The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey

by Rinker Buck

Book Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - #1 Indie Next Pick - Winner of the PEN New England Award "Enchanting...A book filled with so much love...Long before Oregon, Rinker Buck has convinced us that the best way to see America is from the seat of a covered wagon." -- The Wall Street Journal "Amazing...A real nonfiction thriller." --Ian Frazier, The New York Review of Books "Absorbing...Winning...The many layers in The Oregon Trail are linked by Mr. Buck's...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1451659172
• ISBN13: 9781451659177
• Release Date: June 2016
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Two stories in one

Rinker Buck and his brother travel the Oregon Trail in a wagon with a 3-mule team. There are 2 story lines: interesting and often little-known facts about the Oregon trail itself, and the story of 2 brothers who come closer together on their trip. The wagon is authentic, and restored by a person who creates items for Civil War re-enactments. The mules are from an Amish farmer. The trail was researched in-depth by Rinker before they left. Rinker's brother was a good mechanic and a top hand with horses and mules. They ran into a number of difficulties that the original pioneers did, and others that come from trying to follow the trail in modern time over fenced areas, areas paralleling freeways, and past stops that no longer exist. Rinker invokes both the drama and the humor involved with the whole adventure.