The author, John Sparks, relies heavily on the biography, The Life of Elder John Smith, by John Augustus Williams, a personal friend of John Smith, and to whom he told his life's story in 1870. Sparks' goals were to fill-in background details that were not included in the original biography and correct a number of errors that the work includes. He also provides the reader with a perspective of an "insider" (a preacher for the United Baptist church) and someone who did not become a "Reformed Baptist" (aka "Campbellite") as did Smith in the late 1820s.

I believe it is fair to conclude that Sparks achieved the goals he set out to achieve, and the book should prove to be valuable to anyone interested in learning when, where, how, and why Raccoon John Smith became the person he did. For the most part, the author tells the story of Smith in a "fair and balanced" manner.

The reader will soon discover that Sparks likes to go into great detail in his quest to provide missing or incorrect background. It's somewhat like taking a trip, and along the way, the majority of travel time is taken up by numerous side trips, some of which seem to be of minor import or unrelated to the main trip -- particularly if it's mainly pure speculation by the author.

Sparks' writing style is to use long sentences (often five to eight lines) and very long paragraphs (typically two or three per page, but too often only one per page!). The writing style, coupled with the fact that he may be taking one of his brain-dumping side trips, makes for a ponderous read, yet I am glad to have done so.

The book is enhanced with the inclusion of a few graphics and several pages of photos. It contains an extensive bibliography, numerous end-notes, and an index. ( )