Bob DruryBesprekingen

A thorough, tactical level study of a Marine defense of a mountain pass near the Chosin Reservoir in 1950 during the Korean conflict. The maps include the placement of many active members of Fox company. The battle descriptions include the movements of these soldiers and even how they got wounded, obviously requiring the active participation of survivors or an active imagination on the part of the authors.. The strategic situations and the war in general are adequately dealt with, but that is not this book's strongpoint, which is the heroic description of how a small group of Marines survived and held-off the many attacks of thousands of white clad Chinese. Other than the commanders, the Chinese soldiers are not named or known in any way. An informative and intriguing interlude.

This book just breaks my heart.

I tried this as an audiobook, and couldn't tolerate the read-aloud footnotes. I've put it on my wishlist to try in print.
What I did gather, from the first several hours, is that this book is solidly de-romanticizing the Lakota warriors by presenting some gory details about how they treated their enemy (whites) including women and children.

This is a World War Two junkies delight - an incisive look into on one of the lesser know military campaigns shortly after the Normandy invasion. The authors do background things with narratives about North Africa, Italy and the D-Day Invasion itself but the book primarily deals with a a lesser known campaign in northwestern France. The books strength is honing into individual soldier's personal experiences who participated in the action. Colorful men.

Drury and Tom Clavin (read 6 Mar 2023)This 2005 book tells the typhoonAdmiral Halsey sent his fleet into in December 1944. Three ships were lost, as well as some 800 lives. It is a fearsome tale. I read it in two. It is grippnAddount½

FROM BARNES & NOBLE: It is the mid-eighteenth century, and in the thirteen colonies founded by Great Britain, anxious colonists desperate to conquer and settle North America’s “First Frontier” beyond the Appalachian Mountains commence a series of bloody battles. These violent conflicts are waged against the Native American tribes whose lands they covet, the French, and the mother country itself in an American Revolution destined to reverberate around the world.

This is the setting of Blood and Treasure, and the guide to this epic narrative is America’s first and arguably greatest pathfinder, Daniel Boone—not the coonskin cap-wearing caricature of popular culture but the flesh-and-blood frontiersman and Revolutionary War hero whose explorations into the forested frontier beyond the great mountains would become the stuff of legend. Now, thanks to painstaking research by two award-winning authors, the story of the brutal birth of the United States is told through the eyes of both the ordinary and larger-than-life men and women who witnessed it.

This fast-paced and fiery narrative, fueled by contemporary diaries and journals, newspaper reports, and eyewitness accounts, is a stirring chronicle of the conflict over America’s “First Frontier” that places the reader at the center of this remarkable epoch and its gripping tales of courage and sacrifice.

I just finished [b:Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier|53137966|Blood and Treasure Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier|Bob Drury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593448400l/53137966._SY75_.jpg|79888442]Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier by Bob Drury. I wound up liking it, though I very nearly aborted my reading a few pages in. Let me explain.

Any book about the U.S. frontier must necessarily treat with the contentious subject of the American Indians/Native Americans. I have done a lot of reading on the subject, including [b:1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus|39020|1491 New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus|Charles C. Mann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545238592l/39020._SY75_.jpg|38742] by Charles C. Mann and [b:War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage|328446|War Before Civilization The Myth of the Peaceful Savage|Lawrence H. Keeley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348973227l/328446._SY75_.jpg|319073] by Lawrence H. Keeley. The narrative of "white man bad, everyone else good" wears thin. The Native Americans had hardly created an idyll before European explorers hit the New World's shores. Long before purposeful settlement occurred, smallpox, diphtheria and other diseases had decimated them. The book's prologue referred to the "slow-motion genocide for the Hurons and Iroquois... and the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, and Choctaw...(and the) Seminoles." On Page 99, the story of Henry Bouquet's distribution of smallpox-drenched blanks to the Ottawa tribe was repeated. There is much controversy about that story, some having to do with the question of how the gifters of the blankets themselves did not get very sick in the process. The epilogue again returns to the theme of the deliberate destruction of Native Americans. Nevertheless I decided to read the book through and I am glad I did.

