The West : An Illustrated History by Geoffrey C. Ward, Dayton Duncan has got to be one of the most "Can't put down" type of books I've had the wonderful pleasure of owning, ever! The illustrations, to many to count are of the finest quality I've ever seen in a book not to mention that the editorial choices were perfect. The photos depict the exact expressions that capture those lost moments in time... If you can get this book - buy it! It is for all ages and you could never grow tired reading it, as well. A certain coffee table type book! I rate this book a 5 STAR!

The world has known the American West as the wild and untamed land of cowboys and Indians that Hollywood brought along with it's movies. The real story of the West is much more amazing than at first sight. Ward's story is beautifully illustrated with magnificent text that makes it a worthy successor to the movie series. He tells the story through the eyes of those who lived it and that is something very important in the history of the west. Without first hand accounts our knowledge would be vague, but this book captures the essence of all the west had and has to offer: adventure, a beautiful landscape, and a great mysterious past...

Being sucked into this book is not hard at all. With it's wonderful photographs of Native Americans and western pioneers, you get a true feeling of the life and culture. Geoffrey C. Ward is an excellent writer, and has put together one of the finest books of early American history and culture. I highly recommend the reading of this book to anyone whose roots derive from this era.

With all the drama and soap opera theatrics of the Clinton years, its hard to remember just how unusual and downright bizarre the 1988 Presidential election was. Though it didn't feature any serious attempts at impeachment or Wag the Dog style bombings, 1988 was still the year that saw, briefly, the possibility that both parties would nominate preachers for President, the Willie Horton ads (which have been called "racist" so many times that people tend to forget the fact that the only was they became an issue was because Gov. Dukakis saw no problem with allowing a known dangerous felon to have an unsupervised weekend outside of prison), Dan Quayle, and most strangely, the theory that the pairing of robotic Michael Dukakis and blandly corrupt Lloyd Bentsen would somehow lead to memories of Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Yeah, it was a strange year from the beginning, as this book clearly proves.

As opposed to other campaign histories, Grass Roots covers only one pivotal event in the campaign -- the New Hamsphire primary (which, even if it wasn't admitted at the time, pretty much sealed the nominations of both Bush and Dukakis). As well, instead of concentrating on all the behind-the-scenes strategizing, Grass Roots focuses on the citizen/activists who spent a year crisscrossing New Hampshire in an effort to bring their candidates to victory. Its a nice change from most campaign histories. Instead of supplying analysis of why certain campaigns failed, author Dayton Duncan instead shows us the gritty details that goes into the campaigns at the ground level and one comes away with both an appreciation of the massive effort it takes to run a succesful political campaign and a better feel for what makes for victory and what dooms a cause for defeat.

Duncan concentrates his narrative on a few individuals such as Doug Kidd, a former directionless man whose devotion to the Rev. Pat Robertson's campaign becomes rather touching and inspirational even if Robertson, himself, hardly strikes one as Presidential. We meet Al Rubega, a down-to-earth conservative whose frustration with the stillborn campaign of Jack Kemp reaches truly tragic heights. On the Democratic side, Dan Burnham faces the agony of watching Bruce Babbitt crash and burn as a result of the candidate's lack of charisma while veteran activist Andi Johnson helplessly watches as both Gary Hart and Joe Biden self-destruct in scandal before finally hooking up with the far more honest but just as doomed Paul Simon. Along with these stories, we get insightful views of various Presidential long-shots doing their best to make a name for themselves -- Duncan's account of a day in the life of Republican Pete Du Pont and his attempts to campaign as a common man (let's just say that juggling is involved) are especially funny and strangely sad. All in all, it makes for inspiring reading as both a political history and an account of human drama.

Duncan, it should be said, is admirably upfront about his own political leanings. He is a Democrat and, after the primary, even worked as a press secretary to the Dukakis campaign. So, what is amazing, is that this partisan has managed to write a truly nonbiased account of one of the most partisan presidential elections in recent history. As opposed to so-called objective journalists (Jack Germond and Jules Whitcover, I'm looking in your direction), Duncan treats all the candidates and their campaigns fairly and, even when writing about the Republicans that he surely disagrees with, Duncan never resorts to easy stereotypes. Everyone is allowed to present their case and everyone is treated with respect. What a concept!

