Independence!

Wagons West #1

by Dana Fuller Ross

When the Panic of 1837 creates hard times, a dauntless band of pioneering men and women journey from Long Island to Missouri with the hopes of eventually finding a better future in the rich Oregon Territory.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Westerns, Fiction, Romance, Historical, Adventure, 19th Century

422 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Dana Fuller Ross is a pseudonym used by Noel B. Gerson and James M. Reasoner.

Noel Gearson specializes in historical military novels, westerns, and mysteries. He also writes under the pseudonyms, "Dana Fuller Ross.", Anne Marie Burgess; Michael Burgess; Nicholas Gorham; Paul Lewis; Leon Phillips; Donald Clayton Porter; Philip Vail; and Carter A. Vaughan. He has written more than 325 novels.

James Reasoner (pictured) is an American writer. He is the author of more than 150 books and many short stories in a career spanning more than thirty years. Reasoner has used at least nineteen pseudonyms, in addition to his own name: Jim Austin; Peter Danielson; Terrance Duncan; Tom Early; Wesley Ellis; Tabor Evans; Jake Foster; William Grant; Matthew Hart; Livia James; Mike Jameson; Justin Ladd; Jake Logan; Hank Mitchum; Lee Morgan; J.L. Reasoner (with his wife); Dana Fuller Ross; Adam Rutledge; and Jon Sharpe. Since most of Reasoner's books were written as part of various existing Western fiction series, many of his pseudonyms were publishing "house" names that may have been used by other authors who contributed to those series

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As part of my quest to re-read my favorite series, I decided to jump back into Dana Fuller Ross' Wagons West books! I first read this series when I was about 14 years old. I loved it as a teenager! There are 24 books in the series. Back when I started reading, there were only about 12...so the last half will be new to me! :)

Independence! starts the journey west. The wagon train forms at Long Island, NY for the first long leg of the journey. They will travel west to Independence, MO, where some of the travelers will leave the train and others will continue on towards Oregon. At Independence, they will re-stock supplies and take on a new wagon master. Russia and England both want the Oregon Territory....so agents from both nations have signed on to sabotage the trip in an effort to prevent settlement in Oregon. Along the way they face challenges, take on new wagons, and learn to survive.

All in all, I enjoyed re-visiting this story. I'm just as obsessed with the pioneer era and Old West as I was way back in the '80s. As an adult re-visiting this book, I found some of the plot to be too melodramatic or romanticized and the characters a bit too stereotype. I wanted more realistic action and a lot less romance. One of the main female characters acts spoiled and jealous for nearly the entire book, but still manages to catch her man. *eye roll* I do see why my 14-year old self loved this book. But, as a 50 year old, I found the plot a bit too simple and centered around the ridiculous romance angles. I wanted more pioneer and less pouty lips.

I'm going to stick with the series to the end though. Back in the early '80s, I read through all the books that were published at that time. But then I got busy with high school, followed by college....and I just didn't have time for much fiction reading. I lost track of the series until now. So, my goal is to read through the entire series....I have to know who makes it to Oregon and the other territories in the end! :) There are some spin-off books as well that I will read if I can find them.

I got lucky and my local library had the first book in audio (Brilliance Audio) on their digital site. I enjoyed listening to the story as I worked in my garden. :) Narrated by Phil Gigante, the audio is almost 11 hours long. Gigante has a nice voice and gave a great performance. I have hearing loss, but was easily able to hear and understand the entire audio book. Unfortunately, the library only has the first book. I have books 2 and 3 in paperback. After that, I will have to hunt the titles up and read as I can. Might take me awhile to get through all 24...but I'm determined! :)

I'm going to give this a 4/5 rating mostly for nostalgia. The book is an entertaining read, but the plot is very cliche. The characters are very sterotypical...and the romance is cheesy. Entertaining -- yep. Great book? Not really. It's pretty much like a pioneer soap opera.

On to the next book -- Nebraska! :)

[Steven Walle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very well written book concerning a large group of strangers in a wagon train. They were headed west to Indipendence Missouri to claim the Oregon territory. Old Hickory wanted to claim it for America and Great Brittan and Russia were also in the race for that promised land.
The book was frought with love, parell and adventure. I highly recommend it to all.
Be Blessed.
Diamond

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first nine books in HS and have had them in boxes for years. I found them about a month ago and remembered how I had enjoyed them and since it had been so long, thought it would be like reading new books. And it is, sort of, after I start reading then I start remembering, some what ;-)

Oh, and there are 24 books in the Wagon's West series, not nine, ha I thought I had them all. Not sure if I will finish all, seems overwhelming.