While I consider myself a history buff, having majored in American History at college, I have done little reading about the pioneer period. The major exception is [b:The Journals of Lewis and Clark|236830|The Journals of Lewis and Clark|Meriwether Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439914405l/236830._SY75_.jpg|2761980] by Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Bernard DeVoto. William Clark's older brother, George Clark, features prominently. It took me surprisingly long to read this book, perhaps because it contained a lot of information with which I am only vaguely familiar. Suffice to say that Boone's ingenuity, heroism and imperviousness to hardship are properly legendary. Boone and others like him are the real story behind the expansion of the U.S. beyond a cluster of colonies on the coast. This is part of the tale of the greatness of America, one which should be told with fewer apologies than is now fashionable.

The authors' easy reading, user friendly writing style will appeal to general readers. The work itself does an excellent job of capturing the life and times of Daniel Boone, a frontiersman who is just as fascinating in real as in myth.

Unfortunately, the authors can sometimes seem like Native American apologists, which perhaps is simply a sign of the times. A more balanced historical narrative of the brutal conflicts would have been appreciated.½

Dramatic true story of a maritime military operation interrupted by an enormous typhoon. Admiral Halsey’s fleet was preparing to support MacArthur’s invasion of Luzon in the Philippines in 1944, when they steered directly into the course of Typhoon Cobra with its 90-foot waves and over 100 knot gusting winds. This book tells an inspiring story of sailors confronting life-or-death situations. Though much of the story is tragic, the highlight is a valiant rescue effort by a relatively inexperienced captain and crew of a small Destroyer Escort.

The first part of the book sets up the military objectives and participants. The second part tells of the gathering storm, leadership decisions, and the ships’ maneuvers. The rescue effort is riveting, and it is worth reading the book just for this portion. The travails of the sailors contending with the elements, wounds, sharks, madness induced from drinking saltwater, and numerous miseries are heart-wrenching. Though the authors do not dwell on the carnage, the graphic descriptions are not for the faint-hearted.

The authors are journalists, trying to determine if the sinking of ships and loss of life was preventable. The transcripts of the U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry had been recently declassified and formed much of the basis of their analysis, along with survivors’ stories and in-depth research. These stories jump around a bit, and it is sometimes difficult to keep track of which ship is being referenced. The personal anecdotes are particularly effective in showing what the sailors encountered as their ships were battered by the storm.

Two examples of these personal accounts include:
“Clinging to the top of the Cape Esperance’s center mast with every muscle in his body, Paul Schlener was not sure what to do as the storm increased in intensity. His watch was technically over, but whether through oversight or intention, no crewmate had relieved him and no officer had signaled for him to climb down. In fact, the scud was so thick that he could barely make out the deck sixty feet below. He was petrified.”
and
“Kosco sat upright in his bunk. He was overwhelmed “with a feeling of great, leaden weights pressing on [my] shoulders.” He threw on his heavy weather gear and scrambled up the iron skipper’s ladder to the navigation deck. Leaning into the wind and listening to the pounding surf, he surveyed the otherworldly tableau; giant, mottled whitecaps stretched endless in every direction under a black, starless dome. If the dark side of the moon were covered by sea, he thought, this is what it would look like.”

I am very glad that meteorology has progressed since WWII, and it is unlikely that a fleet would be unaware of the location of such a large storm today. There are definitely lessons in leadership to be gleaned from this book, primarily related crisis management. It definitely creates food for thought on how the reader would react in a similar situation. Part military analysis, part man vs. nature, part survival story, this book is filled with peril, catastrophe, and heroism. I read it in observance of Veterans’ Day and found it a powerful tribute to the Brotherhood of the Sea.

This was a fantastic book. I feel I’ve learned a lot from reading this. I had heard the name Danial Boone before from movies, etc. but this really introduced me to a historical figure I’m surprised I didn’t know more about. Boone didn’t have an easy life. It just mystifies me how brutal man can be to man. Very well written.

"Nube Roja ha vuelto, ¡how!", Jacinto Antón, El País 25.22.2024: https://elpais.com/cultura/2015/11/24/actualidad/1448392669_989715.html

A terrific read

I would imagine the first question is why this crime fiction lover chose to read a book about a tragedy at sea during World War II. The answer is simple: my grandfather. My grandfather served in the US Navy aboard an LST in the South Pacific during World War II. He drove landing craft up on the beachheads and also served as an anti-aircraft gunner. He was very tight-lipped about his service, only mentioning three things. One of them was being caught in a typhoon and how everyone aboard was well beyond being merely seasick. When I read the synopsis of Halsey's Typhoon, I wondered if this could be the typhoon my grandfather mentioned.

