David Dary

The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore by David Dary is an extensive look at the long history of one of America's famous overland trails. From before the founding of Santa Fe in 1610 to the dusty remnants that are still visible throughout the Midwest today, this book is an all-in-one guide to a cherished treasure of history.

In the book the author reprints a 1943 quote from Texas writer J. Frank Dobie, which I think perfectly sums up the trail in its historical context:

"Look at show more it in one way, Santa Fe was a mud village. In another way, it was the solitary gem in an empire of vacancy. Like that of Athens, though of an entirely different quality, its fame was out of all proportion to its size... But the Santa Fe Trail is one of the three great trails of America that, though plowed under, fenced across and cemented over, seem destined for perennial travel—by those happily able to go without tourist guides." show less

What comes through in this book is the author's fascination with the romance of the settler's wagon train; the core of the narrative being the first-person accounts of people who went through the experience prior to the American Civil War. However, there is a bit of antiquarian mustiness hanging over this history, as it seems like a bit more analysis of the actual people involved would have been in order. Assuming that you weren't a Mormon, or a gold prospector, why was there the drive to show more travel the Oregon Trail when there was still open public land in Missouri, let alone Kansas? Where these the folks seeking to escape dealing with a society built on slavery? I would also have liked to have learned more about how people built communities when they actually arrived at the end of the road. That is to say, how to you survive the trial of the journey only to face another trial of survival carving a farm out of the wilderness? I would have been glad to have seen the author spend a little less space on the minutiae of the journey and some more time on these questions. show less

Interesting stories, well-written, but rather elementary in its approach. It would have been better for me to have had a more scientific approach to the book. The author was a journalist so that was not going to happen. The random and obscure stories were interesting and relevant, there just needed to be more substance.

Despite Dary's "facts only," journalistic writing style, the details he presents are mesmerizing. Whether he intended to or not, Dary gives his reader's insights into how the almost mythic American can-do personality emerged. One note about the Nook version of this book--the notes are not hyperlinks, you have to set bookmarks to navigate between the narrative and the notes pages.