Every post-election year, it seems that we are flooded with books that claim to give an inside account of the previous election and usually they dissapoint by either engaging in the pompous rhetoric of Teddy White's later books or the surly partisan grumpiness that seems to have afflicted Germond and Whitcover (who always seemed to be saying, "How could the rest of you vote differently from us!?") Duncan's book, however, reminds us why so many people have devoted their lives to politics. It reminds us that politics -- even today -- can still be an exhilirating way for a citizen to make his voice heard. And for that -- as well as giving as a wonderful record of really weird election -- he is to be commended and his book treasured.

Andi Johnson of Cheshire County, New Hampshire will tell you that NH takes their presidential politics seriously. You will find well educated voters and activists as they work hard to let people know their candidate can beat the other guy best. Dayton follows several local activists during the First in the Nation primary in Cheshire County, NH. You will learn what makes them tick and why they feel they are going to win: who's it gonna be: Senator Paul Simon (D-IL) or former Massachusetts Governor Mike Dukakis against George Bush or Pat Robertson...? Enjoy a good read and learn history in the making.

I enjoyed this book completely...it really gave me a sense of the human experience of the journey, and made me appreciate just what an incredible accomplishment it was. The illustrations really add to the enjoyment of the book, as do the excerpts from the journals of several of the men. I also liked the background information on what goals were actually behind the exploration and how they worked to meet those goals. There's only one reason that I didn't give this book 5 stars, and that's because it lacks a good map to help understand where they were during some of the events described. But that can be found in other works, and this really is a good introducion to Lewis and Clark...it's a relatively easy read but full of interesting facts and adventures.

I give high praise to this book and this reading. You will learn so much about the journey, and you'll feel the cold of the winters and the wonderment of their adventures. Taken from their actual journals, this book is even better than "Undaunted Courage". p.s. the unabridged is even better.

This audio is a great telling of this amazing journey. Any history buff should order this and play it over and over. The facts of the ride and the aftermath of the characters will leave you in awe.

Finally! A "coffee table" book that has top-quality photos and an excellent text.

MARK TWAIN: AN ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY is a companion to a two-part, four-hour documentary film, directed by Ken Burns, on the life and work of Samuel Langhorne Clemens and his "famously, irrepressibly rambunctious alter ego Mark Twain."

Ernest Hemingway once said that Twain is "the headwater of American fiction" and called THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN "the best book we've ever had. There was nothing before. There's been nothing as good since."

George Bernard Shaw referred to Twain as "America's Voltaire."

William Dean Howells described Twain as "incomparable, the Lincoln of our literature."

Susy Clemens once wrote of her father: "He is known to the public as a humorist, but he has much more in him that is earnest than that is humorous. He is as much of a Philosopher as anything, I think."

In this reviewer's considered judgment, Twain is the greatest literary genius America has produced, a thinker of remarkable depth and substance.

Twain's life was filled with many travels, adventures ... and tragedies. Born in 1835, when Halley's comet made its appearance, he lived for 75 years, until 1910, when Halley's comet returned. He survived, and suffered, the death of his beloved wife "Livy" (Olivia Louise Langdon), and three of their children: Langdon, who died in infancy; Susy, who died of spinal meningitis at age 24; and Jean, who died of a heart attack evidently brought on by an epileptic seizure.

"The secret source of humor itself," wrote Twain, "is not joy, but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven. ... [Our] race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon--laughter. Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand."

Laughter and sorrow: Twain was well acquainted with both. Known superficially to many admirers as merely a humorist or funny man, Twain was essentially, as he described himself, "a moralist in disguise" who preached sermons to "the damned human race."

Twain's literary corpus abounds with excoriating criticisms of racism, anti-Semitism, religious hypocrisy, governmental arrogance and imperialism, petty tyrants, and Philistine culture. His often deadpan humor bristles with barbed satire and withering sarcasm.

In addition to its narrative text, this volume includes five bonus essays: "Hannibal's Sam Clemens," by Ron Powers; "Hartford's Mark Twain," by John Boyer; "The Six-Letter Word," by Jocelyn Chadwick; "Out at the Edges," by Russell Banks; and an interview with Hal Holbrook, "Aren't We Funny Animals?"