When I finished reading the book, I did a little research and compared some dates. This wasn't the typhoon my grandfather mentioned, and for that, I am eternally thankful. What I couldn't foresee was how emotionally involved I would be as I read Halsey's Typhoon. Of course, I learned things. What makes a typhoon in the Pacific deadlier than a hurricane in the Atlantic. How ships were refueled at sea. I learned about ship design and how retro-fitting some of the old destroyers in the Pacific Third Fleet sealed their doom during the typhoon. (Stay away from top-heavy ships.) I also gained respect for a future president who survived this tragedy.

Authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin gave us readers Halsey's background, they set the scene, they let the typhoon bludgeon us then cast us adrift in rough seas with no water and no protection from the sharks before letting us be rescued. Reading this book was sometimes exhausting. I was completely emotionally invested in Halsey's Typhoon. I grew to know the men, to care about what happened to them. I was a nervous, seasick wreck during the horrendous typhoon. I cried as the ships sank and men-- most of them barely out of their teens-- desperately tried to save themselves. And my heart swelled when the commander of the badly damaged USS Tabberer defied orders in order to continue to search for and rescue survivors. As far as I'm concerned, there would never be enough medals to give Lieutenant Commander Henry Lee Plage.

When all is said and done, what was at the heart of this hushed-up disaster? I think it can be summed up in one sentence from the book: "Meteorology was not high on the U.S. Navy's list of wartime priorities." That is not wise when you're responsible for thousands of men aboard hundreds of ships traveling vast expanses of water that are at the mercy of the weather.

Halsey's Typhoon is a brilliantly written piece of wartime naval history that reads like the best fiction. I couldn't put it down.

Informative history of pioneers journeying into the frontier of Kentucky, led by Daniel Boone, during the era of the American Revolutionary War. Filled with interesting facts and details

This is a well researched, finely written, account of a maritime disaster in WWII.

In December 1944 Admiral Bill Halsey commanded the South Pacific 3rd Fleet, assigned to cover and support General Douglas MacArthur's major landings in the Philippines. The book recounts Typhoon Cobra ripping through the fleet of ships and exposes the many errors and and arrogant men who lead the fleet. It also shines light on the heroes who tried in vain to save the lives of the sailors caught in this storm. From the vessels that sunk, there were many, only 93 men were saved. Most of these men spent 48 hours or more drifting in shark infested waters, without food or water many with out and life vests.

A satisfying history read for those of you who like the genre

Timely Take-Aways for Life-Long Learning

The Taking of Jemima Boone: Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, and the Kidnap That Shaped America
Matthew Pearl, October 2021, HarperCollins
Themes: history, United States, Revolutionary Period

Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America’s First Frontier
Boby Drury and Tom Clavins, April 2021, Macmillan
Themes: history, United States, 18th and 19th Century

From tragedy and hardship to strength and independence, the Boone family represents the passion and resilience of 18th-century settlers. Both new titles skillfully explore the experiences of the Boone family within the larger context of the people, places, and events that shaped early westward expansion.

THE TAKING OF JEMIMA BOONE is an absorbing work of narrative nonfiction that seamlessly weaves key people and historical events with the personal story of a strong young woman with a legendary father. Divided into three sections, the book explores the taking, the retaliation, and the reckoning.

BLOOD AND TREASURE examines the epic struggle over the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. From Native American tribes trying to save their land from invaders to the settlers pushed west by an expanding nation, this carefully researched, engaging narrative shares the many perspectives of both legendary figures and ordinary people.

