Allan W. Eckert books

[lukecreekwalker]

Has anyone ever read The Frontiersmen by Allan Eckert? If so, do you think most of his accounts are fiction or actual history? This book is what got me interested in Native American artifact hunting. Really good book to read.

[painshill]

Thanks Luke
I haven't read it, but now intend to since you've brought it to our attention. (I will also move this post to the "Culture -and- Lifestyle" section of the forum in a day or so). The Amazon UK site had this review by  Stephen J. Kovach, who gave it a 5-star rating:
I received this book as a gift. The story of legendary frontiersman Simon Kenton is riveting from the turn of the first page. This frontiersman lived a larger than life life, yet Eckert's careful research shows how the incredible was achieved one step at a time by this restless early American. One thing that can also be said is that Eckert does not play favourites with one side or the other in a conflict. He tells it like it was and doesn't hide any details, good or bad, gruesome or gallant.
The best part of the story is that it is most likely all true - Eckert has invested months of research and for any skeptic you can read the unintrusive amplification notes in the back and check out all the sources yourself. (Actually, reading the amplification notes is every bit as interesting as the story itself.) Mr Eckert is not afraid to list all his sources for a particular bit and why he believes one in particular appears to be the actual truth and why he specifically excluded another. Further, in his later books he is not afraid to admit he had made a mistake in an earlier book.
He goes on to admit in the foreward that the actual dialogue is not of course necessarily what was actually said because nobody wrote down what was actually said in most cases, however Eckert's painstaking research has allowed him (possibly better than anyone else) to speculate what that person most likely would have said or thought at that particular time and place. He can do this because he's spent days reading personal journals, letters and other biographies and has tried to get inside the minds of the people he's writing about.
Whether you are interested in "as it really was" American history, or you are interested in a good historical novel, this is your book. I can also recommend any of the other Eckert historical novels - they are all excellent. However, if you haven't yet read any other books by this author, I recommend this one as your introduction to Allen Eckert, one of the finest historical novelists living today.
One word of warning, some parts of this book contain extremely graphic depictions of violence, I would not recommend it for pre teens.

[lukecreekwalker]

Painshill, I really think you will enjoy The Frontiersmen a lot.  Let me know what you think!  I hardly ever read for leisure but I was through this book pretty quickly.  Thanks for the reply too.

[gunbunny]

I have read all of Ekerts books and have had the pleasure of meeting him.
He does know his stuff .

[lukecreekwalker]

The Frontiersmen was awesome.  Reading That Dark and Bloody River currently.  Really wish they would adapt these into movies.

[maddux54]

"The Frontiersman" is my favorite book of all time. I lived in Kentucky for 15 years, and identified with the history and geography of the area. This is a book that I save and re-read every few years; what a fascinating slice of American history.

[lukecreekwalker]

Yea I live in WV and have seen some historical marker signs here with Simon Kenton's name on it

[OBION]

Look what I found today!

I love a good book, thanks for the recommendation. The last time it was checked out was 1996; but looks like it was read all the time 1968-69.
I have been reading books by Michael Gear, [U]Morning River[u] -and-  [u]Coyote Summer [u] ]   
were both great.  He also writes native American historical fiction with Kathleen O'neal  and I have enjoyed them also.
and yes I tried to remove the continued underlining without success

[lukecreekwalker]

Hope you like it man.