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The First to Go West: American Ambition, Bloody Conquest, and the Fateful Journey of Jedediah Smith
The explosive true saga of the legendary adventurer Jedediah Smith and the Mountain Men who explored the American frontier, written by New York Times bestselling authors of Blood and Treasure.
It is the early 19th century, and the land recently purchased by President Thomas Jefferson stretches west for thousands of miles. Who inhabits this vast new garden of Eden? What strange beasts and natural formations can be found? Thus was the birth of Manifest Destiny and the resulting bloody battles with indigenous tribes encountered by white explorers. Also in this volatile mix are the grizzled fur trappers and mountain men, waging war against the Native American tribes whose lands they traverse.
This is the setting of The First to Go West, and the guide to this epic narrative is arguably America’s greatest yet most unsung pathfinder, Jedediah Smith. His explorations into the forested frontiers on both sides of the Rocky Mountains and all the way to the West Coast would become the stuff of legend. Thanks to painstaking research and riveting writing, the story of the making of modern America is told through the eyes of both the ordinary and memorable men and women, settlers and indigenous, who witnessed it. But it's Smith who drives the narrative with his trailblazing path through the unexplored terrain of the American West.
The First to Go West is a gripping yarn that drops the reader into the center of an underreported era and introduces one of the great explorers in American history.
It is the early 19th century, and the land recently purchased by President Thomas Jefferson stretches west for thousands of miles. Who inhabits this vast new garden of Eden? What strange beasts and natural formations can be found? Thus was the birth of Manifest Destiny and the resulting bloody battles with indigenous tribes encountered by white explorers. Also in this volatile mix are the grizzled fur trappers and mountain men, waging war against the Native American tribes whose lands they traverse.
This is the setting of The First to Go West, and the guide to this epic narrative is arguably America’s greatest yet most unsung pathfinder, Jedediah Smith. His explorations into the forested frontiers on both sides of the Rocky Mountains and all the way to the West Coast would become the stuff of legend. Thanks to painstaking research and riveting writing, the story of the making of modern America is told through the eyes of both the ordinary and memorable men and women, settlers and indigenous, who witnessed it. But it's Smith who drives the narrative with his trailblazing path through the unexplored terrain of the American West.
The First to Go West is a gripping yarn that drops the reader into the center of an underreported era and introduces one of the great explorers in American history.
464 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2026
About the author
Tom Clavin
45 books547 followersTom Clavin is the author/coauthor of eleven books. His most recent is That Old Black Magic: Louis Prima, Keely Smith, and the Golden Age of Las Vegas.
His articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Family Circle, Men's Journal, Parade, Reader's Digest, and others.
He was a contributing reporter for the New York Times for fifteen years.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
May 6, 2024
Up until now, every book I have read by Tom Clavin and Bob Drury has received my hearty approval. That streak will not end with Throne of Grace. Drury and Clavin have mastered the ability to make a history book sound like a story you hear from a long lost friend at the bar. There is a ton of characters, dramatic twists, and more than a few laughs.
Throne of Grace tells the story of the first forays of Americans into what would become the Wild West and the West Coast. Specifically, the story tries to center around one Jedediah Smith. As you may have guessed from the first name, he grew up religious and stayed that way. Somehow, he still answered the call to explore the west. As with any Clavin and Drury book though, it would be a bit misleading to say this book is about one person. The authors love to pepper their books with quick asides about side characters and will tell a great tall tale even if they point out it probably never happened.
This book also displays the authors' willingness to call out hypocrisy and deploy their sardonic wit. A fur trapper starts spouting off about "savages" killing his friends? Clavin and Drury don't hesitate to remind the readers of the massacre that man took part in. American Indians confronting explorers about their greed? It will be pointed out that the accuser recently stole 40 horses from a traveling party outside their own territory. None of these people were saints and I appreciate storytellers who don't shy away from the ugly side of history.
So, as per usual, you should read this. In fact, you can read anything with their names on it.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.)
Throne of Grace tells the story of the first forays of Americans into what would become the Wild West and the West Coast. Specifically, the story tries to center around one Jedediah Smith. As you may have guessed from the first name, he grew up religious and stayed that way. Somehow, he still answered the call to explore the west. As with any Clavin and Drury book though, it would be a bit misleading to say this book is about one person. The authors love to pepper their books with quick asides about side characters and will tell a great tall tale even if they point out it probably never happened.
This book also displays the authors' willingness to call out hypocrisy and deploy their sardonic wit. A fur trapper starts spouting off about "savages" killing his friends? Clavin and Drury don't hesitate to remind the readers of the massacre that man took part in. American Indians confronting explorers about their greed? It will be pointed out that the accuser recently stole 40 horses from a traveling party outside their own territory. None of these people were saints and I appreciate storytellers who don't shy away from the ugly side of history.
So, as per usual, you should read this. In fact, you can read anything with their names on it.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.)
May 3, 2024
I enjoyed the book right from the beginning, but there were a few areas in the first third that really bored me. It might be simply a personal preference, but there were a few sections that I would have cut or at least pared back if I were the editor of this book. Some of the details of the first part of Jed Smith's life and journey with Major Ashley didn't feel necessary to me at all and really slowed things down. As a reference book, I can understand wanting to keep those sections in. As someone reading it just for pleasure, they felt unnecessary. Take from that what you will.
Things picked up a bit once we got to Hugh Glass and the bear attack. There still were sections that I didn't find necessary (did we really need all that background on every single Indian tribe Jed came within fifty miles of?) but at least interesting things were finally happening. I was most intrigued by the last 2/3 of the book, when Jed and friends finally got to California. The mission system, viewed by outsiders, is one of the most interesting things to me, and I enjoyed most of the book past about 60%. I would have liked to hear more about the Russians in America, especially their connection with the fur trade that brought Jed out west, however they merited only a few passing mentions. I really wish much of the first half of the book had been cut and more time had been spent on all the cool things Jed Smith did, instead of focusing on so many boring things, but I can't tell how much of this is just personal preference. I'm not saying that the book is terrible since so much of it feels like a prologue to all the thrilling things that happened in Jed Smith's life, because perhaps that was partly the intent of the author, to show how Jed came to be what he was, but I was a bit let down by what a small portion of the book was devoted to what I found truly engrossing about this mountain man (mainly his exploits after 1825). It made the whole thing feel much more like the kind of book one would only pick up to check a certain fact, rather than the kind that one (someone like me) reads just for fun. Perhaps that was 100% the intention of the authors and publishing team etc. I certainly don't know. But in my personal experience with this book, I found most of it difficult to read because it seemed like the magnifying glass was trained on all the wrong parts of Jed Smith's life. His super cool exploits got only passing mentions and all the uninteresting things he did before that were described in such detail that one's eyes glazed over almost immediately upon trying to read them. It felt like the purview was both too wide in its scope (in how no tiny mundane detail was excluded at times) but also too narrow (in how some of the most interesting things were relegated to a few hasty mentions in the final handful of chapters).
