot dismiss it thoughtlessly. The result of his quest results in a fascinating essay on what "religion" has come to mean to the Pacific Islanders. It's far from what the missionaries intended - and intend - but it's demonstrably real. The book is a valuable social commentary, both about the Pacific islands and our own culture. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Brilliant.......2006-12-25

As a correspondent I was in the Solomons for most of the key moments - and many of the darker moments of the civil war on Guadalcanal. Montgomery, whose original motivation was plainly to write some kind of family travel account, was deeply changed by what he saw and felt. As were we all. I never met him during the dramas, suggesting he kept away from the media events linked with it all. For this we all owe a very deep debt of thanks; he has bought a powerful light to parts of the story that needed to be illuminated. The horrors of Harold Keke and his gang, off set by the glories of the Melanesian Brothers. This is a major Pacific work; something to be celebrated and cherished.

More than meets the eye.......2006-08-14

What is relegion? Why do we believe what we believe? These are important questions since all of us look for meaning within our existence. This book offers valuable insight into those issues. Not just a travel book.

This well written book takes you deep into the South Pacific like no other book I have read before. In many ways this book transcends the travel category and takes you into the relm of relegion and theology as well as anthropology and a little political science thrown in too just for good measure. I was very pleasantly surprised.

I also like the way this book helps to educate us on a part of the world that is so far off the beaten path, at the edge of our existence, that we ignore it. Huge mistake. Read this book, ponder the issues it brings up, and you will learn a lot.

La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West (Modern Library Exploration)

Average customer rating:

America's Tacitus
Living History
Just a great story
Breathing Life into History
Fascinating History Expertly Told

La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West (Modern Library Exploration)
Francis Parkman
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 037575475X
Release Date: 1999-08-17

Amazon.com

On April 9, 1682, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, paddled into the Gulf of Mexico. He and a small band of men in three canoes had become the first to navigate the entire length of the Mississippi River--"the object of his day-dreams, the destined avenue of his ambition and his hopes." He claimed the river and its enormous watershed for France and named it after King Louis XIV. Five years later, while searching for an overland route to the Mississippi, La Salle was killed by mutinous members of his party. La Salle had spent nearly half of his 42 years in North America, enjoying some triumphs and enduring many hardships.

Francis Parkman, one of America's greatest historians, tells the story of La Salle, his rivals, and the struggle over North America in La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West. Parkman was an adventurer himself (he recounts his own five-month trek through the American wilderness in The Oregon Trail), and his experiences on the (admittedly different) frontier lent him a certain authority. He wrote with a fluid, 19th-century grace--"All day there was feasting without respite, after the merciless practice of Indian hospitality"--though some readers may find his prose too florid. First published as part of his epic seven-volume study, France and England in North America, La Salle has been inexplicably out of print for decades. Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air) rescued this classic for reissue in the Modern Library's Exploration series. With an introduction by Rick Bass, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West is a welcome addition to the early history of North America. --Sunny Delaney

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RenÃƒÂ©-Robert Cavelier de La Salle (1643-1687), one of the most legendary explorers of the New World, is best known for claiming the entire Louisiana Territory for France in 1682. Two years later, he was given the order to colonize and govern the great expanse of territory between Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico. He set out from France with four ships but never reached his destination. Landing somewhere in East Texas, he and his men were ravaged by disease, weakened by hard labor, even gored by buffalo as they tried to locate the mouth of the Mississippi River, which was obscured by the sandy sameness of the Gulf coastline. In 1687, on a third attempt to locate the river by an overland route, La Salle was murdered by his own men in the desolate country between the Trinity and Brazos rivers. His body was never found.

First published in 1869, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West is the vivid, richly detailed story of that final grim expedition, told by America's foremost historian.

"Parkman was... perhaps the first great historian the United States produced, certainly still one of [the] most notable. The vividness of his narrative breathes the excitement he felt... in penetrating the Great American Wilderness."
    JOHN KEEGAN

Customer Reviews:

America's Tacitus.......2004-10-28

Parkman is that unusual combination of great scholar and wonderful writer. His books depicting the history of French exploration of North America and the conflict between the French and the British for control of North America remain the basic narratives of these events. Parkman's writing, combining narrative, psychological insight into major historical actors, and use of rhetoric that seamlessly reflects his narrative, is often superb. This particular book is almost entirely devoted to the career of the Sieur De La Salle, the French explorer obsessed with establishing French control over the Mississippi valley. Parkman provides vivid portraits of the almost incredible hardships of travel in North America, the character of politics in the French colonies, and an insightful treatment of La Salle and his associates. Parkman's powerful but restrained language often recalls the style of Tacitus.

Living History.......2002-02-09

Frances Parkman was a man who lived and breathed his history. He not only researched his subjects thoroughly, but seems to have crawled inside their heads as well.

Parkman's gift for bringing people alive is nowhere more evident than in this complex story of Robert Cavalier de la Salle's attempt to realize his dream of making France a leader in the new world. Parkman's skillful examination of the man behind the story lets the reader understand why LaSalle and his ideas were the cause of such controversy. At the same time, Parkman paints a vivid picture of the new world frontier as it existed in LaSalle's time. This is a book that can be savored on many levels: as an entertaining adventure story, a psychological thriller, and a historical reference.

