DREAM WEST captures the spirit of the turbulent mid-1800's and the nearly forgotten stories centering around the remarkable Captain John Charles Fremont (the Pathfinder). This was a refreshing look at one of America's great explorers who pioneered and mapped much of America's western regions. This book includes such historic characters as: the legendary explorer Kit Carson, and Fremont's wife the famed novelist Jessie Benton Fremont, her father the famous Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton, cameos appearances from almost every famous politician during the mid-1800 through the Civil War (Lincoln, Grant, Polk, Clay, etc.).

John Charles Fremont was one America's most magnetic personalities. Just to list a few of many remarkable accomplishments, such as:
* He was California's first Governor (albeit for a very short period).
* After California's statehood is approved he was the first Senator for California.
* Became rich during the famed gold rush. Later lost it in a swindle.
* On the Republican ticket as an antislavery advocate he ran for President in 1956,. In fact he becomes a perennial presidential candidate.
* He achieves the rank of major general during the Civil War where he loses most of his battles and resigns.
* Later he becomes a Governor of Arizona and passes much ground breaking legislation.

The only complaint I have with this book (very minor) is the author's lenient treatment of Fremont's war record. In fact Fremont was demoted because he couldn't beat Stonewall Jackson. He lets Fremont off rather easily. Notwithstanding, John Charles Fremont truly was an extraordinary man. This story captures his spirit.

The people come alive in the book. Exciting to read about the life of the old west.

Author of the romantic historical, The Rebel's Pledge, a 5 star rated novel of the colonial period.

Dream West is one of the best novels I have ever read. It is powerfully and skillfully written. The story is based on truth about the brave men and women who forged westward. Dream West will move you, inspire you, and enrich your knowledge of America's history.

A fascinating look at the birth of the national pastime. It is paticularly interesting in the way the author finds the roots of the game in the in the growth of (a la Weber) leisure time among the growing middle class during the mid to late 19th century. The volume also does a terrific job in giving the reader a sense of what was expected of terms of players, fans, and umpires in the early days of the professional game. I have just purchased the second volume and look foprward to the third voulme as well. A must for any hardcore Baseball historians!

On Christmas Eve 1864, President Abraham Lincoln received a telegram from General William T. Sherman that read in part, "I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah." The Georgia port city marked the end of Sherman's legendary march from Atlanta to the sea, which is the subject of this volume in the Time-Life Civil War series. Author David Nevin tells in detail how Sherman's army lay waste to Georgia and secured the general's reputation as the Avenging Angel of the Union. But surprisingly, "Sherman's March" actually spends more time covering the battles between Confederate general John Bell Hood and Union general George Thomas north of Atlanta once Sherman's army was on its way to the sea.

The volume begins with a pictorial essay on Sherman and then looks at The Enemies in Georgia, as the Union troops occupied Atlanta and decided what to do next. Swath of Destruction looks at the military and psychological motivations for the infamous march (the lyrics to the equal infamous song "Marching Through Georgia" appear in an illustrated section). The Road to Tennessee looks at how the Confederate army launched a counter invasion of Tennessee once Sherman's troops were out of Atlanta, including the battles of Spring Hill and Franklin. Missed Chance at Franklin details the disintegration of the Confederate army at that battle and their withdrawal after the battle outside Nashville. The Place for Brave Men to Die chronicles the final attacks of Hood's Confederate army against Thomas's Union troops, before turning to Sherman's capturing of Savannah.

"Sherman's March: Atlanta to the Sea" is the final volume in the Time-Life series devoted to the war in the West, following "The Fight for Chattanooga: Chickamauga to Missionary Ridge" and "The Battles for Atlanta: Sherman Moves East." All of these books are illustrated with historical photographs, etchings, drawings, and paintings. Collectively the Time-Life series presents a nice, albeit episodic, approach to the Civil War. I have enjoyed reading (and rereading) them for years.