I really loved reading Independence again, the characters are strong and likable or not so (Henry St. Clair). There is romance, action, and suspense.

It is so unimaginable even thinking what traveling in a covered wagon would be like, now with flying we don't even want to drive places, yet they are going to spend two years traveling to Oregon. Yuck.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books about the west - both American and Canadian. Indepence! is the first book in a long series about eastern Americans moving into the lands beyond the Mississippi. An enjoyable read, fast and mostly historically accurate. The characters are too many to get a good handle on each in one book. I hope to see more character development as the series goes along.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just arrived from USA through BM.

This is the first book of a series of 24 books written by Dana Fuller Ross, the pen name for James Reasoner. This author wrote 5 more huge series based on American historical fiction.

Concerning the Wagons West series, this first book is enough for me since we can guess what will happen in the next 23 books.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this series when I was in middle school, high school and college. So what the hell, let's re-read it. It will most likely make me cringe, but then I get more room in the book storage, right?

It's actually not that cringe worthy. Yes, it is a little stereotypical romance without the sex. But, considering that two men wrote the series, the fact that the woman doesn't really change or at least changes as the man changes is nice. And you do have women that actually do things . The worst is the Native American character Stalking Horse, who speaks in stereotypical broken English. But even there it is a little more than the times. The white man who draws on Stalking Horse is condemned and actually fired for his behavior. The one Native American in this book who "attacks" women does so because he is actually trying to buy the services of a woman he thinks is a prostitute (and to be fair she was once). He is perfectly willing to pay for her services. It is the white men direct with the threats of rape. Additionally, Native American characters are described in part by their general tribal names.

There is a bit of Jackson going on about Manifest Destiny and such. But Jackson would say that wouldn't he?

SO far from perfect, but much better than I thought it would be on the re-read. It's 400 plus pages and I read it in an evening. Enjoyable and fun. Still keeping it. On to #2.

[Anastaciaknits · Rating 5 out of 5]

My parents read - most - of this series when they were being published regularly, and I read a ton of them back in the day, too. I'm rereading the series, as far as I feel the urge to anyway.

It's cornily written, extremely sexist - but of course, the west was sexist! the plot on the light side, but I can't help but read it all the same. Looking forward to reading more.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this seires years ago and loved them all.

[Brent Ecenbarger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suspect if you read this hoping for grit and sex and completely original characters you'll think it's a drag. If you read it instead looking for a western filled with archetypes traveling across the continent, you're going to love this. As book one in a twenty-five book series, Independence begins with Andrew Jackson devising a plan to get Americans traveling to the Oregon Territory. He's enlisted reluctant outdoorsman Sam Brentwood to lead the expedition, taking the joining parties from New York all the way to Independence, Missouri. From there the wagon train will be led by Whip Holt out to the West Coast.

The first few pages of my book is a character directory for people who join the train, with 16 primary characters listed. There were a few other major characters not included in that list, which gave me a few spoilers as to who would die along the way, so if you're reading I'd recommend skipping these pages as the story is straight forward and characters drawn broadly enough you won't get them confused with each other.

I've mentioned in a few other reviews, but when I read books I often like to picture them as a movie and figure out what actors would play the main characters. This was a fun one to do that with, as the writing was very cinematic and the characters were fun to root for/cast. Here's who I came up with for most of the leads:

Timothy Olyphant was an obvious pick as Sam Brentwood. Sam felt a lot like Sam Bullock in Deadwood, being reserved but proficient and good at heart.

Claudia Humphreys I went with Isabelle Cornish. I think I thought of her because she has a famous sister and one of the first things we learn about her is she has a sister in this book. Also, I'm a sucker for thinking of English or Australians in old westerns for some more 1800's speaking.

Whip Holt is one of my favorite actors, Glen Powell. This dude needs to do some westerns, but I always love his cocky demeanor he bring to the films.

Natalie Alyn Lind as Cathy Van Ayl Her character was basically the beautiful younger sister who's creepy husband was way older than her. The creepy husband would be played by....

