Meridian: A Novel of Kit Carson's West

by Norman Zollinger

A soaring epic of love and conquest, Meridian is the story of two of the legends of westward expansion, the scout and guide Kit Carson and the explorer John Charles Frémont.

Set in the turbulent 1840s, at the time of America's war with Mexico, Meridian tells of the conquest of the vast lands of New Mexico and the province of California by Frémont, Carson, and their band of soldiers and mountain men. The story is seen unfolding through the eyes of the impressionable young mapmaker and artist Bradford Stone, who falls in love with Ana Barragán, daughter of a proud Mexican family of Taos.

Capturing the exciting era of America's push toward "Manifest Destiny," Meridian is the story of one of the West's most charismatic heroes, a story you will never forget.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Westerns

640 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

About the author

Albert Norman Zollinger was an award winning Albuquerque novelist whom fellow author Tony Hillerman called a "Renaissance Man.". To quote Hillermann: "He was a guy that, if you quoted Shakespeare for him, he could give you the whole play, and if you mentioned a poet, he could recite two or three of his poems. He was the most intelligent man I've ever known. Norman Zollinger always had a few kind words for me: "God damn it, when are you gonna start writing again?" He was a man who knew one big thing: if you're a writer, you should write. Nothing else matters. "Unlike some of the rest of us, Norman Zollinger lived this truth. That's a hell of a good thing to be able to say of a man." Hillerman also called his long time friend a "warm-hearted man" who was interested in everybody: "Zollinger liked people and he loved helping "wannabe writers" more than anybody else".

Norman Zollinger was born in Chicago, where his father had built up a plastics business. As a young man he joined the US Air Force, and was an air force pilot in WW II, flying 51 missions as a bombardier on a B-24 in Europe. After the war Zollinger joined his father's Chicago business, and within a year he was running the company, which engineered plastic components for the telecommunications industry.

Zollinger started writing his first novel in 1969, and in 1970 he decided to leave his high paying executive job and move his family to Albuquerque. He had become enamored with New Mexico while he was stationed at Roswell AFB during World War II. He decided to follow his writing dream and opened a bookstore, the "Little Professor Book Center" in Albuquerque. His first book, "Riders to Cibola" was published in 1979.

Zollinger's most recent novel was "Meridian" published in 1997, and contract negotiations were under way for his latest book, "Coyote". His other works included "Corey Lane", "Passage to Quivira", "Lantrec" and "Rage in Chupadera". Two of these books, "Riders" and "Rage" won the Western Writers of America Golden Spur Award.

For seven years, he taught at the Norman Zollinger Taos School of Writing during the summer, as well as teaching a course at the University of New Mexico Honors Program that he and Hillerman had started. Zollinger also offered creative writing workshops for service veterans who were physically challenged, in conjunction with the organization "Very Special Arts New Mexico" and the Veterans Administration. He received the Owen Wister Award for lifetime achievement from the Western Writers of America in 1998. For him, he said, "It may not be the Pulitzer or some of those other awards, but it's the highest honor for a man in Western letters."

Norman Zollinger died in Albuquerque on the 5th of March 1999.

Reviews

[Joe Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absorbing story, one so engaging that it stands as an example of historical fiction at its best. Kit Carson may be too good in this story, but that may be because he is what John Fremont is not. The story does what most history books have a difficult time in achieving while delineating the factual events of a period. In this story, the author successfully places the reader amidst the events. You get a good feel for how the characters, actual and fictional, behave the way they do. Kit Carson, for example, often receives strong criticism for the way he dealt with Native Americans.

The two primary events in this story is the taking of California from Mexico and the Taos Rebellion. As with the 1950s tv series, “You Are There,” the author successfully places the reader there so when activity gets tense and harrowing, you feel it.

[Dayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

As it turns out, Kit Carson, is the more nobel of the two (between Custer and Carson). And don't believe it when people tell you Carson killed 40,000 innocent American Indians. One needs to read the whole story.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, with lots of history about the beginning of California and New Mexico that I did not know. Of course, since this is a fiction book I am not sure how much is true and will have to do some research. that is good! and there was an interesting love story that did not take up all of the book, good too!

[Pat Fahrenthold · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "conquest" of California by John C. Fremont, told from the viewpoint of one of the cartographers.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read, very interesting, Kit Carson and John C. Fremont were quite the characters - almost larger than life.