Dana Fuller Ross (1914–1988)
Author of Independence!
About the Author
American author James Reasoner specializes in historical military novels, westerns, and mysteries. He also writes under the pseudonyms "Mike Jameson", "Hank Mitchum" and "Dana Fuller Ross." He has written more than 40 novels. His spouse, Livia Washburn Reasoner, is also a prolific writer of show more westerns, mysteries, and romances. Perhaps Reasoner's best known work is the ten-volume James Reasoner Civil War Series, which features the fictional Brannon family. The series is set in the town and county of Culpeper, Virginia, a major Confederate supply depot in central northern Virginia north of the Rapidan River. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
American history author Noel Bertram Gerson (1914-1988) also wrote as Dana Fuller Ross (the "Wagons West" series); Donald Clayton Porter (the "White Indian" series); Samuel Edwards; Carter A. Vaughan; Leon Phillips;Philip Vail, Paul Lewis and Michael Burgess.
Since the Paul Lewis and Michael Burgess names are shared with othe authors, their works are aliased here instead of the author pages being combined.
Series
Works by Dana Fuller Ross
Light-Horse Harry; a biography of Washington's great cavalryman, General Henry Lee (2021) 36 copies, 2 reviews
Passage to the West;: The great voyages of Henry Hudson, ([Milestones in history]) (1968) 23 copies, 1 review
The Great American Rascal: The Turbulent Life of Aaron Burr (Heroes and Villains from American History) (2021) 7 copies
Sad Swashbuckler: The Life of William Walker (Heroes and Villains from American History) (1976) 3 copies
Playgirl 3 copies
Wagons West: Texas Freedom 2 copies
Texas Freedom! 2 copies
The Caves of Guernica 2 copies
I'll Storm Hell 1 copy
Island in the wind, a novel 1 copy
Sea of Grass 1 copy
First Lady of America: A Biography of Pocahontas (Women Who Changed the Course of History) (2022) 1 copy
Nathan Hale Espionage Agent 1 copy
That Eaton Woman: In Defense of Peggy OāNeale Eaton (Heroes and Villains from American History) 1 copy
Mirror Mirror 1 copy
Wagons West Series (No. 1 Thru 7: Independence!; Nebraska!; Wyoming!; Oregon!; Texas!; California!; Colorado!) (1979) 1 copy
De uafhƦngige 1 copy
De Baskische Goya 1 copy
Everyman 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Gerson, Noel Bertram
- Other names
- Porter, Donald Clayton
Vaughn, Carter A.
Edwards, Samuel
Phillips, Leon
Burgess, Michael
Vail, Philip (show all 7)
Lewis, Paul - Birthdate
- 1914-11-06
- Date of death
- 1988-11-20
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Chicago
- Occupations
- novelist
historical novelist
biographer
journalist
radio scriptwriter - Short biography
- Noel B. Gerson attended the University of Chicago and served as the campus stringer for the Chicago Herald-Examiner. After graduation, he became a reporter at the paper. He then joined WGN Radio as a publicity writer, later becoming talent director and scriptwriter. During World War II, he served in Army intelligence. After the war, he wrote television scripts before beginning his career as an author in 1950. He was a prolific and popular writer who produced some 325 works of history, historical fiction, and biographies under his own name and numerous pseudonyms. Among his specialties were books about colonial America and the western pioneers; presidents of the USA, such as Andrew Jackson, James Polk, and Theodore Roosevelt; and notable women in history such as the Byzantine Empress Theodora, Matilda of Flanders, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Two of his novels, 55 Days at Peking and The Naked Maja, were adapted into films.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Place of death
- Boca Raton, Florida, USA
- Disambiguation notice
- American history author Noel Bertram Gerson (1914-1988) also wrote as Dana Fuller Ross (the "Wagons West" series); Donald Clayton Porter (the "White Indian" series); Samuel Edwards; Carter A. Vaughan; Leon Phillips;Philip Vail, Paul Lewis and Michael Burgess.
Since the Paul Lewis and Michael Burgess names are shared with othe authors, their works are aliased here instead of the author pages being combined. - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
I gave this book as a gift to my father years ago when I was hoping to get him to do something other than watch T.V. westerns all day. He got so into it that by the next time I visited he had borrowed like a dozen books in the series from the library. He said he stopped reading them when he realized it was a romance. I wanted to see what he got all fusted about.
How you couldn't figure out it was a romance within the first few chapters, I have no idea. But not like trashy romance novel with show more a bare-chested man on the cover and steamy sex scenes more the widow who doesn't need no man, and the mountain man who don't need no woman who think they hate each-other end up needing to rely on each other.
Story starts with Andrew Jackson trying to organize a nation wide wagon train to settle the Oregon Territory in hops of strengthening the American claim to the property. But spies from Britain and Russia join the wagon train as pioneers with an intention to sabotage. They will do anything to stop the wagon train so that they can claim the territory.