Some of the Indians in the first half of the book were described ad nauseum, yet the same treatment wasn't given to the Indians Jed meets the second half. For example, we learn an immense amount about the different Sioux tribes and the Arikara, what they eat, what they wear, where they live, how old their children were when they had to start carrying tipi skins, where they originally migrated from, which prehistoric Central American people they broke from thousands of years ago, etc. But we are given only the barest glance into the lives of the Miwok Indians even though Jed Smith was accused of conspiring with them against the Mexicans and was warned by them that the soldatos were coming for him, and that's how he escaped arrest. Who knows how different his life (and this book) might have been if he'd spent years rotting away in a Mexican prison? Yet apparently the author decided the Miwok weren't as interesting as the Pawnee or Blackfeet, so their history is excluded. Again, this is simply my opinion and may not affect another's enjoyment of the book.
All of these complaints aside, there were parts of the book that I absolutely loved. There were a handful of chapters that I enjoyed immensely. The footnotes in every chapter were almost always interesting and really added some flavor to an otherwise occasionally dull narrative. And there were certainly pockets of thought-provoking material all throughout. One of my favorite small sections was the part where we learn about the history of the horse in North America. I could have read several chapters on just how the Indians took the horses from the Spanish and modeled huge aspects of their culture around it after only a few years. Completely engrossing. I only wish the book had spent as much time describing the Spanish missions (and history of the mission system in general) as it did horses or a single Indian tribe's history, especially since Jed actually stayed at some of the missions while in California. A few real missed opportunities.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Things picked up a bit once we got to Hugh Glass and the bear attack. There still were sections that I didn't find necessary (did we really need all that background on every single Indian tribe Jed came within fifty miles of?) but at least interesting things were finally happening. I was most intrigued by the last 2/3 of the book, when Jed and friends finally got to California. The mission system, viewed by outsiders, is one of the most interesting things to me, and I enjoyed most of the book past about 60%. I would have liked to hear more about the Russians in America, especially their connection with the fur trade that brought Jed out west, however they merited only a few passing mentions. I really wish much of the first half of the book had been cut and more time had been spent on all the cool things Jed Smith did, instead of focusing on so many boring things, but I can't tell how much of this is just personal preference. I'm not saying that the book is terrible since so much of it feels like a prologue to all the thrilling things that happened in Jed Smith's life, because perhaps that was partly the intent of the author, to show how Jed came to be what he was, but I was a bit let down by what a small portion of the book was devoted to what I found truly engrossing about this mountain man (mainly his exploits after 1825). It made the whole thing feel much more like the kind of book one would only pick up to check a certain fact, rather than the kind that one (someone like me) reads just for fun. Perhaps that was 100% the intention of the authors and publishing team etc. I certainly don't know. But in my personal experience with this book, I found most of it difficult to read because it seemed like the magnifying glass was trained on all the wrong parts of Jed Smith's life. His super cool exploits got only passing mentions and all the uninteresting things he did before that were described in such detail that one's eyes glazed over almost immediately upon trying to read them. It felt like the purview was both too wide in its scope (in how no tiny mundane detail was excluded at times) but also too narrow (in how some of the most interesting things were relegated to a few hasty mentions in the final handful of chapters).
Some of the Indians in the first half of the book were described ad nauseum, yet the same treatment wasn't given to the Indians Jed meets the second half. For example, we learn an immense amount about the different Sioux tribes and the Arikara, what they eat, what they wear, where they live, how old their children were when they had to start carrying tipi skins, where they originally migrated from, which prehistoric Central American people they broke from thousands of years ago, etc. But we are given only the barest glance into the lives of the Miwok Indians even though Jed Smith was accused of conspiring with them against the Mexicans and was warned by them that the soldatos were coming for him, and that's how he escaped arrest. Who knows how different his life (and this book) might have been if he'd spent years rotting away in a Mexican prison? Yet apparently the author decided the Miwok weren't as interesting as the Pawnee or Blackfeet, so their history is excluded. Again, this is simply my opinion and may not affect another's enjoyment of the book.
All of these complaints aside, there were parts of the book that I absolutely loved. There were a handful of chapters that I enjoyed immensely. The footnotes in every chapter were almost always interesting and really added some flavor to an otherwise occasionally dull narrative. And there were certainly pockets of thought-provoking material all throughout. One of my favorite small sections was the part where we learn about the history of the horse in North America. I could have read several chapters on just how the Indians took the horses from the Spanish and modeled huge aspects of their culture around it after only a few years. Completely engrossing. I only wish the book had spent as much time describing the Spanish missions (and history of the mission system in general) as it did horses or a single Indian tribe's history, especially since Jed actually stayed at some of the missions while in California. A few real missed opportunities.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 16, 2024
I’ve always been fascinated by stories of the opening of the West, and all the trials and tribulations the Explorers and Mountain Men dealt with on their journeys. An amazing book about an amazing Mountain Man!
October 10, 2024
With the birth of Manifest Destiny, the ever-expanding move to the West created conflict with the Natives as both searched for animals of survival, one for food and the other for fur and wealth. Jed Smith is the main character of these authors as he wanders in all the small rivers of the Rockies plus those further west in California in search of beaver. The hat-making industry called for unlimited pelts to fashion hats for the wealthy Easterners.
The Mountain Man was an independent character who "existed", never in comfort, but frequently running from the Natives for his life or trying to find shelter from the elements or with a dying thirst searching for some dirty water. Never a dull moment collecting those pelts which were sold for big bucks IF he could get them to the transportation hubs. Many died and never saw any fruits for their labor, while others became wealthy. Jim Bridger, another famous name, was often a fellow trapper in the Rockies who worked in the same area as Jeb. These men were often married to Native women and had a complimented relationship with the various tribes. It is said Jedediah was feted far and wide for surviving the three worst Indian-fueled calamities of the American fur trade--at the hands of the Arikara in 1823, the Mojave in 1827, and the Umpqua in 1826. Upon his death on the Cimarron Cutoff, he disappeared from the history books quickly while Jim Bridger still today is well remembered.
The Mountain Man was an independent character who "existed", never in comfort, but frequently running from the Natives for his life or trying to find shelter from the elements or with a dying thirst searching for some dirty water. Never a dull moment collecting those pelts which were sold for big bucks IF he could get them to the transportation hubs. Many died and never saw any fruits for their labor, while others became wealthy. Jim Bridger, another famous name, was often a fellow trapper in the Rockies who worked in the same area as Jeb. These men were often married to Native women and had a complimented relationship with the various tribes. It is said Jedediah was feted far and wide for surviving the three worst Indian-fueled calamities of the American fur trade--at the hands of the Arikara in 1823, the Mojave in 1827, and the Umpqua in 1826. Upon his death on the Cimarron Cutoff, he disappeared from the history books quickly while Jim Bridger still today is well remembered.
March 11, 2026
If you love high adventure, the early days of the Far West with the Mountain Men, Blackfeet, Crow, Shoshone, Nez Perce, Pawnee, Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho….If you love being in the virgin wilderness before it was spoiled by white settlement….this is your book. Meticulously researched, nimbly paced, this is an invaluable contribution to our understanding and appreciation of early American history.