MARK TWAIN: AN ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY is a rich and rewarding book.

This illustrated biography of one of America's most memorable and beloved authors holds quite a few surprises for the unsuspecting reader. Anticipating anecdotes from Mark Twain's life that would portray him as a kind, altruistic, and loving man, I was shocked to learn he was also an irrascible, guilt-ridden, tight-fisted lover of alcohol and cigars who was often looking for ways to get rich.

He was born in 19th century Missouri and raised during a time when major political, economic, social, and cultural issues were forging America's identity. The rugged 19th century also molded Twain into an outspoken critic of those forces, providing him with an unending stream of material for his cogent and waggish observations.

Amid a collection of excerpts from his novels and speeches, articles and essays, as well as numerous pictures and illustrations, the authors present an insightful analysis of the man best known for writing TOM SAWYER and HUCKLEBERRY FINN. What becomes obvious is the relevance, creativity and importance of all his work, not just the books we were assigned in high school.

This book is a treasure; the kind of book that can be referred to often. It can give food for thought for hours of reflection. It is Highly Recommended.

I wonder how many people could have led the life that Samuel Clemens did and kept their sanity. He went from riches to rags (even though it was his own fault...he spent money like it was going out of style and made some horrendous investments), which forced him, at the age of 60, into making a 10 month long physically and mentally draining around-the-world lecture tour. The tour enabled him to pay off his debts and regain his financial footing. Unfortunately, money was the least of his problems. The authors do not specifically state it, but it is clear (to me anyway) that Clemens suffered from manic-depression. At various times, and not coinciding with anything bad going on his life, he considered suicide. He had lifelong moodswings, as well as a volatile temper. (His daughters were afraid to be alone with him, as his behavior was so unpredictable. They made sure to visit him as a group.) The authors recount one incident where Clemens, angry over a missing button, opened an upstairs window and tossed all of his shirts out into the street. Saddest of all, Clemens outlived almost all of his loved ones. His beloved wife, Livy, who was almost 10 years younger than him, predeceased him, as did 3 of his 4 children. His one surviving child, his daughter Clara, suffered a nervous breakdown when Clemens was almost 70. A heavy load to bear, indeed, but somehow Clemens bore it and carried on. One thing that helped was his worldwide fame. Clemens was hungry for fame, even as a young man. He became well-known early in life, and remained famous and popular right up until he died. (He was a bit of a "ham." He would purposely time his walks for when people were emerging from church, and would then saunter past in his trademark- pun intended- white suits.) This book is an absolutely perfect blend of narrative by the authors, liberal excerpts from Clemens's many writings, "guest essays," and page after page of terrific period photographs. (The research done for the photographs, alone, must have been backbreaking.) The narrative and essays made this a good book. The addition of the excerpts and the photos turned it into a great book. The excerpts are not just from Clemens's well-known works, either. He was once asked to address an organization which consisted of descendants of the Puritans. The written text is reproduced in the book. Twain skewered the original Puritans for killing Native Americans and for kicking everyone who wasn't a Puritan out of Massachusetts, even though, as Clemens makes sure to emphasize, they left England under the banner of religious freedom. (You have to think that when the organization invited Clemens to speak, this wasn't quite what they had in mind.) One of the many interesting items included in the book is a list of the famous sayings "Mark Twain" supposedly uttered....but didn't. (He was so famous that it was assumed that anything clever originated with him.) Unfortunately, one of my all-time favorites was included in this list: "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." On the bright side, he DID say "The rumor of my death has been greatly exaggerated." One caution: the excerpts will make you want to read or re-read all of Twain. I've already ordered a copy of "The Innocents Abroad" as somehow, in my youth, I missed that one. Hats off to Geoffrey Ward, Dayton Duncan, and Ken Burns for this wonderful book!

One of my favorite books. Duncan shows a side of America most of us ignore. The country is still real empty in places but there are real people out there, too.

I read this book years ago and passages still stick in my mind.Duncan brings our very human existance into sharp focus by his studyof the extremely remote locations detailed in this book. I consider it a must read.

