Best of Dee Brown's West: An Anthology

If my library of Western America was limited to a single book, I think it would have to be this wonderful anthology. Dee Brown has been our master. (Tony Hillerman)The stories of such well-known figures as Lewis and Clark, Jim Bridger, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as well as other, more obscure characters are told as if Brown himself had lived closely with each. Supplemented by period photographs and illustrations, the anthology reads like fiction but educates as well.... the best collection of his essays, showcasing his empathetic treatment of his subjects and his careful research, factors that have earned him high honors. (Publishers Weekly)Dee Brown, our foremost popular historian of the American West, has been exploring its true history for more than 50 years in some 30 books and dozens of historical articles. Known for his forceful and well-documented narratives, Dee Brown changed the way we look at the West. Without a political or ideological axe to grind, he has stripped away familiar stereotypes and romanticized images, he has always shown us the Old West as it really was. The enormously successful book that established his reputation, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1971), forever changed our view of the Indian.The 25 works in this collection span 100 years of history. Brown includes pieces on noted figures such as Lewis and Clark and Geronimo, stories of the Pony Express riders, longhorn ranchers and cowboys, and women who were brought to the West to marry miners and ranchers. He offers accounts of the Trail of Tears, the Santa Fe Trail, western settlement, the Plains Indians, war and peace between whites and Indians, and an assortment of intrigues, crimes, and scandals. Containing some of Brown's best work, this book will captivate readers with an interest in a perennially fascinating chapter of our history.