The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck

By Margaret Duncan, Ed.D.

As a teacher, I have attempted to engage students in learning about the Oregon Trail in a variety of ways, including playing the Oregon Trail video game.  So, I was genuinely excited to read about Rinker Buck’s journey to travel the epic trail.  I found the book to be a quick and easy read that tells the story of Buck and his brother Nick, and Nick’s Jack Russell terrier, Olive Oyl making a modern day crossing of the Oregon Trail.

As a reader, I was in awe of Buck’s attempt to travel the length of the Oregon Trail the old-fashioned way—in a covered wagon with a team of mules.  Such a journey had not been attempted in more than a century.  The fact that so much of the trail is still accessible was quite the revelation.  As an East Coaster, many of our original trails and pioneer roads are long gone, replaced by modern roads, cities and suburban sprawl.

Buck gives an overview of the Oregon Trail, which spans two thousand miles and crosses six states from Missouri to the Pacific coast. Once Buck sets up the history of the trail, he then begins the narrative of the crossing. Buck and his brother set out from St. Joseph, Missouri, to travel to Baker City, Oregon, a journey that would last four months.

The book can be broken down into three distinct parts, a journal of the trip, an all-around history of the trail, and the relationship Buck had with his father.  As a reader, I most enjoyed the journal and historical aspects of the book.  Believe me, you will have a good idea of what it takes to change a wagon wheel or how precious water can truly be.  In the beginning of the book, Buck talks about wanting to do the crossing alone.  However, as the book unfolds, it is hard to imagine this journey being possible without the aid of his brother Nick.  Indeed, the banter between the two is quite fun. 

I would highly recommend this book. It is very entertaining, as well as educational. The reader will be transported to an earlier time and a chance to “Go West!” Plus, you will learn more about what many of the Great Pioneers had to endure to make such an arduous journey. If you are like me and love the idea of taking a great road trip, I would enthusiastically recommend picking up this book.  It is definitely worth a read!

Romancing the West

By Jeff Burns

            Soon after English settlement of North America began, “the West” has been romanticized in literature, song, and popular culture.  The romanticization continues into the present.  Consider the popularity of western movies and television shows and the western imagery used in advertising and art.  And it’s not just Americans who take interest in the American West.  Several years ago, when I was traveling in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany, I saw Marlboro Man-like images on bus stops, posters, and in store displays.   It seemed that when advertisers wanted to invoke images of the US, their go-to image was the cowboy. In parts of eastern Europe, people participate in Old West reenactments like we attend Renaissance fairs.  In Aufenfeld Austria, there is a spa in which the saunas and massage rooms have Wild West Themes. 

  

            The western image even contributed to the fall of communism.  In the first free elections held  in communist Poland, held in 1989, labor union/political faction Solidarity used an image of Gary Cooper from “High Noon” on posters . 

           Current novelists continue to write about the American West, and the best incorporate great history into their works.  If you’d like to read some exciting novels and learn along the way, you should explore the novels of Tony Hillerman, Craig Johnson, and Larry McMurtry.

            Tony Hillerman passed away in 2008, after having written over 30 fiction and nonfiction books. He’s most famous for the 18 crime novels following the adventures of Navaho Tribal Police (NTP) detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.  Not only are the NTP novels great detective stories, full of quirky and interesting characters, but they are also chock full of information about the Southwest and about the cultures therein:  Navaho, Hopi, Pueblo, Anglo, and Hispanic. The mysteries are always full of rich and accurate cultural details.  The first NTP novel is The Blessing Way, and you can read them in order, but it’s not necessary.

             Craig Johnson, a Wyoming novelist, has so far written 11 novels and numerous stories featuring a Wyoming sheriff named Walt Longmire, and his work has been made into a television series.  Longmire is your typical troubled detective story hero.  He drinks too much, and that’s just one of the many problems that plague his personal and romantic lives.  He’s surrounded by an eccentric and endearing cast of characters who live in an exceedingly harsh environment. Professionally, he finds himself mixed up in elaborate and often extremely violent crimes that he solves with the help of Henry Standing Bear, his friend since childhood, and a Cheyenne.  Longmire’s jurisdiction straddles the Crow and Cheyenne reservations, so the reader is immersed in Crow and Cheyenne culture and history.  The Cold Dish is the first Longmire title.  Johnson tells great stories about great characters and also injects a great deal of humor.

            Larry McMurtry has also seen a number of his works turned into television and feature events, and he has also written highly acclaimed screenplays himself “Terms of Endearment” and “Brokeback Mountain” for example.  His most famous western work is probably Lonesome Dove, the story of ex-Texas Rangers on a long drive from Texas to new homes in Montana.  He also wrote about strong frontier women in Buffalo Girls and Telegraph Days.  I also enjoyed Streets of Laredo, Comanche Moon, and The Last Kind Words Saloon.  His western non-fiction includes Crazy Horse: A Life, The Colonel and Little Missie: Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley & the Beginnings of Superstardom in America, Oh What A Slaughter! : Massacres in the American West: 1846—1890, and Custer.

            So, whether you’re starting or just fueling your own romance with western novels, here are three authors you should check out.