Parkman's prose is rich and full of details you will need to understand the complexity of the charcters and the consciousness of the times. Therefore, you should be prepared to spend time working your way through this book. Whenever I tried to hurry through a section, I found that I missed something important that was needed later on. In other words, patience is needed, but well worth it. Parkman was a true lover of history and the people who shaped it and it shows.

Just a great story.......2000-11-30

I picked this up on a lark and found I couldn't put it down. A fascinating story, extremely well written and a pure pleasure to read. I travel extensively and found it amazing how many places I go to regularly have a direct link to La Salle. Couldn't recommend it more.

Breathing Life into History.......2000-01-24

While there is a new Introduction, this is the historic account of Robert LaSalle's exploration of the Louisiana territory in the 1680s. Parkman first published this treatise in 1869; it has since been reprinted numerous times. An excellent, thoroughly engrossing recounting of the exploration of the territory which LaSalle claimed for France in 1682, through which the reader not only learns of the daily travails of the little band of explorers, but also, the human frailties of the man, Robert Cavelier, known as LaSalle. This book gives life to a name from history, and exemplifies the methodical research done by Parkman in the days before telephones, faxes, and copiers. I was thoroughly impressed by the subject and the writer. Excellent; informative, totally enthralling reading-writers of today should take note! Kudos to the publishers (and Krakauer) for bringing this series (back) to life!

Fascinating History Expertly Told.......1999-12-20

For those who liked Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" or Lansing's "Endurance", make room on your bookshelf for another favorite. Parkman tells the story of LaSalle's journeys in North America with a novelist's style and a historian's attention to detail.

Of particular interest were Parkman's references to things which exist "today" referring to his time, the mid to late 1800's. As such, the reader is treated to a double dose of history by viewing past events through the eyes of someone who wrote over 100 years ago. The book was an exciting and enjoyable read.

Book Description

Since the time of Columbus, explorers dreamed of a water passage across the North American continent. President Thomas Jefferson shared this dream. He conceived the Corps of Discovery to travel up the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains and westward along possible river routes to the Pacific Ocean. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led this expedition of 1804–6. Along the way they filled hundreds of notebook pages with observations of the geography, Indian tribes, and natural history of the trans-Mississippi West.

In April 1805 Lewis and Clark and their party set out from Fort Mandan following the Missouri River westward. This volume recounts their travels through country never before explored by white people. With new personnel, including the Shoshone Indian woman Sacagawea, her husband Toussaint Charbonneau, and their baby, nicknamed Pomp, the party spent the rest of the spring and early summer toiling up the Missouri. Along the way they portaged the difficult Great Falls, encountered grizzly bears, cataloged new species of plants and animals, and mapped rivers and streams.

The Anza Trail and the Settling of California

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The Anza Trail and the Settling of California

The Anza Trail and the Settling of California
Vladimir Guerrero
Manufacturer: Heyday Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

18th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

Expeditions & Discoveries | World | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1597140260

Book Description

In 1774, as the American colonies were preparing to break away from the powerful British crown, Spain was trying to strengthen its hold on Alta California. The Spanish viceroy of Mexico sent Juan Bautista de Anza, captain of the Presidio at Tubac (in what is now Arizona), to lead two expeditions: the first to find a safe overland route to Monterey, and the second to return Anza to California with 240 men, women, and children to establish a colony in San Francisco.

But where the Mayflower had carried only Anglo passengers, the Anza expeditions brought together a diverse group, including Spaniards, criollos (American-born Spaniards), mestizos (mixed-race "citizens"), and Native Americans. And whereas the United States' policy of manifest destiny had led to the subjugation and extermination of native peoples on the continent, New Spain's needs demanded a more mixed—even tolerant—society.

Another League Before Dark synthesizes firsthand documents and diaries from the Anza expeditions to retell the story of the exploration of the Southwest and the settlement of the San Francisco Bay Area. But it also tells, on a more personal level, the story of four very different characters—Anza, the criollo commander; his partner, Francisco Garcés, a Spanish priest and explorer; Sebastían Tarabal, a Native American and accidental guide; and Salvador Palma, chief of the Yuma nation—men who overcame and in many cases benefited from their differences to ensure the success of the expeditions.

Vladimir Guerrero's original translations and fresh commentary illuminate this little-known chapter in the history of American immigration.

Customer Reviews:

The Anza Trail and the Settling of California.......2006-06-11

Dear Editors,
I have just finished reading Vladimir Guerrero's book, The Anza Trail and the Settling of California, and I believe you have a winner.

Dr. Guerrero's introduction is flawless, well written, and succinct.

His hard hitting analysis of the treatment of Sebastian Tarabal is not only provacative, but heart wrenching. Superb and brilliantly stated, very few have taken this in-depth look at el Peregino's life.

His focus on Palma's devotion to the Spanish since the time of Garces, rather than the time of the expeditions, has added another dimension to the story.

His exposé is historically accurate, beautifully written and superb in content, no doubt it will enlighten the reader like never before.

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