Book review - The Pioneers by David McCullough

Review of David McCullough's The Pioneers

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[BookZealots]

Because of McCullough's writing in John Adams I have bought a lot of his other books. I don't have The Pioneers, but it's on my tbr. Thank you for sharing!

[Julie-msss]

Enjoyable review ! You did a great job with it. This book is on my list.

[myreadinglife]

I am a huge McCullough fan. John Adams is my favorite but I have also enjoyed The Great Bridge and The Path Between the Seas about the Panama Canal. I have 1776 on my TBR and plan to read his new one in May.

[tombrown]

David McCullough died last month, two months after his wife. This was his final book, and the only one that received a number of negative reviews, for his references to "savages." That is a mark of our times, and the criticism is not entirely unjustified. My family moved to Marietta, Ohio, from Virginia when I was 10, and I grew up there. That was 60 years ago. Marietta was a thriving place then; it is all but dead now. It is true that descendants of the first settlers still live there, especially Putnams and I've known many. Liked them all. As to the question of slavery in the Ohio Territory, it is true that the settlers did not want slaves to be among them, but neither did they want free Blacks. That sentiment lingered long after Emancipation. Marietta's population was around 18, 000 in 1963, and only about 150 of that number were Black. A number of businesses remained segregated until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Despite McCullough's impressions, it was never Heaven on Earth.

[bravoyab]

As an Ohioan, I love hearing about foreigners learning about our state. Great review btw - I’m on page 38 & loving it so far

[bighardbooks]

Good one! This'll be the next McCullough I read. I just read _1776_ and reviewed, here, a couple months ago. _John Adams_ is excellent, as well. --Allen

[maccaphotos]

I have read all of David McCullough's books and I just started reading The Pioneers today, finally getting to it, it has been on my shelf for a year. The first book I ever read written by Mr. McCullough was "Truman" the biography of President Harry S. Truman a phenomenal biography, highly recommend it also "John Adams" and "Mornings On Horseback" a biography of Theodore Roosevelt the 26th U.S. President, and book about Theodore Roosevelt is a good read he was such a great man. Great review and happy reading!

[billruttenberg]

Bear, you made a great choice of authors if you are wanting to get into American history. McCullough can sure tell a story. Great stuff. You have made me want to get that book out and read it. I have it on the shelf, but haven't read it yet. You definitely need to read 1776 and John Adams, but also try his book on Truman. it is great. I like all of his stuff. Thanks for the review.

[christinaharrison]

Great review! This book is literally the first book I see every time I walk into Barnes and Noble. The cover always draws me in, but I haven't picked it up. I've never read any of David's books, but he is on my list of authors I "want to read". My mom teaches American History (off&on) at the University of New Mexico and did so previously at the University of Utah mostly from the Native American perspective.. So I am going to recommend this book to her. If you're seriously interested in learning about American History I would recommend an amazing book that starts at the very beginning called 1492 by Charles C Mann. Lol, I'm currently on his second book 1493. =)