Since boyhood I have been drawn to the hair-raising tales of the indomitable trappers, explorers, and native American tribes of the wild years immediately following the Lewis and Clark expedition, 1804-1832. The true adventures of the ‘’Mountain Men’’ across the vast, unknown, magnificent wilderness of the Rockies are more memorable than any fiction. The names of the most famous - Jim Bridger, Thomas ‘’Broken Hand’’ Fitzpatrick, James Clyman, Kit Carson, Jim Beckwith, Etienne Provost, Bill Sublette, Hugh Glass, John Colter, and the most celebrated pathfinder and mountaineer of them all, Jedediah Smith, the central focus of this narrative, are now largely forgotten. This page turner soundly remedies that.
richflandersmusic.com
richflanders.substack.com
''UNDER THE GREAT ELM - A Life of Luck & Wonder''
Since boyhood I have been drawn to the hair-raising tales of the indomitable trappers, explorers, and native American tribes of the wild years immediately following the Lewis and Clark expedition, 1804-1832. The true adventures of the ‘’Mountain Men’’ across the vast, unknown, magnificent wilderness of the Rockies are more memorable than any fiction. The names of the most famous - Jim Bridger, Thomas ‘’Broken Hand’’ Fitzpatrick, James Clyman, Kit Carson, Jim Beckwith, Etienne Provost, Bill Sublette, Hugh Glass, John Colter, and the most celebrated pathfinder and mountaineer of them all, Jedediah Smith, the central focus of this narrative, are now largely forgotten. This page turner soundly remedies that.
richflandersmusic.com
richflanders.substack.com
''UNDER THE GREAT ELM - A Life of Luck & Wonder''
December 15, 2024
"Maimings and maulings, deaths and disappearances, intentional or incidental...." Pretty much sums up life in early 1800s across America for the trailblazers , settlers, and Indian tribes. This book describes exploration of the American West, the beaver pelt/ fur trade industry, and the life of so many that were completely illiterate yet, could converse with numerous tribes in their language, and were brave enough to simply explore without ever knowing where their next drink or food would be found. Hunting parties would trap beaver for their fur and in a season of hunting they would get about $7300 worth of fur. This amounts to $1.3M in today's money. So many areas were heavily hunted leaving nothing behind alive... obviously with that much of a payout, all people saw were dollar signs.
August 5, 2024
One of the best 'history comes to life' books I've ever read. The writing is perfectly engaging, with little cliff hangers at the end of sections or chapters. I loved having to look up vocabulary words I've heard or not heard previously. And maps. Looked at lots of maps as I read through this book to try to imagine what the men and women went through while a new type of civilization gradually, but violently, took over the land that became the American West. I've seen lots of reviews asking why these mountain men kept going back for more when they knew they would have skirmishes with Indigenous peoples, lack of food and water, unbearable weather conditions, and constantly on the verge of disaster. I think for many of them, it was the allure of opportunity and possible riches. But for many others, it was the individualstic nature of being a mountain man, i.e. freedom, and the bountifulness of nature at that time. Of course, there were those with hate in their hearts and this was a way of life that suited that nature and got them paid. Their diaries, notes, and letters all tell a story. I think the authors were extremely skilled in telling this story about the American West with an eye towards many lenses: indigenous, mountain men, country v. country, business, military, conquest, exploring. The nuances are endless. These were human beings living in an uncertain time with uncertain futures (average age in the forties) and doing what humans have always done: get what is yours by any means possible. An excellent read with loads of themes and provoking thoughts that keep you reading.
February 23, 2024
This book is about Jed Smith and his adventures of as one the first Mountain Men in the west and one who was the first to explore several areas of the western United States. It is a combination of historical fact and projections of conversations. It is well written and an engaging read.
I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page
I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page
August 3, 2024
Great book. Well researched and well written. There were many stories I heard and places I visited in my youth, it was nostalgic to read them again.
September 8, 2024
Bruh all this over some beavers?
November 15, 2025
Cinematic account of Jedediah Smith that’s easy to slip into but light on depth. The narrative races from one adventure to the next, and sometimes at the expense of context. You learn a great deal about the fur trade and the tribal interactions in the American West.Solid middle-of-the-road read for fans of popular history rather than serious scholarship.
December 7, 2024
The content of the book was great - the Jed Smith story is a real page-turner. I was only vaguely aware of Smith before picking this book up; it gave me a real sense of his role in opening the western US.
But it was an annoying read. For one, in the typeface chosen for the hardcover the asterisk is difficult to distinguish - it appears to be even smaller than the period. Consequently, the reader finds a footnote at the bottom of a page and then has to search the page for the corresponding asterisk.
For another, the book needed better editing. The authors seem enamored with their thesaurus and made several off putting word choices. Their choices weren't incorrect, they were just among the more obscure meanings of the chosen word and thus require more effort for the typical reader of pop history (e.g., "jument" for pack animals, "affluent" for a stream).
Other times they were completely wrong. The Laurentian divide would not have caused travelers between the Mandan village and Ft. Henry to become winded - the divide is on the opposite side of the Missouri River. Bighorn sheep weigh a lot more than 40 pounds - in fact, their horns alone can weigh 40 pounds. Biblical Joshua (the source of the name for the Joshua Tree) didn't hold up his arms "until the twelve tribes of Israel completed their conquest of Canaan." He held them up while they captured a single city in Canaan (Ai). The last one I'll note (but not the last I noticed) is that "intermittent" is not a synonym for "intervening."
But it was an annoying read. For one, in the typeface chosen for the hardcover the asterisk is difficult to distinguish - it appears to be even smaller than the period. Consequently, the reader finds a footnote at the bottom of a page and then has to search the page for the corresponding asterisk.
For another, the book needed better editing. The authors seem enamored with their thesaurus and made several off putting word choices. Their choices weren't incorrect, they were just among the more obscure meanings of the chosen word and thus require more effort for the typical reader of pop history (e.g., "jument" for pack animals, "affluent" for a stream).
Other times they were completely wrong. The Laurentian divide would not have caused travelers between the Mandan village and Ft. Henry to become winded - the divide is on the opposite side of the Missouri River. Bighorn sheep weigh a lot more than 40 pounds - in fact, their horns alone can weigh 40 pounds. Biblical Joshua (the source of the name for the Joshua Tree) didn't hold up his arms "until the twelve tribes of Israel completed their conquest of Canaan." He held them up while they captured a single city in Canaan (Ai). The last one I'll note (but not the last I noticed) is that "intermittent" is not a synonym for "intervening."
January 12, 2025
Readable but poorly-unified story about Jedediah Smith and the other famous "mountain men" of the 1820s and 1830s, during the battle for control of the American West between the English, American and Mexican governments.
Jed Smith turns out to be just a par... [see the rest on my book review site.]
Jed Smith turns out to be just a par... [see the rest on my book review site.]