I'm not that familiar with this history beyond playing Oregon Trail on the Apple II, but it seems believable. Explanation of why women who don't want to leave the comfy east coast seem pretty likely related to the inability for them to own property on their own.
The train grows while they make their way across the U.S. from Long Island to Pennsylvania, to Ohio, Illinois and finally to Missouri. Our heroines have to learn a full new way of life, whether its one learning to shoot, another learning to care for others, and the tomboy learning to admit to herself she is still a lady.
The wagon train is a new adventure, but also a way to start over, whether from a failed business venture, a life as a call girl, or a conviction of murder. Everyone has to learn to pull their weight, and new families are built. All while having to avoid deadly snakes, stampeding buffalo, and men of all colors and sizes that don't end up quite like you expect.
A light quick read that covers serious topics without taking itself too seriously. I'm putting the next NEBRASKA! in my queue.
Phil Gigante is a great reader his characters are top notch, but it still felt a little weird, primarily because I've listened to him read many books in the Stainless Steel Rat series that it felt weird to have him in the American frontier. show less
How you couldn't figure out it was a romance within the first few chapters, I have no idea. But not like trashy romance novel with show more a bare-chested man on the cover and steamy sex scenes more the widow who doesn't need no man, and the mountain man who don't need no woman who think they hate each-other end up needing to rely on each other.
Story starts with Andrew Jackson trying to organize a nation wide wagon train to settle the Oregon Territory in hops of strengthening the American claim to the property. But spies from Britain and Russia join the wagon train as pioneers with an intention to sabotage. They will do anything to stop the wagon train so that they can claim the territory.
I'm not that familiar with this history beyond playing Oregon Trail on the Apple II, but it seems believable. Explanation of why women who don't want to leave the comfy east coast seem pretty likely related to the inability for them to own property on their own.
The train grows while they make their way across the U.S. from Long Island to Pennsylvania, to Ohio, Illinois and finally to Missouri. Our heroines have to learn a full new way of life, whether its one learning to shoot, another learning to care for others, and the tomboy learning to admit to herself she is still a lady.
The wagon train is a new adventure, but also a way to start over, whether from a failed business venture, a life as a call girl, or a conviction of murder. Everyone has to learn to pull their weight, and new families are built. All while having to avoid deadly snakes, stampeding buffalo, and men of all colors and sizes that don't end up quite like you expect.
A light quick read that covers serious topics without taking itself too seriously. I'm putting the next NEBRASKA! in my queue.
Phil Gigante is a great reader his characters are top notch, but it still felt a little weird, primarily because I've listened to him read many books in the Stainless Steel Rat series that it felt weird to have him in the American frontier. show less
Ghonka, Ena, and Betsy, Renno's father, mother, and wife, have been asked to go to London and ask the new queen for aid for the colonists. Renno is appointed Sachem of the Seneca in Ghonka's place and is charged with leading the Iroquois nation into battle with the British colonists against the French and Spanish. This battle is billed as a battle to end tyranny and secure freedom for both the Native Americans and the British colonists.
Renno wasn't quite as perfect this time, so he didn't show more grate on me as badly as he did in the last book. There were several plots woven together, and it all worked. I found myself quickly turning pages to see what happened next.
There was finally a character that I felt super-strongly about! My goodness, Beatriz was a b*--well, you know the word. I found myself getting mad at her every time she made an appearance!
The big drawback for me was the whole Ghonka-going-to-London thing. I felt like we'd covered this ground already and it was just a thin plot device to put Renno in charge of the tribe without killing off Ghonka. Not that I wanted Ghonka killed off--I really like him. It just felt tired. At least if you're going to revisit old territory, try to do something amusing with it. Stern Ghonka in hedonistic London? There could be some rich material there. But instead we focus on a little, uninteresting thing with Betsy and that's about all.
Overall, though, this was a quick, enjoyable read. show less
Renno wasn't quite as perfect this time, so he didn't show more grate on me as badly as he did in the last book. There were several plots woven together, and it all worked. I found myself quickly turning pages to see what happened next.
There was finally a character that I felt super-strongly about! My goodness, Beatriz was a b*--well, you know the word. I found myself getting mad at her every time she made an appearance!
The big drawback for me was the whole Ghonka-going-to-London thing. I felt like we'd covered this ground already and it was just a thin plot device to put Renno in charge of the tribe without killing off Ghonka. Not that I wanted Ghonka killed off--I really like him. It just felt tired. At least if you're going to revisit old territory, try to do something amusing with it. Stern Ghonka in hedonistic London? There could be some rich material there. But instead we focus on a little, uninteresting thing with Betsy and that's about all.
Overall, though, this was a quick, enjoyable read. show less
Nebraska I didn't think was quite as good as Independence but good enough to read the next one.
