This book is well written, fun, and an entertaining story of a boy who falls in love an old barn and finds more than friendship and enemies along the way! A must read for any one who loves Americana in an easy read with indepth detail!

No, I'm not some high school kid forced to read this for freshman English who hated it on principle. I am middle-aged, usually love the classics, am a history buff, and volunteer at the site of a Revolutionary War hospital. So, when I found this in a used book store, I was looking forward to the read. What I found was the Seinfeld of historical fiction--a book about nothing.

Well, of course, ostensibly this is a book about the Revolutionary War as fought in upstate New York--at that time the frontier. The writing is good. The history is accurate and well researched, but I kept expecting something to happen at every turn, and very little did. Instead of actual Indian raids, there were usually warnings of raids, so that the folks got into the fort on time. There they spent long, dreary days doing long dreary things--realistic, probably--but not the kind of thing I couldn't put down. In fact, I put it down often, and for long periods.

This is a shame because Edmonds' use of words is quite good, and he did an excellent job whenever he was depicting the relationship between Lana and Gil Martin, a married couple caught up in the events. I wish, in fact, that the author had focused more on their individual story, rather than trying to bring in so many different couples and individuals that they were very diffucult to keep track of, and worse, to care about.

I give this four stars for the writing style and the history, but, for me, it was pretty boring.

This story of the Revolutionary War era settlers in the Mohawk River valley was excellent. Edmonds did considerable historical research and his characters come alive as he tells this tale of the conflict between the Tories who support the King and the farmers who are in favor of the revolt against England.

The story focuses on Gil and Lana Martin, two young settlers who work tirelessly to get a farm established in the valley.

Their hard work is repeatedly destroyed by the Destructives -- Tory and Indian raiders who burn the farms and crops and slaughter anyone who supports the Revolution. The farmer militias strike back at the Tories and their supporters and strike with equal savagery. As in Bosnia and Kosova, the conflict pits neighbor against neighbor.

The novel is about the people of the valley -- both the white settlers and to a lesser degree the Indians -- and their fight to survive in a very hostile environment. I found the story entertaining and I learned quite a bit about the people, the place, and the events that occurred there.

Drums Along the Mohawk is the story of families in the Mohawk River valley that cope with Indian and British attacks on their homes and families. Many of these people fight for the American cause and are very serious about it. This is a different perspective, the fighting on the frontier. It may be hard to find, but it is worth the effort for a challenging and emotional book. The characters and their jobs, no matter how minor they are, come to life in one of the best books I have read about the American Revolution from a Patriot point-of-view. I would strongly suggest this book for a history or war reader and an advance reader.

A real canal buff's opportunity to see canals as they really might have been--gritty, deadly, dirt-hard working conditions--hardly romantic as we'd like to believe. References to real times and real places on the Erie and the Ohio & Erie canals,as well as depicting the lifestyle, make it a good resource.

folk stories (could be true but probably changed much in the retelling) about life in the heyday of canaling. Gives you a real slice of life of the times. Would recomend to anyone interested in the canal or history on them. (Mostly from the Erie canel but some are from Ohio-Erie, and the rest of area.) It was a good read, very entertaining.

Winner of the 1942 John Newbery Medal for most significant contribution to children's literature, "The Matchlock Gun" is one of the shortest--yet one of the most memorable--of all the Newbery Medal books. I've read every one of the Newbery books from 1922 through 2000, and this little story made a big impression on me. The novel covers but a day in the life of a very young boy who is left at home with the huge responsibility of safeguarding his family in the absence of his father.

SYNOPSIS: Edward ("Ateoord" in the story) Van Alstyne's father, Teunis, is a captain in the Guilderland militia and leaves the family overnight to defend their small community outside Albany City, NY against the French and Indians. The militia is unable to hold the Indians at the bridge, however, and five Indians reach the Van Alstyne farm.

Gertrude (Edward's mother) has the foresight to rig up her grandfather's heavy, awkward Spanish matchlock gun through a hole in the window shutter and acts as a decoy, picking beans in the garden, until the Indians reach the house. Edward must then defend his wounded mother and protect his family with the huge, ungainly weapon.

IMPRESSIONS: Today it is quite seldom that extremely young children must bear adult responsibilities in the face of such danger. Historical fiction like this is compelling reading; "The Matchlock Gun" is a very brief but well-written story which should interest any young reader.

This is a small book for children about a true incident in upper New York State in 1756. A young father, Teunis Van Alstyne, has to leave his farm to go with the militia to fight Indians in the French and Indian War. He leaves an old Spanish gun with his ten-year-old son Edward to protect Edward's mother and his little sister. Will edward be able to handle the gun that is bigger than he is? This book won the 1942 Newbery Medal for best contribution to American children's literature.

The story of this book is about how the courage and bravery of a mother and her young son saves the lives of their family from an indian attack. We get a view of exactly how it was in the 1700's. There are not many stories out there for children or adults that tell it like it was. But this is one of them! The pictures in the book are excellent also, giving pretty good detail of the story as you read along.

The story is wonderful for young children because it tells about an obedient boy who followed the instructions of his mother and father implicitly. Note as you read, that he never touched the gun without his father or mother's command. What a lesson to teach young children! Although he was afraid, he had to be brave to survive in the times in which they lived. His obedience saved the lives of his mother and sister, and his own. On top of that, the setting is in the home of a loving family.

Concerning the savages,exactly who was attacking whom? Were the people to just sit back and let it happen? Let me further add this..there is nothing wrong with loving and defending your own.
Highly recommended with Five stars!