The Pioneers

[Tom Bogar]

(06-09-2019 06:32 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Someone just sent me a vicious review of David McCullough's new book, The Pioneers. Has anyone read the book? I generally like McCullough's writings, but this reviewer sure doesn't - even to the point of throwing anti-Trump comments into the mix.

I just bought and read The Pioneers, and I have to say I'm extremely disappointed. As much as I revere McCullough, this one seems not only mis-marketed but kind of thrown together. Leaving aside the many negative comments in reviews (both professional and user reviews) about McCullough's brusque dismissal of Native Americans, I was disappointed because it was marketed as being a broader study of early pioneers, whereas it focuses on a very small area of the Ohio River valley, and is based almost entirely on one man's journal of the voyage and settlement. IMHO, it's the weakest of all of McCullough's works, and I've read 'em all.