We are introduced to a number of new characters, my favorite of which is Hosea, an escaped slave who maintains much of his African heritage including running rather than horseback riding, shooting poisoned darts, utilizing a strong leather shield, and killing with tiny clubs.
As unbelievable as that sounds much of the rest is at least plausible. The wagon train spends the winter in a understaffed show more Army fort. They battle natives, each tribe more vicious the further west they travel. Folks get sick and tired of buffalo meat.
I had @Voice for android read me the eBook. I still think this is my preferred way to consume such medium, but I somehow lost my place near the end, and didn't quite get it right, all of a sudden there was a wedding of someone I thought were still at odds with each other. When I get to Wyoming! it's gonna be a dead tree for me.
I found particularly heart breaking the story of the southern belle who was kidnapped during an Indian raid at the behest of the British St. Clair, Her Majesty's spy. show less
We are introduced to a number of new characters, my favorite of which is Hosea, an escaped slave who maintains much of his African heritage including running rather than horseback riding, shooting poisoned darts, utilizing a strong leather shield, and killing with tiny clubs.
As unbelievable as that sounds much of the rest is at least plausible. The wagon train spends the winter in a understaffed show more Army fort. They battle natives, each tribe more vicious the further west they travel. Folks get sick and tired of buffalo meat.
I had @Voice for android read me the eBook. I still think this is my preferred way to consume such medium, but I somehow lost my place near the end, and didn't quite get it right, all of a sudden there was a wedding of someone I thought were still at odds with each other. When I get to Wyoming! it's gonna be a dead tree for me.
I found particularly heart breaking the story of the southern belle who was kidnapped during an Indian raid at the behest of the British St. Clair, Her Majesty's spy. show less
Not sure exactly why, years ago, I picked up this book at some Friends of the Library book sale. Hopefully I only paid a quarter or less for it. It is the fifth book in the 24-book Wagons West! series by Dana Fuller Ross, one of the pen names of Noel Bertram Gerson..
The first four books in that series describe the initial wagon train to Oregon beginning in 1837. This fifth book, which begins in 1844, has the rather unlikely premise of two groups of Oregon settlers from the first four books show more in the series going to Texas. I'm sorry, but I find that to be ridiculous.
Army colonel Lee (Leland) Blake, stationed in Oregon (which is not yet a state), is asked to escort a wagon train of American settlers to Texas from the East. He brings a trusted aide and they both bring their wives. And Captain Rick Miller of the Texas Rangers is sent by Republic of Texas president Sam Houston to Oregon, to bring back a shipbuilder and a small group of men to build a navy for Texas.
I found this set-up (and many of the subsequent events) to be pretty much unbelievable. It was clearly a way to keep using some of the characters from the first four books, which were apparently pretty popular when this book was published in 1980. The book even includes a ridiculous character from China, who uses ninja throwing stars and even teaches the Army and Rangers how to use them!
I also don't think Lee, Cathy, and Rick were typically used as nicknames in this era. It all made me question the historical accuracy of events in the book, which extends into Texas' admission into the United States and the subsequent war with Mexico, that ended in February 1848. At the end of the book, Lee, Cathy, and Rick (among others) are all heading to California! - the next book in the series.
I felt I was reading more of a romance or adventure novel (not my favorite genres) than historical fiction. Needless to say, I won't be reading any other books in the series. show less
The first four books in that series describe the initial wagon train to Oregon beginning in 1837. This fifth book, which begins in 1844, has the rather unlikely premise of two groups of Oregon settlers from the first four books show more in the series going to Texas. I'm sorry, but I find that to be ridiculous.
Army colonel Lee (Leland) Blake, stationed in Oregon (which is not yet a state), is asked to escort a wagon train of American settlers to Texas from the East. He brings a trusted aide and they both bring their wives. And Captain Rick Miller of the Texas Rangers is sent by Republic of Texas president Sam Houston to Oregon, to bring back a shipbuilder and a small group of men to build a navy for Texas.
I found this set-up (and many of the subsequent events) to be pretty much unbelievable. It was clearly a way to keep using some of the characters from the first four books, which were apparently pretty popular when this book was published in 1980. The book even includes a ridiculous character from China, who uses ninja throwing stars and even teaches the Army and Rangers how to use them!
I also don't think Lee, Cathy, and Rick were typically used as nicknames in this era. It all made me question the historical accuracy of events in the book, which extends into Texas' admission into the United States and the subsequent war with Mexico, that ended in February 1848. At the end of the book, Lee, Cathy, and Rick (among others) are all heading to California! - the next book in the series.
I felt I was reading more of a romance or adventure novel (not my favorite genres) than historical fiction. Needless to say, I won't be reading any other books in the series. show less
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- Works
- 219
- Also by
- 6
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- 8,816
- Popularity
- #2,715
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 79
- ISBNs
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