Let’s explore seven timely take-aways for life-long learners:
1) In popular art and literature of the 19th-century, Jemima Boone was portrayed as a passive victim of a Cherokee-Shawnee raiding party. In reality, she was a strong wilderness woman who used knowledge of her captors, delay tactics, and skills in trail marking to stay alive.
2) During the early days of America’s westward expansion, complex relationships, ever-shifting allegiances, and broken promises sparked violent clashes between and among Spanish, French, British, Colonial American, Indigenous, and Enslaved peoples. These conflicts and betrayals caused deep and lasting physical and emotional scars that impacted their future actions.
3) Cultural misunderstandings about property ownership, allegiance, and family structure were at the root of many clashes. Unlikely early biographies that often depicted Daniel Boone as a thrill-seeking Indian killer, he is increasingly respected for his patience and interest in studying cultural nuances.
4) Peaceful gatherings were held among people of different cultural backgrounds to avoid conflict when possible. For instance, Jemima Boone had met her captor Hanging Maw at such an event prior to the kidnapping. Daniel Boone was adopted into a Shawnee family and was viewed as both a captive and son.
5) During the 18th-century, hunters spent six months on expeditions known as “long hunts”. Daniel Boone was one of several well-known long hunters. In addition to gathering and processing animals, Boone collected valuable information from other explorers such as John Finley as well as his own pathfinding that was later used to establish Kentucky settlements.
6) Although most people associate Daniel Boone with Kentucky, he and his extended family including Jemima Boone Callaway moved to Missouri in 1799 where he spent the last twenty years of his life.
7) Despite inaccurate 19th-century biographies and works of fiction, Daniel Boone remains an iconic figure in American history. However, it continues to be difficult to separate the man from the myth.

Timely Take-Aways for Life-Long Learning
Whether helping educators keep up-to-date in their subject-areas, promoting student reading in the content-areas, or simply encouraging nonfiction leisure reading, teacher librarians need to be aware of the best new titles across the curriculum and how to activate life-long learning. - Annette Lamb, Teacher Librarian: The Journal for School Library Professionals

Very detailed account of those brutal months the Continental Army endured. Highly recommend.

So, I think pretty much everyone alive has heard of Daniel Boone. The name is so iconic that it has continued to resonate through the ages over 100 years after his death. That said it has become painfully obvious to me after reading this book that there is so much that I didn’t know. This whole story is fascinating, from the Boone family’s early days where young Daniel wandered the wilderness perfecting his skills as a tracker to his time spent as a somewhat unwilling Indian captive. He had such a remarkable life and it’s quite amazing to me that he lived to be 85! This book also covers the early years of a fledging United States of America. If there is one critique it is that there is so much information in the book that it almost becomes overwhelming. A really interesting look into a fascinating person in the history of our infant nation. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting book on the life and times of Daniel Boone that also delves into the lives of other frontiersmen like Simon Kenton and George Rogers Clark focusing to a large extent on their interactions with Native Americans and the British during the Revolutionary War period of American History. The book starts with his upbringing in a fallen away Quaker family as they move from Pennsylvania to the Carolinas. We get a good look at Boone's family life including the deaths of two of his sons to Indian attack. Any history buff should be pleased with the book as it is very readable.

Story of a daredevil bomber pilot and his misfit crew who fly their lone B-17 into the teeth of the Japanese Empire in 1943, engage in the longest dogfight in history, and change the momentum of the War in the Pacific—but not without making the ultimate sacrifice. Pilot Captain Jay Zeamer and the bombardier Sergeant Joseph Raymond Sarnoski, cannot convince his superiors to give him his own plane, teams up with Sarnoski to recruit a crew of fellow misfits to rebuild a dilapidated B-17 bomber from spare parts in the base’s junkyard.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S BLOOD AND TREASURE ABOUT?
It's pretty much in the subtitle—this book is about 2 things—Daniel Boone and the fight (literal and metaphoric) for America's first Frontier—with a focus on what we now know as Kentucky, but pretty much everything on the Western edge of the American colonies/states.

It's not a biography of Boone (I'll tell you now, I wrongly expected this to be more of one), it's more like he's the organizing principle for the book, as we learn about Boone's roots, early life, and adulthood the authors talk about the conflicts with the Indians on the edge of white civilization's expanse. We'd get a chunk of a wide-view of history over a period, and then we'd focus on Boone's life around that time. Then the focus would widen a bit and we'd look at another period of time—and so on.

Two significant ingredients in "the Fight" for the Frontier were what's called The French and Indian War and the American Revolution. There's the French and Indian War (and conflicts that led up to it and sprang from it) to begin with, paved the way for the latter conflicts—we see the pressure put on various tribes from the expansion of settlers, the resistance those settlers faced (from shifting alliances of Indians between themselves, and varying alliances between Western powers and the Indians).

