American Heritage History of the Pioneers

by Richard M. Ketchum

America's story is made up of many elements, but through it have coursed two main streams that have nourished and carried a people forward to a destiny that was beyond all imagining when the story began. One of these is an idea that goes back to the rim of recorded time. It was first a dim, gnawing hope that the future lay in a magic land off to the west. Once that land was found, it drew people to it like a magnet. It is easy to say that it was gold or precious stones or land that led them on, for it was all of these. Yet, it was more - and here was the second great stream of American history. There was something that literally drove people westward, goading them across the endless mountains, through steep passes, across searing plains and desert into the face of terrors known and those unguessed. It was vision. It was courage. It was, at times, the sheer joy of overcoming fantastic obstacles. And it was also the conviction that what they were doing was different from anything that had happened before, that nothing would ever be quite the same again, and that the world would be a better place for what they had accomplished. "Eastward I go only by force," Henry David Thoreau said, "but westward I go free." The sleep of 100 centuries was stirred up in that surge toward the sunset, for out of it emerged not only a new people and a new nation but a force that changed the globe.

Genres: History

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

A graduate of Yale, Richard Ketchum was a writer and editor who worked for the American Heritage Publishing Company from 1956 until 1974.

Reviews

[Corgi Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I'm really enjoying this book. I came across American Heritage History of the Pioneer Spirit on Amazon and decided to buy it. As I've gotten older, I've become more interested in American history. This book is an overall view of certain people and situations that happened in the past and how it affected the United States. It's basically an overview of events and people that shaped our nation and events both large and small. It doesn't spend a lot of time on each subject, but so what? From what the book contains, you can do further research elsewhere. It certainly whets your appetite to discover more about the events that happened in the past and the people involved. I even read things about events and people I'd never heard of before. A fascinating book.

[Jeff Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, but it wasn't what I expected. My expectation was reading more about the Oregon and Santa Fe trails. There was new interesting information i didn't know. When they talked about inventions, nothing was said about Thomas Edison and very little about Ford. I felt the history was a bit spotty and tended to be shaped to turn the opinion of the reader. Could have used some more review.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have owned this book since it was published; received a subscription to American Heritage Magazine the year before (1958). Have scanned all illustrations and related captions over the years and probably read most of the text. A very useful overview of the topic. Use as reference now.

[Belle Meade School]

973

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disjointed. Shallow.