David Cross as Otto Van Ayl

Other main characters include:
Hugh Laurie as Baron Ernst Von Thalman

Matthew Goode as Henry St. Claire

Madelaine Petsch as Tonie Mell

Jessy Schram as Lena Caldwell

Tell me you wouldn't watch a movie, tv series, mini-series, whatever with this group of people traveling across the country. I haven't even mentioned how Steven Seagal, Ricky Gervais, John Goodman, Faye Reagan, Emily Blunt and Benny the Jet Rodriguez from the Sandlot fit in. Anyways, the book was a blast, I'm down for this series. The titles of the books are mainly states, up next is Nebraska, and I'm curious how the series is going to progress with how they start hopping around after that.

(Note - This was the second book I tried out from a curated grab bag from Hyde Brothers Book Store, my favorite book store in the whole world.)

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually try to avoid reading series for a couple of reasons. One, I'm afraid I'll lose interest or become disappointed somewhere down the line, thereby discrediting the original passion that I had for the initial book. Another reason is, I just hate the thought of waiting and waiting and waiting for a new installment only to find that, for whatever reason, the author can't or won't be writing more of the series. I stumbled across what I thought was a relatively new series and since it was written in my favorite fiction genre and titled after the state that I live in, I picked it up.

With a little searching, I came to find out that what I'd purchased brand new was actually a reprint of a series that was printed in the late seventies to late eighties, the "Wagon's West" series by Dana Fuller Ross. Not only is the series already complete, and not only did I begin reading it out of order, but there are a total of 24 titles in the series with an additional series shooting off from it. The secondary series is entitled "The Holts, An American Dynasty," and has a total of ten titles.

I'm hooked on the "Wagons West" series in a bad way. I have read volumes 1-8, mostly in order. Having searched used book stores and such for the books, I could not always find the book that I needed, so I read what I could find. It seems the publisher who is putting out reprints is in no hurry to get them on the shelves, probably trying to re-kindle the original draw to the series by releasing them in the same time period as they were originally released. I don't know, but waiting drove me crazy, so I searched the used book stores and picked up what I could because I'm feverish with obsession.

This series is a fantastic read for lovers of historical fiction, westerns, romance or action-adventure books. My favorites so far have been "Texas" and "Nevada," because the action is non-stop. Not one of the books in the series thus far has been a sleeper, though. The characters are unforgettable and the situations are believable. The interactions, introductions, and continuations are flawlessly executed. The writing style of Dana Fuller Ross keeps me turning page after page.

[Lela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally read this book series as a teenager and I decided to re-read them now that I'm 40. It took me forever to remember the author name or even the series beyond "Wyoming."

It's mostly as I remember it. A little bit Western, a little bit romance, and lot of pioneer gumption. I was so in love with Whip and Cathy; still am. :)

I believe I read the entire series before. Not sure if I'll make it through all of them again, but I'm going to see where it takes me...

[Patty Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ran across this book in a used book store and picked it up because I love westerns. Turns out it is the first of a dozen or so books Ross wrote about the settling of the mid and western states. The books can be read as stand alones but they do follow the same few families across the country so if you have the luxury of reading them in order, do. Am now having trouble finding some of them since some are out of print. Good western fare!

[Nan · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read a bunch of the books from this series a long time ago and while i don't remember the writing style as being anything special, they stand out in my memory as books that made the pioneer experience come to life and become more real to me.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. I'm not sure it qualifies as an historical fiction - lucky if there are six pages of any historical setting/description/explanation. The dialogue is blathering romance novel without the good stuff.

[Linda Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first few books from this series many long years ago - probably not too long after they were published. I don't remember the plots, and that's not a good sign. Since I remember liking the books at the time and yet they weren't memorable, I'll give them three stars.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1992

[Tyler Obenauf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very engaging and encapsulated many different genres of writing. I enjoyed it enough to order Books 2 and 3 to see what happens next.

Curious to see if we continue with all characters or only some.

[Carol Sandford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book read exactly as it said it would. A nice pleasant read. No surprises and I can image the following 20 odd books would read much the same. So I'm going to save myself a lot of expense and consider it done.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars mostly for nostalgia’s sake, I have vivid memories of reading this series as a kid. And who can resist the smell of an old mass market...

[D Heale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I bought the whole series at a book sale awhile back and just started reading it. Looking forward to starting the next story!

[Laura Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun way to learn about a time in history where we didn’t have our western states yet. It’s fascinating that a trip west, on a wagon train took up to two years. The characters were a bit predictable, but the story was good. Many scenes were constructed that actually did occur on the famous trips west- spiced up with creative license by the author. I will definitely continue the series!