March 14, 2024
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book on the opening of the American west, the explorers who mapped it, the indigenous people who lived there, and the many inevitable clashes that would occur.
Between the Wars of 1812 and the American Civil war, vast expanses of the west and Northwest were opened to people with the want, desire and willingness to face death in many ways. The purchase of much of this land by President Thomas Jefferson had led to one successful expedition the Lewis and Clark Corps of America. People were land hungry, and wanted to know what was out there. Especially those in the fur trade who knew that a good hunting season could make a small fortune in China. Beaver pelts were in demand, and people were willing to face the unknown to quench that need, and make fortunes. However this land was home to quite a few indigenous people, who might not be happy with the encroaching hordes. Added to this were Canadian fur trappers also interested in making their own wealth. Into this rode a young man, whose head was full of tales from Lewis and Clark, and need to make his own name. Though it would take awhile. Throne of Grace: A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure, and the Bloody Conquest of the American West by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin is a story about a young America, the birth of manifest destiny and the legacy these men and women, explorer, settlers, and Indigenous left behind.
The book begins in an arid desert, with water holes drying out, two explorers running low on supplies, and in the distance trouble. This is our introduction to Jedediah Smith, one of the premiere explorers of the west, one whose story was lost for awhile. Smith grew up in New York of good strong Puritan stock, but with dreams of exploration passed to him by a teacher and mentor. Smith left home to make his wealth, travelling to the, at the time, border town of St. Louis, where Smith saw an ad that made his legacy. The ad was for one hundred enterprising young men to travel to the Rocky Mountains and explore and trap this new area, for profit. Smith was an imposing man, and even though he lacked experience, made Wiliam Ashley, who was in charge, hire him. Smith was soon fighting, exploring and making a strong name for himself, both for his tenacity in combat, and his wanderings. Smith was one of the first Americans to cross the Mojave Desert, and enter California, which at the time was still a part of Mexico. Along with Smith, readers meet many others, hunters, fur trappers, natives, foreigners, as well as learn about the times and especially the areas Smith walked through.
A book about a country growing in leaps and bounds, and how brave men and women were willing to go West and make their fortunes. Or lose their lives. I've read quite a few books by Clavin and Drury and have always been impressed not only with their writing, but the research that they do in finding people to discuss, and their lives. The narratives moves well, the characters are of course interesting. Both men bring a bit of boy's own adventure to the story, with battles, small fights, bad situations, and lots and lots of walking, along with a good understanding or what was at stake and what the big picture was. Also their view of the indigenous people and the slow erosion in land, culture and way of life is explored. A history of the west, before the west really began.
Recommended for fans of their previous books. This goes well with the book on Daniel Boone, two men who seem bigger than life and legend. Fans of western history and American history in general will also enjoy.
Between the Wars of 1812 and the American Civil war, vast expanses of the west and Northwest were opened to people with the want, desire and willingness to face death in many ways. The purchase of much of this land by President Thomas Jefferson had led to one successful expedition the Lewis and Clark Corps of America. People were land hungry, and wanted to know what was out there. Especially those in the fur trade who knew that a good hunting season could make a small fortune in China. Beaver pelts were in demand, and people were willing to face the unknown to quench that need, and make fortunes. However this land was home to quite a few indigenous people, who might not be happy with the encroaching hordes. Added to this were Canadian fur trappers also interested in making their own wealth. Into this rode a young man, whose head was full of tales from Lewis and Clark, and need to make his own name. Though it would take awhile. Throne of Grace: A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure, and the Bloody Conquest of the American West by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin is a story about a young America, the birth of manifest destiny and the legacy these men and women, explorer, settlers, and Indigenous left behind.
The book begins in an arid desert, with water holes drying out, two explorers running low on supplies, and in the distance trouble. This is our introduction to Jedediah Smith, one of the premiere explorers of the west, one whose story was lost for awhile. Smith grew up in New York of good strong Puritan stock, but with dreams of exploration passed to him by a teacher and mentor. Smith left home to make his wealth, travelling to the, at the time, border town of St. Louis, where Smith saw an ad that made his legacy. The ad was for one hundred enterprising young men to travel to the Rocky Mountains and explore and trap this new area, for profit. Smith was an imposing man, and even though he lacked experience, made Wiliam Ashley, who was in charge, hire him. Smith was soon fighting, exploring and making a strong name for himself, both for his tenacity in combat, and his wanderings. Smith was one of the first Americans to cross the Mojave Desert, and enter California, which at the time was still a part of Mexico. Along with Smith, readers meet many others, hunters, fur trappers, natives, foreigners, as well as learn about the times and especially the areas Smith walked through.
A book about a country growing in leaps and bounds, and how brave men and women were willing to go West and make their fortunes. Or lose their lives. I've read quite a few books by Clavin and Drury and have always been impressed not only with their writing, but the research that they do in finding people to discuss, and their lives. The narratives moves well, the characters are of course interesting. Both men bring a bit of boy's own adventure to the story, with battles, small fights, bad situations, and lots and lots of walking, along with a good understanding or what was at stake and what the big picture was. Also their view of the indigenous people and the slow erosion in land, culture and way of life is explored. A history of the west, before the west really began.
Recommended for fans of their previous books. This goes well with the book on Daniel Boone, two men who seem bigger than life and legend. Fans of western history and American history in general will also enjoy.
July 24, 2025
Every once in a while, it's fun - not to mention, interesting - to read a book that isn't fiction and if it is true, isn't set in Europe or the British Isles. At those times, I have a tendency to turn to the American West which has always been a fascinating period in our country's history. Usually, those books tend to involve gunfighters, lawmen and the like. This one was something entirely different, proving there's nothing like a little change to add variety and spice to your life.
This one is about the Mountain Men, one in particular, Jedidiah Smith, who was one of that hardy breed of hunters and trappers who blazed a trail through the American West in and around the Rocky Mountains - even into California where he wasn't exactly made welcome by the Spanish authorities - in the early 1800's - after Lewis and Clark, but long before the Civil War. If you've hit around the 1820's, about 200 years ago - you're about as accurate as a person can be.
It wasn't exactly an easy life - the natives didn't exactly welcome you - some did, some didn't.....the weather was abominable (snowed a lot in the Winter, hotter than you care to imagine in the Summer) and you spent most of your sleeping time out under the stars. If you were lucky, you were spared a visit from a nocturnal visitor of the four-legged variety.
This is Smith's story from his early days until his death at the hands of hostiles - altogether a short period of time as we think of time today - but 200 years ago, 40 was considered old! Along the way, he meets up with other notables the reader may have heard of, characters such as Jim Bridger, perhaps, along with Kit Carson, the most famous of their breed. However, Smith did something none of the others did - he kept a journal and it is because of that journal, this book was able to be written and give insight into what those times were like.
It's an interesting and fascinating read (original spellings have been used as well, so sometimes it takes a while to figure out what's said, but Smith was a rarity, he was literate and for the most part those original writings make sense) and gives an insight into what it was like to live in those times. It wasn't easy. But remember, were it not for people like Smith, the settling of the West would have taken longer and who knows what this country would be like today?
