American Western History

In the spirit of The Boys in the Boat comes the captivating true story of the Hawaiian cowboys who changed rodeo and the West forever.

From bestselling author, long-time former National Geographic Explorer, and anthropologist Wade Davis comes the story of America's Nile: how it once flowed freely and how human intervention has left it near exhaustion, altering the water temperature, volume, local species, and shoreline of the river Theodore Roosevelt once urged us to "leave it as it is."

Adventure, politics, suspense, drama, diplomacy, romance, and personal tragedy combine to make this outstanding work of scholarship about Captain Meriwether Lewis, hand-picked by President Thomas Jefferson to explore and acquire the American West. Browse more Ambrose, including his latest, Nothing Like It in the World.

In the last three decades of the 19th century, an American buffalo herd once numbering 30 million animals was reduced to 23. It was the era of Manifest Destiny, a gilded age that viewed the West as nothing more than a treasure chest of resources to be dug up or shot down. Supporting hide hunters was the US Army, which considered the eradication of the buffalo essential to victory in its ongoing war on Native Americans.

The Buffalo Soldiers were the first peacetime all-Black regiment of the US Army. Created around the time of the Civil War, they fought bravely in several wars, and also played an important role in the history of the American West.

With the return of Louis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, news of the vast Rocky Mountains and their abundant wildlife enticed American traders and trappers. Their goal, to obtain the riches offered there in beaver fur. These men, seasoned by years of hunting in the eastern forests of the young United States, ventured out braving not only the hazards of nature, but the enmity of the Blackfeet Nation and the hostility of competitors such as Canada’s North West Company. Men like Obadiah Cash went west to trap and harvest the “Furry Bank Notes”, as beaver hides were called. Within a few...

Set in 1879, SIX-GUN RETRIBUTION follows the cowboy adventures of Gunfighter Edward Landon as he sets off across the wild west searching for six outlaws he holds responsible for his mother's death. This contemporary action novel features a wide range of western characters, including lawmen, gunslingers, outlaws, Mexican bandits, Indian rebels, and bounty hunters. Andy Munro’s SIX-GUN RETRIBUTION includes realistic characters, historic wild west locations, fast-paced cowboy dialogue, action, mystery and suspense mixed with humour and romance. Synopsis The journey begins as Landon rides his...

Dive into the amazing story of Jamaica, a country shaped by the trials of slavery and the incredible strength of its people. This audiobook tells how enslaved Africans, despite enduring terrible hardships, built the foundation of Jamaica’s vibrant culture and heritage.

A classic of its kind, The Long Gray Line is the 25-year saga of the West Point class of 1966. With a novelist's eye for detail, Rick Atkinson illuminates this powerful story through the lives of three classmates and the women they loved - from the boisterous cadet years, to the fires of Vietnam, to the hard peace and internal struggles that followed the war.

The story of the American West is the story of a relentless quest for a precious resource: water. It is a tale of rivers diverted and dammed, of political corruptions and intrigue, of billion-dollar battles over water rights, of ecologic and economic disaster. In Cadillac Desert, Marc Reisner writes of the earliest settlers, lured by the promise of paradise, and of the ruthless tactics employed by Los Angeles politicians and business interests to ensure the city's growth. He documents the bitter rivalry between two government giants to transform the West.

By the acclaimed author of the classic Patriots and Union 1812, this major work of narrative history portrays four of the most turbulent decades in the growth of the American nation. After the War of 1812, Presidents Monroe, Jackson, Van Buren, and Polk led the country to its Manifest Destiny across the continent, but the forces and hostility unleashed by that expansion led inexorably to Civil War.

The compelling account of how two heritages united in their struggle to gain freedom and equality in America. The first paths to freedom taken by runaway slaves led to Native American villages. There, black men and women found acceptance and friendship among our country's original inhabitants. Though they seldom appear in textbooks and movies, the children of Native and African American marriages helped shape the early days of the fur trade, added a new dimension to frontier diplomacy, and made a daring contribution to the fight for American liberty.

In 1783, with the signing of the Peace of Paris, the American Revolution was complete. And yet even as the newly independent United States secured peace with Great Britain, it found itself losing an escalating military conflict on its borderlands. The enemy was the indigenous people of the Ohio Valley, who rightly saw the new nation as a threat to their existence.

Calling all busy parents! Discover the perfect book for your adventurous young readers aged 9-12! "I Escaped The Donner Party" offers a captivating blend of educational entertainment and thrilling survival that will have your kids turning pages with excitement. In this heart-pounding tale, Zeke, a 15-year-old horseback enthusiast from Illinois, battles hunger, bears, and blizzards when his pioneer-wagon-train takes a treacherous wrong turn on the iconic Oregon Trail. Based on true events, this kid-powered survival adventure, authored by the multi-award-winning Ellie Crowe and Scott Peters, ...

Billionaire Wilderness takes you inside the exclusive world of the ultra-wealthy, showing how today's richest people are using the natural environment to solve the existential dilemmas they face. Justin Farrell spent five years in Teton County, Wyoming, the richest county in the United States and a community where income inequality is the worst in the nation. He conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews, gaining unprecedented access to tech CEOs, Wall Street financiers, oil magnates, and other prominent figures in business and politics.

This panoramic account of 1776 chronicles the other revolutions unfolding that year across North America, far beyond the British colonies. In 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, the Continental Congress declared independence, and Washington crossed the Delaware. We are familiar with these famous moments in American history, but we know little about the extraordinary events occurring that same year far beyond the British colonies.

Wanda Sykes, LeVar Burton, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Gabourey Sidibe head a cast of beloved actors performing 23 selections from the speeches, sermons, and essays of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—many never recorded during his lifetime. For the first time, teachers, students, and thoughtful listeners can hear dramatic interpretations of Dr. King’s words, chosen and introduced by Cornel West.

In this thrilling story of intellectual and archaeological discovery, David Roberts recounts his last 20 years of far-flung exploits in search of spectacular prehistoric ruins and rock art panels known to very few modern travelers. His adventures range across Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado, and illuminate the mysteries of the Ancestral Puebloans and their contemporary neighbors the Mogollon and Fremont, as well as of the more recent Navajo and Comanche.

Sarah's dream was to live in a valley. This might be an elusive dream for a young girl who, along with her brother Frank were orphaned early in life. Their parents died on the way to California in the early 1800's. Sarah and Frank were the only wagon survivors. How would two children survive the highwaymen, the raging grassfires, the cold winters and heartache? (Many words in this story reflect the times. e.g. From the late 1600's until the late 1800's, soldiers used an iron shell filled with pitch that burned at intense heat. It was called a carcass. The United States ordnance manual of ...

Call Sign Chaos is the account of Jim Mattis’ storied career, from wide-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas - and short-sighted thinking - now facing our nation.