James A. Crutchfield is the author of many books on United States history, including Tragedy at Taos: the Revolt of 1847, Eyewitness to American History, and Legends of the Wild West. His contributions to a variety of newspapers and nationally distributed magazines and journals number in the hundreds. He has been awarded the Spur Award from Western Writers of America and is a two-time award recipient from the American Association for State and Local History.
A native-born Tennessean whose direct ancestors were among the first settlers of Nashville in the 1780s, he has most often turned his probing eye toward their stories. But his writing career has spanned the entire continent, from the days of George Washington and the American fur trade to the Army of the West and the histories of such Western states as Montana, New Mexico and Arizona as part of his It Happened in… book series.
A condensed history of the state of Montana, from it's beginning in 1743 to 1996. Includes the conflicts with many Indian tribes. The near extinction of the Buffalo. Artist Charlie Russell. Author A. B. Guthrie, Margaret Johnson and Will James. Hollywood stars Myrna Loy and Gary Cooper. It was an enjoyable read.
This book is a nice glimpse into the history of Montana. Crutchfield picks out highlights from it's existence as a territory into the present day. It is a good way to get a feel for the interesting history of my great state, and if anything it will lead you in the right direction if you want to learn more about Montana.
The author takes some leeway in the manner of telling about these historical highlights, but this is merely to flesh the story out, and does not take away from the accuracy. All in all, this is an interesting quick read that can start you out, should you want to know more about Montana.
An interesting surface level history book. It contained some interesting facts about the state's history that intrigued me enough to dig a little deeper into the topic(s). This text definitely accomplished what I was hoping for it to accomplish.