As for the Revolution—while most histories/documentaries/etc. about it will acknowledge the fighting in the South and West, few take any time to focus on it. Instead, we casual history readers just get repeated retellings of the stuff we learned in elementary school—Washington*, the Continent Army, Benedict Arnold, Nathan Hale, the Green Mountain Boys, and whatnot—and whatever expansions on some of those topics that Hamilton has taught us in the last few years. This book is a great corrective to that showing how the Indians were largely pawns for the British to use against the colonies, to distract from the larger skirmishes as well as to try to open up another front on the war—another way to steal power and influence from the colonies. You see very clearly how easily the entire War could've changed if not for a couple of significant losses suffered by the British and their Indian allies.

* Washington is also featured pretty heavily in the earlier chapters, too—even if he maybe only briefly met Boone on one occasion.

LANGUAGE CHOICES
I know this sort of this is pretty customary, but I really appreciated the Note to Readers explaining the authors' language choices—starting with the tribal designations they used—the standard versions accepted today (there are enough various entities mentioned throughout that if they'd gone with contemporary names and spellings, I—and most readers—would've been very confused).

At the same time, they did preserve the varied and non-standard spellings for just about everything else. For example, there were at least three variant spellings for Kentucky: Cantucky, Kanta-ke, and Kentucki (I think there was one more, but I can't find it).

I was a little surprised that they stuck with the term "Indian" as much as they did—but their explanation for it seemed likely and understandable.

AN IMAGE SHATTERED—OR MAYBE JUST CORRECTED
Yes, I know that the Fess Parker TV show I saw after school in syndication was only very loosely based in reality. And that the handful of MG-targeted biographies I read several times around the same time were sanitized and very partial. Still, those are the images and notions about Boone that have filled my mind for decades. So reading all the ways they were wrong and/or incomplete threw me more than I'm comfortable with.

His appearance was particularly jarring—the actual Boone eschewed coonskin caps because they were flat-topped and preferred a high-crowned felt hat to look taller. THat's wrong on so many levels. "Tall as a mountain was he" is about as far from the truth as you can get.

The fact that he spent most of his life bouncing between comfort and/or wealth and massive debt is both a commentary on his strengths and weaknesses as it is the volatile times he lived in—he lost so much thanks to colonial governments being mercurial. It was reassuring to see the repeated insistence that he was an honest man, who worked to repay his debts even if it took too long.

In the end, Boone seemed to be a good guy trying his best to get by and provide for his family—who accidentally stepped into some degree of celebrity, that magnified some good qualities and replaced the man with a legend.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT BLOOD AND TREASURE?
The writing itself? There are moments that were fantastic. On the whole...., but from time to time, when Drury and Clavin wanted to drive an image or description home, they could be stunning. I would have preferred things to be a bit more even—a bit more balanced and consistent on that front. But the topic and scope didn't really allow for that. So I'll just enjoy those moments of it that I got.

As for the book as a whole? It was impressive, entertaining (generally), and informative. When it was at its best, it didn't feel like reading dry history but a compelling look at that portion of US History. At its worst, it was a litany of names, dates, and ideas that didn't do much for me. Thankfully, those moments were few and far between. It's not a difficult read at any point, just pretty dry on occasion.

There are so many other things I'd like to have mentioned or discussed—but it would make this post unwieldy. The notes about hunting (both the good and the horrible), Boone's heroics, his character, and family; various aspects of the Indian customs discussed and so much. There's just so much in this book to chew on that I can't sum it up.

I liked this—I liked it enough to look at a few other books by this duo to see what they can do with other topics, people, and eras. I think anyone with a modicum of interest in Boone will enjoy this and be glad for the experience.½

Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin is a highly recommended account of the life of the legendary Daniel Boone.

Drury and Clavin present a detailed and well written narrative that is both a history of the times and a biography of Daniel Boone. This was a different time and place from the world we know today. It is the mid-eighteenth century in Colonial America. There are wars between the French, English, and Native tribes. All of this affected the lives of settlers, including the Boone family. This history focuses on the settlement of North America's first frontier and the Boone families migration from New England to settle the Carolinas and across the Appalachians to Kentucky.