This one is about the Mountain Men, one in particular, Jedidiah Smith, who was one of that hardy breed of hunters and trappers who blazed a trail through the American West in and around the Rocky Mountains - even into California where he wasn't exactly made welcome by the Spanish authorities - in the early 1800's - after Lewis and Clark, but long before the Civil War. If you've hit around the 1820's, about 200 years ago - you're about as accurate as a person can be.
It wasn't exactly an easy life - the natives didn't exactly welcome you - some did, some didn't.....the weather was abominable (snowed a lot in the Winter, hotter than you care to imagine in the Summer) and you spent most of your sleeping time out under the stars. If you were lucky, you were spared a visit from a nocturnal visitor of the four-legged variety.
This is Smith's story from his early days until his death at the hands of hostiles - altogether a short period of time as we think of time today - but 200 years ago, 40 was considered old! Along the way, he meets up with other notables the reader may have heard of, characters such as Jim Bridger, perhaps, along with Kit Carson, the most famous of their breed. However, Smith did something none of the others did - he kept a journal and it is because of that journal, this book was able to be written and give insight into what those times were like.
It's an interesting and fascinating read (original spellings have been used as well, so sometimes it takes a while to figure out what's said, but Smith was a rarity, he was literate and for the most part those original writings make sense) and gives an insight into what it was like to live in those times. It wasn't easy. But remember, were it not for people like Smith, the settling of the West would have taken longer and who knows what this country would be like today?
May 14, 2024
I've read a couple other books by Clavin and Drury and they always do an impressive amount of research that shows throughout the book. This one was no different, with plenty of source material, quotes from letters or the diary entries of Jed Smith or others to help try and give the reader some of the feel of what it was like being out in the West in the 1820s.
But I can't say this book really grabbed or kept my interest. It was slow, often a slog to get through sections, then when I'd get to a section that seemed interesting the authors apparently disagreed because they'd skim over it. There wasn't much in the way of a compelling narrative for the story overall that kept me going in this book.
Plenty of detail was given to a few of the tribes in the East and mid-West, very little to the Western tribes. How the Mountain Men like Smith lived day to day or why they felt compelled to do what they did (beyond the money to be found in beaver furs)? Hard to say. Details like that seemed left out of the book. I didn't feel like I connected with any of the men despite being told what they did. It was all more a remote approach to a subject than feeling like the authors were trying to connect me as a reader to the people involved. By the end they kept repeating how Smith and a few of the others were legends who opened the West for the Oregon Trail and westward expansion, lamenting that their names were lost to the history of the American West.
Maybe this was a book meant for people who are already very into the subject and just want to learn more about people or places they already know about. For someone with only a kind of passing interest, I can't say it kept me interested or gave me the details of the daily life and people to connect to the men I'd read a little about in connection to other topics. The authors did do a pretty good job of pointing out the hypocrisies of the US when it came to treatment of the tribes, and how badly they were being treated and would continue to be treated by the US, Mexico, and the Hudson Bay company.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
But I can't say this book really grabbed or kept my interest. It was slow, often a slog to get through sections, then when I'd get to a section that seemed interesting the authors apparently disagreed because they'd skim over it. There wasn't much in the way of a compelling narrative for the story overall that kept me going in this book.
Plenty of detail was given to a few of the tribes in the East and mid-West, very little to the Western tribes. How the Mountain Men like Smith lived day to day or why they felt compelled to do what they did (beyond the money to be found in beaver furs)? Hard to say. Details like that seemed left out of the book. I didn't feel like I connected with any of the men despite being told what they did. It was all more a remote approach to a subject than feeling like the authors were trying to connect me as a reader to the people involved. By the end they kept repeating how Smith and a few of the others were legends who opened the West for the Oregon Trail and westward expansion, lamenting that their names were lost to the history of the American West.
Maybe this was a book meant for people who are already very into the subject and just want to learn more about people or places they already know about. For someone with only a kind of passing interest, I can't say it kept me interested or gave me the details of the daily life and people to connect to the men I'd read a little about in connection to other topics. The authors did do a pretty good job of pointing out the hypocrisies of the US when it came to treatment of the tribes, and how badly they were being treated and would continue to be treated by the US, Mexico, and the Hudson Bay company.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
June 25, 2024
Actual Rating 2.5
The early nineteenth century was a time of exploration, exploitation, and confrontation for the white settlers and explorers who began to spread across America. This work of nonfiction explores the life and history surrounding Jedediah Smith, a pathfinder and mountain man in the era of Manifest Destiny in the United States.
I expected this to be more of a focused biography on Smith. I understand providing historical context for the person, as otherwise the biography would be relatively meaningless. However, the context in this book was expansive. From the migration of the first peoples to the area that is the United States to the introduction of horses to the area, there were so many historical facts included that could be argued to be relevant to a small degree to Smith. But the man got lost beneath these expansive facts.
There really was no cohesive narrative with this one, which made this work feel relatively dry and fragmented. There were some good descriptions included that helped to paint a picture of the setting, but again these were often lost behind random facts and tangents. The authors certainly did their research, I just think it wasn’t presented in the most approachable or consumable way despite the solid writing.
I did appreciate how much effort the authors put into including the histories of Indigenous peoples who were in the areas that Smith would have ventured into. While this information did contribute to giving the work its more fragmentary feeling and losing Smith behind the facts, it’s always appreciated when America’s history is more focused on its first peoples than is typical in the past.
If you love general American history, especially during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, you may enjoy this one. I unfortunately found it a bit dry and not the biography I was hoping for. The narrator’s voice was perfect for this work, though, and I enjoyed how well his rougher voice added to the feeling of the American frontier that was depicted. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
The early nineteenth century was a time of exploration, exploitation, and confrontation for the white settlers and explorers who began to spread across America. This work of nonfiction explores the life and history surrounding Jedediah Smith, a pathfinder and mountain man in the era of Manifest Destiny in the United States.
I expected this to be more of a focused biography on Smith. I understand providing historical context for the person, as otherwise the biography would be relatively meaningless. However, the context in this book was expansive. From the migration of the first peoples to the area that is the United States to the introduction of horses to the area, there were so many historical facts included that could be argued to be relevant to a small degree to Smith. But the man got lost beneath these expansive facts.
There really was no cohesive narrative with this one, which made this work feel relatively dry and fragmented. There were some good descriptions included that helped to paint a picture of the setting, but again these were often lost behind random facts and tangents. The authors certainly did their research, I just think it wasn’t presented in the most approachable or consumable way despite the solid writing.
I did appreciate how much effort the authors put into including the histories of Indigenous peoples who were in the areas that Smith would have ventured into. While this information did contribute to giving the work its more fragmentary feeling and losing Smith behind the facts, it’s always appreciated when America’s history is more focused on its first peoples than is typical in the past.
