Lost Men of American History

by Stewart H. Holbrook

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Genres: History

370 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1946

About the author

Stewart Hall Holbrook (1893 - 1964) was an American lumberjack, writer, and popular historian. His writings focused on what he called the "Far Corner" - Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. A self-proclaimed "low-brow" historian, his topics included Ethan Allen, the railroads, the timber industry, the Wobblies, and eccentrics of the Pacific Northwest.

He wrote for The Oregonian for over thirty years, and authored dozens of books. He also produced a number of paintings under the pseudonym of "Mr. Otis."

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book, written in an older, erudite but accessible style that is a pleasure to read. Herein this forgotten classic one can see the roots of many, many contemporary popular revisionist histories-notably Philbrick's books on the Revolution and the Adams series.
The author was clearly a "muscular socialist" of the old school- the kind of guy who today would vote for Bernie Sanders, volunteer on the AT, but still go deer and duck hunting and would know the workings of a car engine like the back of his hand. he might chop his own wood, but would probably prefer solar.
Many of these chapters were conflated later into shorter articles in American Heritage magazine. Written in 1944-45, the book reflects the language and concerns of that era, but nonetheless does a great job of illustrating Americas' evolution via the explanation of obscure persons' lives and their contributions to the Republic.
Who knew the Dairy Cow had such an interesting socio-economic history? Long forgotten is the brilliant " An Appeal To Reason",which today still haunts Democratic Party politics. Who knew the Grange and Montgomery Ward Inc. were so closely linked?Astonishing is the fact that nobody in the South was ever lynched for having " Uncle Toms' Cabin", but " The Impending Crisis" actually got many men hung before 1860. It colors popular perceptions of the South even today. Was Sam Adams a selfish scoundrel?- yup, he was.
The best and most brilliant chapter is the last:" In Praise of the Harding Era", which is caustic, accurate, fair and outrageously funny. To whit-" Harding's speeches, said Mencken, were a series of great and wonderful platitudes and phrases, adrift in a vast, lonely, empty prairie- devoid of any solid ideas".
Well worth reading.

[Rob Branigin · Rating 3 out of 5]

More solid, enjoyable anecdotal history from Mr. Holbrook. If you enjoyed any of his other books, you'll likely enjoy this one as well.

[Noland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book of some "alternative" US history notables (both men & women - don't let the title fool ya). Holbrook has a great way of not only finding out the great innovators in our country but also what context made them so "great," too. Not all of them are heroes, by any stretch, but their influence on industry, society and the formation of the United States is worthy of engaging examination by Holbrook.

[Darryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was written in 1946 and looks at important, but unknown people, who helped contribute to the growth of America from the Revolution to the present.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intersting take on American history looking at the lesser known people.