Eyewitnesses to the American West: 1from 1st Frontier New Age Seekers Words Those Who Saw It Happen

by David Colbert

Book Overview

In this collection of letters, diaries, interviews, and public writings from people who were "in the right place at the right time," David Colbert gives us a history of the American West, "but not the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670881031
• ISBN13: 9780670881031
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 495 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 9.3" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

Great reading on the American West!

This is a wonderful book for anybody interested in the history of the American West. The book contains short vignettes of what the author calls "firsthand history", i.e., contemporaneously written letters, journals, newspaper articles, etc. all the way from Cortez' conquest of the Aztecs through modern day Silicon Valley. Along the way, you learn that Levi Strauss did not invent Levi's (he sold the fabric to the man who did; the inventor couldn't afford the $65 for the patent filing fee and Levi Strauss got in the deal that way), and lots of other interesting points of history on the American West. They're all authentic and all contemporaraneous with the subject about which they're written. A great read!

Totally RAD!!

As a student in high school who basically gets her fill of history in class everyday, I wasn't expecting to like the book that my grandmother placed in my hand. But when I sat down to read it, I realized that it had just as many fun stories as the magazines and novels I read every day. I loved learning about the early movies and early developments. I recommend this book to everyone, history-lover or not.