If you love general American history, especially during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, you may enjoy this one. I unfortunately found it a bit dry and not the biography I was hoping for. The narrator’s voice was perfect for this work, though, and I enjoyed how well his rougher voice added to the feeling of the American frontier that was depicted. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
October 20, 2024
How much do you know about the Mountain Men? I mean the men who in the early 1800's who ventured west from St. Louis (MO) to trap beavers for their pelts. Men such as Jim Bridger lauded by Johnny Horton (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SmZy...) among others. But among this company of men, Jedediah Smith stands out. He stands out for his bravery, his fortitude, his knowledge and his honesty. Throne of Grace is his story told in the context of history.
Jedediah Smith arrived in St. Louis (MO) in 1822, having grown up along Lake Eire in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He joined General William Henry Ashley's fur trading expedition, and headed west up the Missouri River to explore. But that expedition encountered trouble partway up the river with Madan Indians. But the fighting he encountered did not deter Smith. Nor did the hardships of winter weather in the Rocky Mountains, the close encounters with hostile forces (Native Americans, Spanish, or British), or dangerous animals which included a very close encounter with a grizzly bear. Due to his bravery, common sense, and leadership, Jedediah Smith rose from being one of Ashley's men to a partner in charge in the Rocky Mountain area. H set up rendezvous points in the spring for the mountain men to gather and trade their pelts for supplies. He also led expeditions that opened up large sections of the West to settlers traveling to Oregon and California. He was know for mapping everything he encountered and kept multiple journals documenting his finds. He kept this up until he decided to retire. But he went on one last venture with his brothers leading a wagon train to Santa Fe when he had a fatal encounter with Comanches.
Bob Drury and Tom Clavin did a masterful job of documenting the life of Jedediah Smith in the context of his time using his journals and other sources to pain a picture of the West in 1820's in all its gore and glory. Take the time to read a tale of a true Western adventure!
Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this title!
Jedediah Smith arrived in St. Louis (MO) in 1822, having grown up along Lake Eire in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He joined General William Henry Ashley's fur trading expedition, and headed west up the Missouri River to explore. But that expedition encountered trouble partway up the river with Madan Indians. But the fighting he encountered did not deter Smith. Nor did the hardships of winter weather in the Rocky Mountains, the close encounters with hostile forces (Native Americans, Spanish, or British), or dangerous animals which included a very close encounter with a grizzly bear. Due to his bravery, common sense, and leadership, Jedediah Smith rose from being one of Ashley's men to a partner in charge in the Rocky Mountain area. H set up rendezvous points in the spring for the mountain men to gather and trade their pelts for supplies. He also led expeditions that opened up large sections of the West to settlers traveling to Oregon and California. He was know for mapping everything he encountered and kept multiple journals documenting his finds. He kept this up until he decided to retire. But he went on one last venture with his brothers leading a wagon train to Santa Fe when he had a fatal encounter with Comanches.
Bob Drury and Tom Clavin did a masterful job of documenting the life of Jedediah Smith in the context of his time using his journals and other sources to pain a picture of the West in 1820's in all its gore and glory. Take the time to read a tale of a true Western adventure!
Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this title!
April 17, 2024
Throne of Grace, while mentioned briefly late in the book, doesn't seem to be a title that encapsulates the adventure that Clavin and Drury take the reader on. The main figure the book follows is Jedediah Smith, a man that signed on as a hunter for a fur trapping expedition in the years not long removed from Lewis and Clark's expedition. Smith, a man mostly forgotten to history that I knew nothing about before reading this, evolved from a hunter to a full blown mountain man, capable of trapping, surviving harsh weather and climate, and skirmishes with indigenous tribes, Canadian trappers and representatives of the Mexican government. The book is a reminder of what an open wilderness much of the United States used to be, the beginnings of the many years of hostile interactions between whites and native tribes west of the Mississippi, the next generation of pioneering spirit after the much more well known Daniel Boone, and the greed of men for money and territory that started destroying species like the beaver and the impact their disappearance had on the environment several centuries before current times. The book feels like a constant string of adventures, near misses, and hostile encounters - but of course it's much easier to tell this part of the story and keep the reader engaged than try and wax poetic about the days of little food and little excitement. When Jedediah's time on this green Earth comes to an end, it feels like too quick of a finish for all the time the book spent focused on his adventures and ability to survive despite less than favorable odds, but the book is still enjoyable and covers a time, place and historical figure that often receive little focus. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
May 9, 2024
Throne of Grace: A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure and the Bloody Conquest of the American West by Tom Clavin and Bob Drury shines light on a historical figure largely forgotten in the push West. The legendary adventurer Jedediah Smith and the Mountain Men explored the American frontier after the Lewis and Clark expedition of the Louisiana Purchase and the birth of Manifest Destiny. Stories of friendly deals and bloody battles with the indigenous tribes, the strange beasts and animals they encountered and the gorgeous landscapes before their eyes. From the Rocky Mountains to the western coast, Smith’s explorations became legendary although he fell into obscurity for seventy years after his death. Throne of Grace is a gripping narrative about an relatively underreported era in US history and brings to life one of the great American explorers.
Whenever I am given the opportunity to read a new historical book by Tom Clavin and Bob Drury, I jump at it. They give the full view of history and its events in its reality and with honesty. Throne of Grace sets out to provide an epic narrative of America’s greatest and yet relatively unknown pathfinder in Jedediah Smith. As their standard, Clavin and Drury provide a painstaking researched story with amazing details and insights into the historical figures and events. While it is Smith’s story that drives the main narrative, the story of settling west is told through the eyes of the ordinary and memorable men and women who witnessed it, both settlers and indigenous. If you love historical non-fiction, you cannot go wrong with Clavin and Drury’s books. I highly, highly recommend Throne of Grace.
Throne of Grace: A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure and the Bloody Conquest of the American West is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook
Whenever I am given the opportunity to read a new historical book by Tom Clavin and Bob Drury, I jump at it. They give the full view of history and its events in its reality and with honesty. Throne of Grace sets out to provide an epic narrative of America’s greatest and yet relatively unknown pathfinder in Jedediah Smith. As their standard, Clavin and Drury provide a painstaking researched story with amazing details and insights into the historical figures and events. While it is Smith’s story that drives the main narrative, the story of settling west is told through the eyes of the ordinary and memorable men and women who witnessed it, both settlers and indigenous. If you love historical non-fiction, you cannot go wrong with Clavin and Drury’s books. I highly, highly recommend Throne of Grace.
Throne of Grace: A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure and the Bloody Conquest of the American West is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook
June 20, 2024
A superb history book primarily about mountain man Jedediah Smith, whose career spanned the 1820s and whose explorations were key to opening up the West to expansion.
Smith--brave, a good leader, God-fearing and determined--joins a fur-trapped expedition leaving St. Louis in 1822. Over the next decade, he becomes an almost legendary figure by the amount of territory he covered and the dangers he survived. Though his main purpose was usually commercial (bringing back enough beaver furs to turn a good profit), he also kept a journal carefully describing the land and its flora and fauna. His also collected valuable information about Mexican-held territories in the Southeast and British incursions in the Northwest. He is responsible for finding a reliable route over the Rocky Mountains.
