In the first and most reliable biography of Daniel Boone in more than fifty years, award-winning historian Faragher brilliantly portrays America’s famous frontier hero, while illuminating the American hero-making process itself. Drawing from popular narrative, the public record, scraps of documentation from Boone’s own hand, and a treasure trove of reminiscences gathered by nineteenth-century antiquarians, Faragher uses the methods of new social history to create a portrait of the man and the times he helped shape. Blending themes from a much vitalized Western and frontier history with the words and ideas of ordinary people, Faragher has produced a book that will stand as the definitive life of Daniel Boone for decades to come, and one that illuminates the frontier world of Boone like no other.
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"A very detailed and thorough treatment of Daniel Boone's life. This book seemed very objective, and was meticulously researched. The events of Boone's life were discussed to separate fact from fiction as well as it could have been done."
— Mr. (5 out of 5 stars)
“A richly textured portrait of a fascinating, complex man…Faragher’s work is unique.”
— San Francisco Chronicle“Boone is worthy of historical attention as a personification of the westward movement. Faragher has written an absorbing, definitive biography.”
— Publishers Weekly“[Grover Gardner] reads this with a quiet voice, using a variety of expressions and intonations. Faragher’s story, combined with [Gardner’s] narration, aids in the digestion of this new insight into early American history.”
— Library Journal“Well written and immensely satisfying in several ways, this biography separates myth from fact while also showing that this is a man about whom legends have been made…Boone speaks to the American spirit in an elemental way that is wonderfully conveyed by this author, in a book that readers will find memorable.”
— School Library Journal" In this highly readable book, Faragher undertakes to separate the life from the legend of Daniel Boone. His goal is not to be a an iconoclast but to understand why it is that the legends have persisted. "
— Sherry, 3/2/2013" very interesting and what a rough life he had "
— Kevin, 9/11/2012" Well written and a intriguing look at a true American pioneer. "
— Butch, 3/19/2011" I've read a number of Daniel Boone biographies, and of those I've read, I believe this one is the most thorough and provides the best look at Boone's life. If you're only going to read one Daniel Boone biography, make it Faragher's. "
— Robert, 10/5/2010" Detailed honest look at Boone's life. "
— Frank, 10/3/2010" As a westerner myself this was a startling revelation of how brutal my glorified family history actually was. America is just as bloody and brutal as any empire that came before. Shocked, disgusted, and a little disheartened. "
— Sarallyn, 6/1/2010" Okay, so I didn't technically read all of this book. I read parts here and there to finish my assignments. It seemed well-written and a good rendering of the history of the American West. "
— Katherine, 4/16/2009" Great overview, representing more recent understanding of Western history. "
— Bud, 3/4/2009John Mack Faragher is the Arthur Unobskey Professor of American History at Yale University. He is the author of Women and Men on the Overland Trail, for which he received the Frederick Jackson Turner Award, and the acclaimed Sugar Creek: Life on the Illinois Prairie.
Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.