This is the second novel by David Nevin that I have read (But won't be the last). The more I read it the more I realized that politics has changed very little in the last two hundred years. I have been a student of American History for twenty five years, and still learned much from this novel. The author writes in such a way that you can almost imagine yourself being there to witness history as it is being made. And since it is a novel its not at all dry or boring to read, yet is based on historical facts with minimal "literary licence".

At times absorbing, at times uneven. Nearly always well researched and smacking of authenticity.

This novel has a lot of ground to cover. The author divides time, nearly evenly, between private lives, diplomacy, and combat for all the key players of the war. He also divides the time evenly between conflicts in the North and in the South. Nevin treads between history documentary and steamy mini-series innuendo and nearly pulls it off entirely. These two areas are difficult to bring together. Alternately, I would long to return to the combat theater while the author waxes on the domestic trials of Rachael Donnelson Jackson, or wish to read more about Sally McQuirks early femminist character while the author was steeped in documenting Jackson's sweep of the south. Oh well.

None the less the novel was engrossing and a pleasure. Its biggest downfall was that the Treaty of Ghent was completely ignored! There was quite a group of personalities involved in that roe. They would would have fit in well with Nevin's saga. Perhaps his next historical novel can examine the picadillios that occurred in that lowlands city.

I passed this book 3-4 times before I decided to pick it up, and that was only because nothing else looked interesting. I have tried to read American history books, but they bored me. It was with some trepidation, then, that I started this book. I found, however, that once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. David Nevin took an obscure time in the history of America, and wrapped a fascinating story around it. Did you know that James Madison was a short man with a low self-esteem? or that andrew Jackson was hot-tempered but brilliant military tactician? Read about the burning of the White House, and how America turned the tide of the war by winning two major battles, one on Lake Champlain, and the other in New Orleans. This is one of my all time favorite books.It is written in a style that entertains and educates the reader. I learned more about the War of 1812 than I did in school. It should be manditory reading for all students taking American History. I do not usually read a book more than once, but I know this book will be read and reread.

This book took you inside the minds and the hearts of the major players in the war of 1812. I am an avid historical fiction reader, but this was the one war i didn't know much about. After reading this book i becasue inthralled in the war, and the amzing people involved. The most captivating side of this book, was home the author integrated love and war and everything inbetween. This book kept me flipping pages from start to finish, andi recomend it to history lovers and those who are just looking for a good book.

Although the battles of the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater garner most of the historical interest, the battles in the West were arguably more significant. In "The Road to Shiloh: Early Battles in the West," David Nevin and the Editors of Time-Life Books cover General Ulysses Grant's campaign in Tennessee in 1861-62. Chapter 1, "The Struggle for Missouri," covers the Battle of Wilson's Creek that proved pivotal for the control of this border state. Chapter 2, "The Go-ahead General," details the path by which Grant came to command the Union Army in the West (including that infamous photo of Grant with a fully cultivated square-cut beard). Chapter 3, "Clash at Fort Donelson," relates how Grant followed up his successfully attack on Fort Henry with an attack that would give the Federals control of the Cumberland River. Chapter 4, "The Devil's Own Day," covers the first day of the Battle of Shiloh, in which the Union army was almost routed one of the bloodiest days of the war; this chapter includes Theophile Poilpot's 400 foot long panoramic painting of the battle for the Hornet's Nest. Chapter 5, "An Incomplete Victory," tells how Grant and Sherman defeated Johnston's Confederate Army. Like all of the volumes in the Time-Life Civil War series, "The Road to Shiloh" provides dozens of contemporary illustrations, photographs, paintings, and the like. My one complaint is that if you read these volumes a lot, and it is hard not to, they tend to fall apart. The cover ends up being a nice gray folder. The rest of Grant's Western Campaign including the siege of Vicksburg is covered in the volume "War on the Mississippi."

Time-Life always does a solid job. Great illustrations, readable text, a little short on detail but always entertaining and educational. A good introduction to the early Western actions on the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers.

