From Library Journal
In 1846, a young man of privilege left his comfortable Boston home to embark on a strenuous overland journey to the untamed West. This timeless account of Parkman's travels and travails provides an expressive portrait of the rough frontiersmen, immigrants, and Native Americans he encounters, set against the splendor of the unspoiled wilderness. While Parkman's patrician air and unabashed racism sometimes jolt the modern reader, this remains a colorful classic by one of the 19th century's most prominent narrative historians. A circumspect abridgment and a laudable interpretation by veteran narrator Frank Muller enrich this audio version. Highly recommended.?Linda Bredengerd, Hanley Lib., Univ. of Pittsburgh, Bradford, Pa.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Francis Parkman's eyewitness account of his 1846 trek across the early West established him as an important historian and chronicler of soon-lost societies and traditions. Frank Muller's narration of this well-crafted abridgment is masterful. Parkman wrote with a fine sense of color and landscape. Muller brilliantly enhances these descriptions, adding his rich, expressive voice to Parkman's observations. Muller's cadence, sense of timing and emphasis are impeccable, and the narrative flows with the fascination of a novel. The text is a primary resource for American history studies, and the audio format makes a valuable contribution. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Historian Henry Steele Commager
"...Poetic eloquence and youthful excitement."


Booklist, May 1997
"Frank Muller lends excitement to Parkman's classic account of a westward trek, providing dramatically distinctive voices for the author's fellow wayfarers."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Francis Parkman set out west from St. Louis in order to see the prairie for himself and "to observe the Indian character". Along the way he encountered some "unexpected impediments" to this aim. In fact, Parkman's whole journey seems full of misadventures, which he describes with dry good humor and a charming ability to laugh at himself.

The series of minor disasters makes The Oregon Trail entertaining, but it is also a valuable narrative of life on the prairie and has some wonderfully detailed descriptions of Indian villages and customs. The author is clearly impressed with native sportsmanship, and brings the thrill of the hunt to life in vivid detail.

Parkman has a boundless fascination for all he sees, and seems to fall in love with the prairie itself over the course of the book. He transforms this enthusiasm into his descriptions, which often verge on the poetic.

Unlike many explorers of the West, Parkman is not hardedged, and while he is accurate, he is also somewhat romantic. This book is not saturated with the violence that characterizes much literature of this genre. His portraits of native people, while not always flattering, seem good-spirited.

This is not a scientific or anthropological treatise, but Parkman has a passion for these subjects which, coupled with his unique adventures, makes this a very appealing narrative.

SYNOPSIS

As a way of learning about the ways of the Plains Indians, as a basis for his proposed history of the struggle for control of North America by the English and French, Parkman set off from Westport, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail in spring of 1846. Only 23, he returned in September, 1846, with the story of his trip and his observations on all he had seen and done. The book documents the struggles the expedition encountered, and includes Parkman's predictions that both the buffalo and the Native American way of life will disappear. It remains a classic tale of the pioneer spirit found in nineteenth-century America.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

In 1846, a young man of privilege left his comfortable Boston home to embark on a strenuous overland journey to the untamed West. This timeless account of Parkman's travels and travails provides an expressive portrait of the rough frontiersmen, immigrants, and Native Americans he encounters, set against the splendor of the unspoiled wilderness. While Parkman's patrician air and unabashed racism sometimes jolt the modern reader, this remains a colorful classic by one of the 19th century's most prominent narrative historians. A circumspect abridgment and a laudable interpretation by veteran narrator Frank Muller enrich this audio version. Highly recommended.Linda Bredengerd, Hanley Lib., Univ. of Pittsburgh, Bradford, Pa.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

The Oregon Trail, edited [by] Seltskog￯﾿ﾽis the most authoritative text, based on scholarly collation of all editions published in Parkman's lifetime and containing an excellent critical and analytical introduction, textual and factual notes, Frederic Remington's illustrations and maps. This splendid edition is essential to an understanding of the Oregon Trail. — (Robert L. Gale, Francis Parkman)

I owe a great deal to an appallingly large number of historians but I am glad to name those from whom I have taken most or on whom I have principally relied: foremost and always Parkman. — (Bernard DeVoto, The Course of Empire)