Frémont: Pathmarker of the West

by Allan Nevins

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One of the most controversial and romantic figures in American history, John C. Frémont experienced a dizzying succession of public triumphs and humiliations. He made his name exploring the West, surveying, mapping, and describing the Rockies, the Great Basin, and Oregon country. Allan Nevins gives Frémont full credit for his achievements as a topographer, soldier, and politician while noting how often his rashness attracted enemies and led to his downfall: to a court-martial for show more disobeying orders during the Bear Flag Rebellion, to a disastrous winter expedition in the San Juan Mountains, to his defeat as the first presidential candidate of the Republican party, to the loss of his Civil War command. Through sickness and health, poverty and wealth, his wife, the vivacious Jessie Benton Frémont, stood by him. Their enduring romance occupies much more than the background in this absorbing story of his life. The dean of American historians, Allan Nevins won the Pulitzer Prize for his biographies of Grover Cleveland and Hamilton Fish. show less

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Allan Nevins, 1890 - 1971 Educator, historian and biographer Allan Nevins was born in Camp Point, Illinois. He was educated at the University of Illinois. From 1913-1931, he was on the editorial staff of various newspapers and periodicals in New York City. From 1931 until his retirement in 1958, he was the professor of American history at Columbia show more University. He died in Menlo Park, California, in 1971. His historical and biographical writings were thoroughly researched and two of his books, "Grover Cleveland" (1932) and "Hamilton Fish" (1936), won Pulitzer Prizes. Other titles include "The Ordeal of the Union" (8 vol. 1947-1971) and "The Emergence of Lincoln" (2 vol. 1950). He also edited letters and diaries, which included "The Diary of John Quincy Adams" (1928). (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Frémont: Pathmarker of the West
People/Characters
John Charles Frémont
Important places
USA
First words
About John Charles Fremont's cradle hung as dark clouds as have surrounded the infancy of any notable American-the clouds of illegitimacy, poverty, and total uncertainty of the future. In his veins ran the blood of a strange... (show all) and far from auspicious union; the union of an impulsive, warm-hearted, and willful Virginia girl, and of a roving adventurous, erratic French emigre.

Classifications

Genres
History, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction
DDC/MDS
973.6092History & geographyHistory of North AmericaUnited StatesAntebellum Era (1845-1857)Antebellum Era
LCC
E415.9 .F8 .N46History of the United StatesUnited StatesRevolution to the Civil War, 1775/1783-1861By periodMiddle nineteenth century, 1845/1848-1861Biography
BISAC

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Members
53
Popularity
576,174
Rating
½ (3.50)
Languages
English
Media
Paper
ISBNs
2
ASINs
5