Devil's Backbone, The: The Story of the Natchez Trace

by Jonathan Daniels

The Natchez Trace has as dark and bloody a history as any thoroughfare since the beginning of our nation.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 30, 1985

Reviews

[Brent Hawthorne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll give this a 2 for content, but how painful a read.

[Bruce Robinette]

Couldn’t finish. Too dry…..

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly well-written and detailed account of the outlaw past of the Natchez Trace. I grew up near the Trace, so near in fact that my brothers and I often came upon sunken paths in the woods behind our house. They weren't just dry creek beds or sink holes but wide cuts in the earth as deep as we were tall. This spring my friend John and I drove the length of the Trace from Nashville to Madison, MS. It's manicured and well-mapped now, with plenty of rest stops and picnic tables, but I'm certain there are still hidden spots where the Trace exists in its wilder form.

[Douglas Boren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up at the visitor's center in Natchez. The whole area is steeped in history, and this book accentuates the tales of happenings not only in Natchez, but along the entire Trace and the Southern USA as well. The characters are numerous. Sometimes hard to keep straight, there were pioneers, preachers, gamblers, generals, scoundrels, slaves, Indians, politicians, and speculators. They all had a role in this wild, and significant land.

Very well researched, a lot can be learned without getting bored, or overwhelmed. The Natchez Trace Parkway you travel today is NOTHING like the Trace whose story unfolds in these pages. The "Devil's Backbone" indeed.

This is a valuable addition to the library of the serious history buff. Recommended!

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and pithy history of the Natchez Trace - now a scenic drive made up of the Indian and pioneer trails between Natchez MS and Nashville. The author has combed the many journals, reports and letters from the era to give a pungent description of the changes along the route. Besides many interesting anecdotes, the history fills out what I knew about the area where I live, the stories of Meriwether Lewis, Andrew Jackson and the Indian relocation. Something I was not so aware of is the influence of the Spanish and the complexity of the struggle for power by the French, British, Spanish and Americans leading up to the Louisiana Purchase.

[Lisa Roney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely shows the limits of its time, but it is a fascinating story of the Natchez Trace and what a murderously dangerous and important route. It's very focused on better-known individuals and their connections to the Natchez Trace and the Mississippi River. Sometimes it jumps from person to person and story to story in a rather breathless way, but I was fascinated by this important period and place in history that I haven't heard much about before.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I uncovered more about an ancestor on the Natchez Trace -- traveling back to Nashville with Andrew Jackson and Rachel Donelson on their so-called "wedding journey." This has taken me to my next book, The President's Lady, where I find my kin again. Reading to find tiny bits of family history is such fun!

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did learn about the NT while reading this. As others have pointed out, it’s more a collection of stories than a comprehensive history. In addition to the Andrew Jackson fanboy-ing, the author’s attitudes toward nonwhites seem to be a product of his time.

[Tom Kirkham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but not compelling

This is a loosely collected set of observations from a variety of sources that all more or less relate to the Natchez Trace.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unreadable. Very poorly written.

[Roy Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like history and I learned a lot about the Natchez Trace, but this is a very dark book.
Seems the author can find the worst in everybody. American history holds some brighter chapters.

[JMM · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's slightly rambling and a little hard to follow, but I was glad to read this book on an era in American history I knew little about. The Natchez Trace, once an American Indian trail (between today's Nashville, Tennessee and Natchez, Mississippi), later used by white settlers, has a dark history of thievery, murder, and trade in slaves. The book's one of an old series on the trails of American history. It left me both eager to travel on and to learn more about the Natchez Trace and to read the other books in the series.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess because of the title I was expecting more of a story about wrong doings and bad men. The book is a general history of a once well traveled route with a shady history. But not very detailed and dryly written in my opinion. A short book though, so I finished it and on to the next.

[Carl McGee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good short read on the life and death of the real Natchez Trace. Picked it up years ago when we first toured "The Trace" and finally read it. Not deep, but historically entertaining.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the most difficult (to stay with) books I've ever read. I only completed it because a friend gave it to me. Choppy. I guess you had to be there.