[Brick ONeil · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in this multi-book series was bought for me decades ago from a little used book store in a tiny town. After that first book, I was hooked, going on to read all 34 books in the series. The characters feel like old family friends, you follow them from the first wagon train to populate Oregon and their lives. There were many authors using the pseudonym "Dana Fuller Ross" but they all kept the themes, plots and style the same. You actually care about the characters, what happens to them, how they live, love and die. Normally I have never cared for westerns or romances but this feels like a genre all to itself. And for me to care about the characters in a setting like this, is quite something.

In this first book, Independence, we meet the first wagon train's occupants who will be travelling for two years from the east coast to the west coast of the United States, still in it's infancy. There are trials and tribulations, to be sure, but their guides show them how to survive everything from floods, tornados to 'indians'. There is a level of writing that I rarely see in any book written formerly or since, that captures the level of intimacy that the Wagons West series does so very well.

I wholeheartedly recommend Independence as well as the rest of the books. I give 5 stars.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the beginning of a big series of books, telling a story about people who settled the west and then went on to settle other areas, and serve our country in its early days. The struggles and triumphs in this book are well written, with an infusion of American history and how areas were settled, and some of the challenges between the "New Americans" and the "Old Americans" and how there were good relations and bad relations involved in the settling of America. The reading is wonderful and I'd absolutely recommend this book and the series, which I've read 13 of them so far. These books were written in the 70's, but the story does not get old. Dana Fuller Ross gets how to write to personalize our history so we learn as well as enjoy a storyline about the characters in the book and getting to root and or boo the the characters who deserved it. It even gives insight into the Indian's thought processes during this time that give you a more personal understanding of the history of our migration west.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting start to the series.Lots of characters,but easy to follow.

There are 24 books in this series,and I do not plan to read that many!However there are several that I do want to read.

I enjoyed this first book,except for the ridiculous part about the prairie dog pup!Since adult PDs only weigh 1-3 lbs. there is no way anyone would be carrying a pup in their arms,since it would be more like a handful,not an armful,sheesh!

Next one I plan to read is Oregon.I realize I will not be keeping the character events in order,which will probably cause me to drop this series,but that is why I detest series books that cannot be read as a 'stand-alone' book,with no book having an open ending.

There is infrequent scattered profanity also some including god's name.

[Virginia Markhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

So great to visit with an old friend. I first read this book back in the 980's when the series was a rage. Loved it then, and love it now.

In the first book, the wagon train leaves from the east and heads toward Independence Missouri. Sam Brentwood is the leader appointed by President Andrew Jackson. Early pioneers include Claudia Humphreys (who marries Sam Brentwood when the wagon reach Independence), her sister and brother in law Cathy and Otto Van Ayl (Otto dies in an attack by a gang of felons), and Tonie Mell who is one of my many favorites.

The book has plenty of suspense and action, but primarily tells a very realistic accounting of life on the trail.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

First in a series of historical fiction about the pioneers who worked their way west from the East Coast during the early years of the United States.

This book tells the tale of the beginnings of the journey from the East Coast to Independence, which was at that time (1837) the westernmost civilized area. It is not easy as there are folks out there from Russia and England who wanted nothing more than to claim the land in Oregon as their own and would stop at nothing to stop the wagon train.

Great beginning to an older series of books!

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Independence by Dana Fuller Ross...is a series on how and why folks would travel great and long distance on where folks would want to travel and start a new life back in the 1800's. They would endure great struggles of loss and happiness as on a wagon traveling west. I enjoyed it reading the entire series once and now I'm reading the series again. Enjoy it like I have and still even for the second times!!

[Aldafan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a bit late in finding this series but I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one. I love American history. I am amazed at the courage folks showed in venturing off into the unknown with all their possessions in a covered wagon. It's a pretty easy read but still, interesting to be reminding of the importance we put on material possessions now.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this series! What a fun way to get perspective on American history. The books are written so you feel you are right there with the characters, experiencing what they are. Naturally there is the family plot to follow as well. Very well written. By the time I finished the first book, I couldn't wait to delve into the next.

[Mgsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

May sound somewhat repetitive here but I got hooked on the first book and it was like an addiction.
The author shows how the westward movement affected families and individuals while placing them within history itself.