BIRTH OF AMERICA BOOKS (tm)
PONDER THE PATH
REAL PEOPLE, TRUE STORIES
HISTORICALLY ACCURATE AND FUN TO READ
(They're written like novels with dialogue based on journals, diaries and newspapers)
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PONDER THE PATH REVIEWS
"PONDER THE PATH is a stirring narrative of the westward expansion of the United States between 1808 and 1830.The authors Wiles & Brown have combined history and excitement to bring one of America's most important but least understood eras to life."
"Rich in fascinating detail of its real people, this book embroils them in crucial national and international conflicts that start fist fights around campfires and pistol duels in Congress."
Read on for more:
FOR THE BOOKSHELF
Reviewed by Bill Scurlock
Of Muzzleloader Magazine
Ponder the Path By Gary Wiles and Delores Brown
279 pages. Nonfiction. softcover. $12.95
ALTHOUGH THEY SELDOM get the credit in mainstream history texts, the mountain men of the early 19th century opened the way west for America's "manifest destiny." In their quest for beaver, trappers explored the West all the way to California and Washington, mapping the unknown territory and establishing the routes used by later travelers on the Oregon and California Trails.
Ponder the Path by Gary Wiles and Delores Brown is a highly readable account of the Sublette family and their contributions to the opening of the West. William and Milton Sublette were key figures in the beaver trade, and in being the first person to pull wagons to the Continental Divide, William actually opened what was to become the OregonTrail. Ponder the Path reveals that William Sublette was inspired at an early age by his grandfather to become an explorer and lead the nation westward.
Following the early adult life of William Sublette in Ponder the Path also means following the struggles of the Rocky Mountain fur trade in the 1820s. This book is filled with heroic and famous characters like Ashley, Henry, Clyman, Jed Smith and Glass, but it also includes nearly 150 other actual characters from the early 19th century. Wiles and Brown made great effort to present an accurate portrayal of the people and the times. In researching Ponder the Path. the authors consulted 151 books, drove 10,000 miles to germane sites and took 1600 research photographs.
Although my current historical interests lie farther to the east, my first love was the Western mountain man and I still enjoy good books on the subject.
Ponder the Path is inspiring, informative and just plain good reading.
Contact Gary Wiles and Delores Brown, c/o Birth of America Books, P.O. Box 7008, Hemet, CA 92545;
(951) 765-0950
___________________________________________________
PONDER THE PATH is a stirring narrative of the westward expansion of the United States between 1808 and 1830.
The authors Wiles & Brown have combined history and excitement to bring one of America's most important but least understood eras to life.
Told through the real life Sublettes and other legendary men of this inspiring age, this book is as well written and factual as anything one can find on this subject. Page after page, real history unfolds as you follow men destined to lead America to greatness.
Rich in fascinating detail of its real people, this book embroils them in crucial national and international conflicts that start fist fights around campfires and pistol duels in Congress.
Sketches of the Absaroka, Apache, Arikara, Blackfeet, Commanche, Mandans, Mojave, Pawnee and Sioux are insightful and intriguing.
PONDER THE PATH is the kind of living history book most people wish they had in school!
Ray Glazner
Simi Valley, California's Ray Glazner is a distinguished educator, historian, author, historical re-enactor and consultant to local, state and national museums as well as the entertainment industry.
THE MUSEUM OF THE FUR TRADE QUARTERLY
Vol. 33, No. 1 ISSN 0027-4135 Spring 1997
PONDER THE PATH, by Gary H. Wiles, B.A., J.D. and Delores M. Brown. Revised Second Edition, Copyright 1996. 279 pages incl. general map and 35 chapters covering period Spring 1808 to Oct. 1830, and index with 173 persons, 29 tribes and 13 fur companies. Softbound $12.95 plus $1.00 shipping. Photosensitive, P.O. Box 7008, Hemet, CA 92545. (951) 765-0950
We think our readers will like this new edition of PONDER THE PATH. It has a 159-volume bibliography and a table of contents with built-in chronology.
The book begins with the Sublette family in Kentucky in 1808 and ends with events in 1830. Every page is headed by a subtitle and the Sublettes appear countless times throughout the narrative.
The speech of the main characters comes from letters, journals and diaries. Talk for the illiterate subjects has been developed from books and newspapers of the period. All this certainly provides a more true record than previous works when authors have substituted their own impressions of what was said.-C.E.H.
The reviewer Dr. Charles E. Hanson Jr., author and historian who served as the Director of the Musem of the Fur Trade at Chadron, Nebraska for over 30 years.
Click below for Ponder The Path's
.......... Table of Contents..........Reader Letters.........Rendezvous Legacy
Find Out # Of Chapters In Your State.....About Us
Read Chapter 6 JACKSON'S THUNDER
Read Chapter 18 SOUTH PASS AND BACK
Read Chapter 20 HENRY'S FORK RENDEZVOUS
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