I May Be Little is a terrific book. We have the Me Too version which is great for 2 - 4 year olds. The pictures are good for children this age. The story is well told and has not been watered down. David says " I may be little, but with God's help I can do big things."

Although the Time-Life format from the "OLD WEST" series is used, it is great to have everything in one package!

This imitation-leather covered book contains 240 pages loaded with photos of uniforms, equiptment, period artwork, medals, coins, period photographs, maps, documents, posters, autographs, cartoons, music, etc. There is so much stuff to see, that it is easy to miss the text!

There is a fair mix of primary sources and secondary sources used by author David Nevin, including some interesting accounts by common soldiers and lively stories, but compression of the topics, like California's Revolt, lends itself to confusion. The story of this complex and still controversial war is probably intended for those who are new to the subject, but the objects/photos may be interesting for those who already have a good understanding of the subject matter.

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While most of the volumes in the Time-Life Civil War series are devoted to particular battles or campaigns, there are a few books that cut across the chronology of the war. One such book is "Spies, Scout and Raiders: Irregular Operations," which covers some of the more interesting sideshow operations of the war in its five chapters: (1) Currents of Conspiracy looks at the work the Pinkerton detectives did for the Union, from foiling an assassination attempt on President-elect Lincoln to the exploits of agent extraordinary Timothy Webster. (2) The Undercover Confederates details the efforts of Southern spies, including some of the ingenious ways they managed to get their information through the lines. This chapter includes a photographic essay on codes and ciphers. (3) The General's Network tells the little known story about the secret service force Ulysses S. Grant established throughout the Confederacy that fed him information. This chapter's photo essay is on how to wreck a railroad, perfected by General Herman Haupt, field chief of the Federal military rail system.

Guerilla warfare is basically the subject of the book's last two chapters: (4) The Backcountry Warriors looks at such famous raiders as James Andrews of the Union, who hijacked the locomotive the "General" and the Confederate John S. Mosby. (5) A Scourge in the West looks at Quantrill's Raiders and the war as it was fought out in Missouri. Although it seems somewhat misplaced in this particular volume, the photo essay for this chapter looks at some of the fantastic weapons devised during the Civil War.

Granted, what is covered in this book occurred off the main stage of the Civil War. But one of the strengths of this series is that it can devote time to look at some of the war's sideshows. "Spies, Scouts, and Raiders" presents a balanced account of the unconventional (a.k.a. irregular) ways in which the Civil War was fought, usually by those who were not technically military combatants. The book is illustrated with historic photographs, etchings, drawings, and paintings, including some of the rather interesting items being used by those engaged in mid-19th-century espionage.

David Nevin's historical novel, Eagle's Cry, covers the election of 1800 until the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 using the Madisons, the Jacksons, Aaron Burr, and a couple of fictional characters to tell his tale. The novel has a gripping beginning in the election of 1800 covering the tie between Jefferson and his vice presidential nominee, Aaron Burr. The book, unfortunately, loses some steam with the section portraying the Louisiana Purchase. It was not as tighly written and suspenseful as the election as it meanderend like the Mississippi itself through the lives of all the characters. It worked very hard for historical accuracy, and achieved it to a great extent, but sacrificed to history any element of surprise. The history was good but the drama suffered at times for that. Definately worth a look for the first half of the book and it is a good omen for the next book in the series as it will be dealing more with the behind the scenes Washington politics.

Nevin's 1812 was a fantastic book that covered a portion of American history unknown by most. Eagle's Cry isn't as compelling, and lacks the action that made 1812 fun, but is well worth reading by those who appreciate well-researched, good historical fiction.

I find David Nevin's books very easy to read and enjoy. I loved 1812 and was not disappointed with Eagle's Cry. The story is of the Lousiana Purchase. The Madisons, Jefferson, Aaron Burr, Merriweather Lewis and Andrew Jackson are all in this story. They come alive and make the story. I have a friend who calls historical novels "cheap history." Enjoyable story and I can't wait for the sequel.