The authors do not ignore how this affected Native Americans, portraying both American society and the various Indian cultures accurately and intelligently pointing out both the good and the bad in these cultures. For instance, without excusing the racisim of white Americans, broken treaties, massacres, and so on, the book doesn't stint on reminding us how brutal Native American tribes were to both white explorers and other tribes they considered their enemies. It's a balanced portrait of history, allowing us to see that there were good guys and bad guys on all sides.
The prose is vivid, with the real-life stories of Smith and other mountain men unfolding as an often intense adventure tale. The mountain men endured harsh weather (everything from blizzards to searing, waterless deserts), maulings by grizzly bears, and Indian attacks as they worked to bring in furs and expanded the Western frontier.
Smith--brave, a good leader, God-fearing and determined--joins a fur-trapped expedition leaving St. Louis in 1822. Over the next decade, he becomes an almost legendary figure by the amount of territory he covered and the dangers he survived. Though his main purpose was usually commercial (bringing back enough beaver furs to turn a good profit), he also kept a journal carefully describing the land and its flora and fauna. His also collected valuable information about Mexican-held territories in the Southeast and British incursions in the Northwest. He is responsible for finding a reliable route over the Rocky Mountains.
The authors do not ignore how this affected Native Americans, portraying both American society and the various Indian cultures accurately and intelligently pointing out both the good and the bad in these cultures. For instance, without excusing the racisim of white Americans, broken treaties, massacres, and so on, the book doesn't stint on reminding us how brutal Native American tribes were to both white explorers and other tribes they considered their enemies. It's a balanced portrait of history, allowing us to see that there were good guys and bad guys on all sides.
The prose is vivid, with the real-life stories of Smith and other mountain men unfolding as an often intense adventure tale. The mountain men endured harsh weather (everything from blizzards to searing, waterless deserts), maulings by grizzly bears, and Indian attacks as they worked to bring in furs and expanded the Western frontier.
May 18, 2024
Throne of Grace
By Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
This book is a history lesson. It begins some years after the famous Lewis and Clark expedition, and tells the story of the opening of the American west from the Canadian border to the southern Spanish held territory.
The push by Europeans was initially sparked by the fur trade. The demand for beaver and other furs was high in Europe, and America seemingly had an endless supply. White men established forts and trading posts from which they traded for pelts with the indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, the white men did not foresee what they were bringing about when they started trading guns to the Indians. The Spaniards in the meantime had introduced horses to the Americas.
The combination of guns and horses transformed various Indian tribes from stationary, sometimes agrarian, societies to hunters able to wander much farther afield after prey – and upped the level of intertribal warfare. Thus, as white men put together more expeditions for exploration and trapping, they found themselves up against more mobile and well-armed adversaries.
Enter Jedediah Strong Smith. Smith was a young man who came to St. Louis seeking adventure. He went on to become a famous "mountain man" – hunter, trapper, explorer – who helped open up the west all the way to the Pacific. His exploits encouraged others to "go west". Unfortunately, Jedediah himself was killed at the age of 32 at the hands of Indians. His legacy survives him in American history.
If you are a history buff, this book has much to offer you.
By Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
This book is a history lesson. It begins some years after the famous Lewis and Clark expedition, and tells the story of the opening of the American west from the Canadian border to the southern Spanish held territory.
The push by Europeans was initially sparked by the fur trade. The demand for beaver and other furs was high in Europe, and America seemingly had an endless supply. White men established forts and trading posts from which they traded for pelts with the indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, the white men did not foresee what they were bringing about when they started trading guns to the Indians. The Spaniards in the meantime had introduced horses to the Americas.
The combination of guns and horses transformed various Indian tribes from stationary, sometimes agrarian, societies to hunters able to wander much farther afield after prey – and upped the level of intertribal warfare. Thus, as white men put together more expeditions for exploration and trapping, they found themselves up against more mobile and well-armed adversaries.
Enter Jedediah Strong Smith. Smith was a young man who came to St. Louis seeking adventure. He went on to become a famous "mountain man" – hunter, trapper, explorer – who helped open up the west all the way to the Pacific. His exploits encouraged others to "go west". Unfortunately, Jedediah himself was killed at the age of 32 at the hands of Indians. His legacy survives him in American history.
If you are a history buff, this book has much to offer you.
May 5, 2024
An advance reading copy (arc) of this book was given to me by NetGalley.com and the publisher in return for a fair review. Right off the bat, I will tell you that Tom Clavin (whether he writes alone or with a partner) is one of my favorite authors and he never disappoints. This book was very interesting as it takes places in the early 1800s when the westward movement was just beginning. Experienced trappers and mountain men like Jed Smith were already out there working, mapping, and dealing with the rugged terrain. It's hard to think about a country where there were no roads (let alone highways) and no easy way to get to places like Missouri, Colorado, and Utah--let alone California. These men also had to deal with Native Americans who resented the intrusion on their land, as well as Mexican officials who felt the same way (remember much of our western territory was owned by Mexico at the time). Authors Tom Clavin and Bob Drury did a great job brining this era to life through their vivid descriptions of people and places. My only complaint is that I found it hard to keep track of all of the mountain men depicted in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Westward movement as it really marked the very beginning. Can't wait to see what Tom Clavin comes up with next!
May 17, 2024
When it comes to the American West, there are some names that stick out more than others. Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, and of course - Lewis and Clark. But Jedediah Smith seems to have been lost to history - until now.
The romantic view that many hold of the American West was anything but. It was lawless, violent, and full of struggles that many would never understand, unless they endured it. However, before the masses began heading toward better opportunities, there were men who cut through the wilderness, learning routes, breaking paths, and paving the way for mass movements.
This book was everything it promised, and so much more. History lovers will not be disappointed with this read. It almost reads like fiction in places, as it is hard to believe that one could endure so much, and yet, survive. But men like Jedediah Smith helped to open the west, and were the ones who truly were able to bring the romantic view in (albeit much later in time).
I will be adding a section into my American history course on this area, and talking about Jedidiah Smith from here on out. These unsung heroes deserve to have their story told.
Grab this book and discover an entirely new chapter of American history.
The romantic view that many hold of the American West was anything but. It was lawless, violent, and full of struggles that many would never understand, unless they endured it. However, before the masses began heading toward better opportunities, there were men who cut through the wilderness, learning routes, breaking paths, and paving the way for mass movements.
This book was everything it promised, and so much more. History lovers will not be disappointed with this read. It almost reads like fiction in places, as it is hard to believe that one could endure so much, and yet, survive. But men like Jedediah Smith helped to open the west, and were the ones who truly were able to bring the romantic view in (albeit much later in time).
I will be adding a section into my American history course on this area, and talking about Jedidiah Smith from here on out. These unsung heroes deserve to have their story told.
Grab this book and discover an entirely new chapter of American history.