The audiobook version of "The West" is a fast paced excursion through the history of the west from the arrival of European immigrants to the early 20th century. Over 80% of the material, however, concentrates on the 19th century (where the bulk of the action is found). I found this to be a very exciting trip through the history of the region and do recommend it to anyone with an interest in history or the region.

The only flaws in the presentation are relatively minor. The first is the usual flaw found in most writers of western history of the latter part of the 20th century and that is an over-romanticization of the Native American cultures which tends to reduce the conflicts of the settlement of the west to "all Native Americans saintly; all white settlers act like Satan". While they do a good job of covering white atrocities inflicted on the Native Americans (i.e. the Sand Creek Massacre, the war against the Nez Perce, the routine violation of treaties by the government, etc.)the authors do gloss over the often violent history the Native American tribes had with each other as well as totally ignoring the barbaric aspects of some tribal cultures of the west. Still, on balance, they are far more objective in this area than the majority of western writers. Their is also an almost complete silence on the roll of religion in the settlement of the west. Also it is dissapointing that Alaska and Hawaii were completely excluded from coverage in the audiobook. It is also dissapointing that the book ends in the very early 20th century leaving out great 20th century events in the west such as the oil booms, the dust bowl, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the rise of tourism in the west.

Still, "The West" is an enjoyable listen, and is probably best listened to while driving in your car through the west.

I have read this title in Hardback and it was wonderful. The personal stories of fate, tradegy and triumph as the European immigrants settle on Native American lands are excellently written.

The story actually starts earlier than most would think - in the 1600s as the Spanish explore what is now New Mexico and Texas, and there are some misunderstandings between them and the Native Americans. Throughout the book, there are narratives following a person or a group of people and their journeys to the West.

My favorite narratives are the expansion of U. S. citizens to Texas, and the journey of the Mormons to Utah. I knew some the of the facts, however, they were vividly and poignantly written in this book.

Mr. Duncan sets out on a journey that registers on the odometer but fails to touch the raw nerve of the West. Tours of museums aren't exciting road stories, more like your bald uncle's excruciating vacation stories to Buena Vista. The Reagan-era "John Wayne" America is in full display here, with Native American issues handled with bizarre insensitivity considering how close he gets to them. God bless factories and tenderloin, we are supposed to cajole! Forget this book and its banal understanding of American history (I'd rather return to an 8th grade history class for better insights) and western life. Read Rick Bass or Abbey, Stegner or McCarthy, for the real stuff.

Duncan's Out West is an immensely enjoyable read! His humor, insight and detail make the book one of my all-time favorites. I grew up only ~3 miles from where the cover photo was taken, I have since relocated. This book takes me home.

When a review copy of Dayton Duncan's "Out West" arrived in the Ohio newsroom where I worked in the mid-1980s, I snagged it and devoured it within days. I knew right then I'd have to make the trip myself someday. When I got the chance to write a guidebook to the trail in the early 1990s ("Traveling the Lewis & Clark Trail," also available via amazon.com), "Out West" rode shotgun with the Lewis & Clark journals on my pickup seat. "Out West" is among the best American road books ever written, full of insight about the Lewis & Clark Expedition and how America has changed in the 200 years since then. From Duncan's "road rules" to his insider tips on the best cafes and most colorful characters along the way, you can't go wrong going "Out West" with Dayton Duncan.

I read this book over a decade ago and it stills makes me chuckle. It taught me a lot about Lewis and Clark's Mississippi voyage and kept me laughing along the way. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's craving a relaxed, intelligent, historical read. Enjoy!

This is fascinating reading for all who dream of following in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark and "discovering" those parts of the country that we know only in our imaginations. Especially interesting for us "born & bred" Easterners.

Ever since I read a few books about Lewis & Clark, I've been planning (in my head) a journey out west. This story captures the essence of how I envision my trip. Road rules, no highways, mom & pop restaurants, making new friends along the way.

I found this book very well written, fun, and engaging. I was able to feel what I think L&C and Mr. Duncan all felt. The excitement of a new journey, the weariness of such a long trip, and the saddness once the trip ended. I hope I can one-day follow in their footsteps.