The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman 9781470061197 Books
Download As PDF : The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman 9781470061197 Books
This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare s finesse to Oscar Wilde s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library.
The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman 9781470061197 Books
Francis Parkman writes with incredible style in these memoirs about his "tour of curiosity and amusement to the Rocky Mountains." He wanted to learn about the Indians, to "live in the midst of them, and become, as it were, one of them." He spent weeks among the Ogallala, and even though he suffered from dysentery he embraced every adventure that came his way. His descriptions included vivid word pictures like "cacti were hanging like reptiles at the edges of every ravine." I particularly enjoyed his understatement in his description of riding a mule. "If one is anxious to place himself in a situation where the hazardous and the ludicrous are combined in about equal proportions, let him get upon a vicious mule, with a snaffle bit, and try to drive her through the woods down a slope of 45 degrees...His mule, if she be a true one, will alternately stop short and dive violently forward, and his position upon her back will be somewhat diversified and extraordinary." This book provides wonderful insight into the thinking of the 1840's and a good picture of the true wild west.Product details
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Tags : The Oregon Trail [Francis Parkman] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past,Francis Parkman,The Oregon Trail,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1470061198,Literature & Fiction General,FICTION Classics
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The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman 9781470061197 Books Reviews
This book really isn't about the Oregon Trail as other reviewers have mentioned but I enjoyed it because of the glimpse into an America that is gone now. The author was a young man of about twenty-three when he made this trip. He was well educated and able to report on what he saw with the eye of a well-traveled man. He reflects some of the prejudices of his time but he makes an effort to meet some of the Indians and even spends some time camping with them. His reporting on shooting buffalo just for sport is hard to swallow from what followed in the settling of the west. We all know how that turned out. I might add that after reading this book I downloaded "The Letters & Journals of Narcissa Whitman" and "Across the Plains" by Catherine Sager. All very interesting.
A rich, detailed, and emotive description of the perils western immigrants faced on the Oregon Trail. Compared to Lewis's and Clark's journals 40 some years earlier, which are must reading because of their matter-of-fact descriptions of the new American lands, Francis Parkman's account is more emotional and more detailed in relating the specifics of buffalo hunts and Indian encounters, among other experiences. One further takeaway when one reads what the settlers suffered on their way west with no one to rely on but themselves, family, and fellow journeyers and having no social safety nets, it reinforces that many modern Americans have lost their self reliance and demand too much from others to protect them from harms that pale in comparison to those face by Oregon Trail travelers.
Starting in St. Louis in the spring of 1846 we join Francis Parkman for a ripping adventure to the Rocky Mountains. Parkman's style was only slightly formal, but generally conversational and surprisingly modern in feel.
This is the free version, and is well worth the download, whether you read the book closely or just skim and dip. The book, while free, is well formatted and easily readable, making it an especially good -freebie find.
For one with an interest in the Wild West of the mid 1800's, this is a remarkable journal. The read can be a bit of a task because Parkman's incredible vocabulary uses many words not common in today's language. This makes the reading on a great idea by use of the dictionary. Although the author believed that the civilization of Native Americans was necessary, he still had a great respect for their customs and beliefs. His picturesque descriptions throughout this work provide an intriguing view of what it must have been like in the wilderness of interior America in those days. Some topics are often repeated, such as the buffalo hunts, but it is a true journal of a trip I can only imagine being part of. I will likely read other works by this writer to get a clearer understanding of life in those times.
Fabulous as a look at how a capable man might have seen the days in which the American West was "settled". Parkman's interest was in learning about Native Americans, not in getting to Oregon. He did just that, and as he tells us of his adventures, he reveals the contempt that whites had for these "savages" and their culture. He survives his adventures by being an excellent horseman, an excellent shot, skilled at understanding where danger lurked, and willing to sleep in the rain or ride for days with dysentery. His survival is also aided by his timing the Army was just being turned loose on the Natives as he was concluding his adventures, and those who befriended him, or treated him with courtesy would soon be dead.
The book is good because Parkman is a keen observer, and the writing appears as if he wrote every single day. Parkman's vocabulary is larger than most reader's, and he doesn't mind working his thoughts into sophisticated prose. The prose contrasts with the coarse life the author lives in this book.
We may know of the disrespect that whites felt for Native Americans and Mexicans, but their contempt for buffalo ("stupid", "clumsy", "ugly", "blundering"), wolves, birds, and other living things helps explain what happened to wild America. Parkman and colleagues thought nothing of killing a buffalo for its tongue or less. Native American men armed with guns and horses do not seem any more considerate in Parkman's account, though their squaws did what they could to collect and use the dead bounty. And so Parkman is in the vanguard of the early obliteration of wildlife in the American plains. Many now living on those plains seem to have inherited Parkman's views, and don't see why tree huggers should be trying to protect varmints.
Tree huggers won't enjoy what happens in this book, nor will buffalos or Native Americans. Rinker Buck's "The Oregon Trail A New American Journey" follows the Oregon Trail, has a happier ending, and actually travels farther than Francis Parkman did, without the loss of one buffalo. I recommend both books.
Francis Parkman writes with incredible style in these memoirs about his "tour of curiosity and amusement to the Rocky Mountains." He wanted to learn about the Indians, to "live in the midst of them, and become, as it were, one of them." He spent weeks among the Ogallala, and even though he suffered from dysentery he embraced every adventure that came his way. His descriptions included vivid word pictures like "cacti were hanging like reptiles at the edges of every ravine." I particularly enjoyed his understatement in his description of riding a mule. "If one is anxious to place himself in a situation where the hazardous and the ludicrous are combined in about equal proportions, let him get upon a vicious mule, with a snaffle bit, and try to drive her through the woods down a slope of 45 degrees...His mule, if she be a true one, will alternately stop short and dive violently forward, and his position upon her back will be somewhat diversified and extraordinary." This book provides wonderful insight into the thinking of the 1840's and a good picture of the true wild west.
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