July 20, 2024
As several other reviewers have noted, the book is almost overflowing with information concerning the explorations and near-death adventures of Jedidiah Smith in the early 19th century. In this regard, while I lost track of the endless people Smith encountered, mountainous passes he traveled, and Indian tribes he met along the way, the book was never slow or tedious.
Aside from the numerous characters who walk across the pages of the book (e.g., Mike Fink, Jim Bridger, Jim Beckwourth, etc.), Smith’s experiences include legendary stories capturing the dangers faced by mountain men, explorers, and trappers. For that matter, along with Smith’s house-arrest by California’s Mexican government for three months in 1829, the book includes passages concerning Hugh Glass’s remarkable escape from the deadly claws of a grizzly bear, as well as John Colter’s amazing run (ie., “Colter’s Run”) from attacking Indians.
Aside from the dangers he faced each day in the mountains, it is amazing to consider the untouched beauty of the earth that Smith beheld throughout his short lifetime. Indeed, this is a great book for anyone interested in learning more about the early history of the United States.
Aside from the numerous characters who walk across the pages of the book (e.g., Mike Fink, Jim Bridger, Jim Beckwourth, etc.), Smith’s experiences include legendary stories capturing the dangers faced by mountain men, explorers, and trappers. For that matter, along with Smith’s house-arrest by California’s Mexican government for three months in 1829, the book includes passages concerning Hugh Glass’s remarkable escape from the deadly claws of a grizzly bear, as well as John Colter’s amazing run (ie., “Colter’s Run”) from attacking Indians.
Aside from the dangers he faced each day in the mountains, it is amazing to consider the untouched beauty of the earth that Smith beheld throughout his short lifetime. Indeed, this is a great book for anyone interested in learning more about the early history of the United States.
January 16, 2025
The authors tell the story of Jedidiah Smith and his times entertainingly. They provide background and relate the various parties to the action. They use the maps effectively. I wish I could rate it higher.
BUT...
I have a friend who says I don't read books; I read footnotes. Not exactly true, but I do think they are important in judging the quality of the research, and writing, and providing further study for the reader. THEREFORE...
This is a tough book for me to review. For the first half of it, I was wondering why they just didn't reprint Morgan's book? This was just the start of my frustration with their citations. They have a good bibliography at the end. Why did they not give credit in the notes? In the last half, they did use different citations, but even with letters mentioned in the bibliography, they used one from a book. It just seems all scattershot. They opine for paragraphs on a subject without back-up or citation. They use numbers without sources. The story of Jedediah Smith and his era is extremely important. It deserves to be told. I realize it is a difficult era to source, and their bibliography shows they did research. It seems to me that it is just sloppy scholarship this way.
BUT...
I have a friend who says I don't read books; I read footnotes. Not exactly true, but I do think they are important in judging the quality of the research, and writing, and providing further study for the reader. THEREFORE...
This is a tough book for me to review. For the first half of it, I was wondering why they just didn't reprint Morgan's book? This was just the start of my frustration with their citations. They have a good bibliography at the end. Why did they not give credit in the notes? In the last half, they did use different citations, but even with letters mentioned in the bibliography, they used one from a book. It just seems all scattershot. They opine for paragraphs on a subject without back-up or citation. They use numbers without sources. The story of Jedediah Smith and his era is extremely important. It deserves to be told. I realize it is a difficult era to source, and their bibliography shows they did research. It seems to me that it is just sloppy scholarship this way.
May 8, 2024
A detailed account of the opening of the West from the perspective of the Mountain Men. The book focuses on Jedediah Smith, but includes many other adventurers including Hugh Glass (the subject of the movie Revenant), Jim Bridger and others. We think of the Oregon Trail as the opening of the West. However, this book takes us back to the days when no one knew a route to safely get over the Rocky Mountains to California. Smith and his contemporaries were motivated by the quest for beaver pelts. They were under constant attack from wildlife (both Smith and Glass were mauled by bears and lived to tell about it). More threatening were the various tribes of native Americans, especially the Blackfeet who were as warlike in the northern Rockies as the Comanche were in the Southwest. If not for the lure of treasure in beaver pelts and the daring of men like Smith, the West would not have been opened for many years.
A well written book that is carefully researched and is very readable.
Thanks the the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A well written book that is carefully researched and is very readable.
Thanks the the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
April 17, 2024
This is a powerful story of the true men who opened up the Mountain West and the way to California. These me went in search of beaver pelts which were plentiful in the rivers coming off the continental divide. They tried to get along with the native tribes in the area, learning the language and many marrying into the many tribes (sometimes in more than one).
They tried to combine trapping with ecology, they understood how easily it would be to annihilate the animals in a single area in a short time, so they tried to spread their trapping in different areas each season. They had problems with those Companies like the Hudson Bay Company who sold alcohol to the natives and wiped out the beavers in one area after another. The Canadian wanted to turn a part of the northern Rockies into a 'beaver desert;' to protect the beaver in Canada.
Though some of these mountain men became famous for their discoveries and knowledge, most of them died at a young age (under fifty) unknown and unmorned.
They tried to combine trapping with ecology, they understood how easily it would be to annihilate the animals in a single area in a short time, so they tried to spread their trapping in different areas each season. They had problems with those Companies like the Hudson Bay Company who sold alcohol to the natives and wiped out the beavers in one area after another. The Canadian wanted to turn a part of the northern Rockies into a 'beaver desert;' to protect the beaver in Canada.
Though some of these mountain men became famous for their discoveries and knowledge, most of them died at a young age (under fifty) unknown and unmorned.
December 21, 2023
Drury and Clavin's Thrones of Grace (St. Martin's Press 2024) is a fascinating history of how the sturdy mountain men and the indefatigable fur traders of American legend opened up trade and settlement in the western half of America. I am an aficionado of old west stories so this book caught my attention. I've read hundreds of fictional accounts of life in the old west, but wanted to know more about how America morphed from a natural wilderness to the bustling, people-filled world of settlers, thriving businesses, and commerce. One of the early mountain men who made that possible is Jedidiah Smith. He is a prominent character in this book though only one of many, and there are many. Thanks to this book, a lot of the historical holes I didn't know about are now clear and the who thing makes a lot more sense.
If you love this era in America history, this is the book for you. I award it an enthusiastic 5/5.
If you love this era in America history, this is the book for you. I award it an enthusiastic 5/5.
July 31, 2024
All in all, this was a remarkable writing of history. I can't believe how many things I learned from just reading this book. I am 65 years old and am just learning about some of this history. I was humbled reading about these men and how they 'opened' the west for the rest of the country to grow, but I am so very saddened about the way of life the Indians had to give up and the manner in which they were forced to. Learning how different tribes warred against each other and then how they worked together to fight against the whites....I know it all happened but it still breaks my heart. I really enjoyed following Jedidiah Smith and his ilk. I tried to image myself in their shoes and honestly, I couldn't. But for these brave men, hard to imagine what kind of place this would be today. I gave it 4 stars only because for me, it was at first a bit dry to get into, but then it really picked up. So if you start this book, don't put it down. You will be glad you stuck with it.
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