It is clearly presented why Daniel Boone is such a legendary, larger-than-life, amazing historical figure. This is a well-written, accurate, well-researched, and unbiased account that is placed firmly in the context of the times, so it can be violent. It is told through the people who were there, experiencing the events depicted. Once the narrative starts, it is full of fast-paced, non-stop action. Drury and Clavin include footnotes to document the chronicle of events in Boone's life and times. The narrative covers a lot of territory, covering areas ranging from Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, and Illinois.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Publishing Group in exchange for my honest opinion.

In my youth Daniel Boone was a hot commodity, as were Lewis and Clark, Crockett, Custer, Carson, and a long list of other figures whose lives made America’s dream of manifest destiny a reality. At my young age, Boone’s adventures in opening the wilderness were a thrill, but that is all they were, adventures. The authors of the books I read back then did little to provide context to his deeds.

Over the years, America’s attitudes towards its interactions with native Americans underwent a quantum shift. The publication of books such as Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee changed our view from that of Indian wars to genocidal extermination. In the final decades of the twentieth century the heroic luster of early American explorers and pioneers tarnished in the face of unrelenting condemnation to the point where my daughters, both in their twenties, had never heard of Daniel Boone before today.

Fortunately, the new millennium has brought us a new generation of historians whose interests lie more in telling an accurate, unbiased story than in glorifying one side or the other. Authors such as Nathaniel Philbrick and Erik Larson have made careers out of taking all we think we know about famous people and events and turning it on its head by the simple expedient of telling the unvarnished truth. High on this list of authors are Bob Drury and Tom Clavin who have cowritten books spanning U.S. history from Valley Forge to Vietnam, including a biography of Oglala Sioux Chief Red Cloud. Their newest book, Blood and Treasure, relates the events surrounding Daniel Boone’s settlement of Kentucky and his role in the American Revolutionary War.

It has been fifty years since I last read a book about him. Back then, books told the story of Daniel Boone, the legend. Now, I finally get a chance to learn about Daniel Boone, the man. It is not a ‘warts and all’ exposé aimed at trashing his reputation, but a skillfully researched account of his life provided in the context of the times in which he lived.

Many of the more memorable stories of him are about Boone the Indian fighter, his close calls and escapes, but they leave out the fact that these events were part of a larger war. During the Revolution, the British actively recruited warriors from numerous tribes to make war on the American settlers. By opening up a western front, they hoped to pull men and resources away from George Washington’s army and thereby end the war. To this end, the British Army offered bounties for American scalps. When the Shawnee and several other tribes besieged Boonesborough in 1778 they were accompanied by forty to fifty British and and Canadians and fought under the Union Jack. Had the siege succeeded, they could have easily taken several smaller settlements and “flank the coastal revolutionaries from the rear, forcing Washington’s Continental Army to defend two fronts. Gen. Cornwallis was already planning to open a southern theater, and it is easy to imagine he and Hamilton crushing the southern rebels between them”. In the Shawnees’ defense, The British were offering them the one thing that their survival depended on, all the land west of the Alleghenies and laws prohibiting white settlements in Indian lands. Stamp Acts and ‘taxation without representation’ be damned. This vast expanse of unsettled land is what the war was all about.

Bottom line: Drury and Clavin penned an amazing book that revisits a history that has been all but forgotten. As a genealogist, I appreciate the tremendous amount of research that went into it. I highly recommend this book.

*Quotations are cited from an advanced reading copy and may not be the same as appears in the final published edition. The review was based on an advanced reading copy obtained at no cost from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.

FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:
*5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
*4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.
*3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered great or memorable.
*2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending.
*1 Star – The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire.

Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier
By: Bob Drury and Tom Clavin

This is an in-depth novel about the life of one of America's great forefathers, Daniel Boone. Largely biographical follows his life from near age 10 to age 76, even though he died at age 85. The book follows Daniel Boone's many adventures as a scout, frontiersman, hunter, explorer, and family man.

Daniel Boone was captured several times by hostile Indians. They held him prisoner and absorbed him into their tribes. He would bide his time and escape back to his family on the frontier.

It's a great biography, you find out more of who the man Daniel Boone was, rather than just the folk hero.

I received a complimentary copy from the St. Martin's Press and Shelf Awareness, I was under no obligation to post a review.