Book review, Obstinate Hope
Apr 6, 2013 23:56:09 GMT -7
Post by Rod on Apr 6, 2013 23:56:09 GMT -7
Obstinate Hope; The Western Expeditions of Nathaniel J. Wyeth
This is volume one of a two volume set, published by the Museum of the Mountain Man. Author Jim Hardee covers Wyeth's early life, his career in the ice trade, and his first journey west in 1832-33. Volume two is yet to be published, and will cover his second expedition.
Hardee has done his usual excellent job on this volume. The first couple of chapters details his early life----I'd always read that he had a couple of patents for ice harvesting, but no one ever specified what they were. Well, Jim tracks them down---turns out one of them is the ice plow (every old photograph of men cutting ice around here has one of these in it) which allowed the ice to be taken out in square blocks. Prior to this, it was apparently just put up in odd sized chunks. The ability to stack and save space is very important to shipping the ice. Wyeth could have continued in the business, and become quite wealthy, but he had an eye on the west, and wouldn't be satisfied until he went. There is some evidence that an unhappy marriage might have also had some effect on his wanderlust.
The rest of the book follows Wyeth on his expedition. Wyeth's journal, previously published last by Ye Galleon Press, is reproduced in it's entirety. Hardee annotates each entry, tracing his path throughout the west, and expanding on what Wyeth wrote, describing the people he met and places he went. The routes are well illustrated with 10 detailed maps.
This book is 500 pages long, yet I flew through it in about a week of evening reading. Hardee's style is easy to follow and really held my attention. This is one I'd recommend, it should be on your shelf. I'm looking forward to volume 2.
www.museumofthemountainman.com/news/home.htm
Rod
This is volume one of a two volume set, published by the Museum of the Mountain Man. Author Jim Hardee covers Wyeth's early life, his career in the ice trade, and his first journey west in 1832-33. Volume two is yet to be published, and will cover his second expedition.
Hardee has done his usual excellent job on this volume. The first couple of chapters details his early life----I'd always read that he had a couple of patents for ice harvesting, but no one ever specified what they were. Well, Jim tracks them down---turns out one of them is the ice plow (every old photograph of men cutting ice around here has one of these in it) which allowed the ice to be taken out in square blocks. Prior to this, it was apparently just put up in odd sized chunks. The ability to stack and save space is very important to shipping the ice. Wyeth could have continued in the business, and become quite wealthy, but he had an eye on the west, and wouldn't be satisfied until he went. There is some evidence that an unhappy marriage might have also had some effect on his wanderlust.
The rest of the book follows Wyeth on his expedition. Wyeth's journal, previously published last by Ye Galleon Press, is reproduced in it's entirety. Hardee annotates each entry, tracing his path throughout the west, and expanding on what Wyeth wrote, describing the people he met and places he went. The routes are well illustrated with 10 detailed maps.
This book is 500 pages long, yet I flew through it in about a week of evening reading. Hardee's style is easy to follow and really held my attention. This is one I'd recommend, it should be on your shelf. I'm looking forward to volume 2.
www.museumofthemountainman.com/news/home.htm
Rod