Trailblazers : The Men and Women Who Forged the West [first edition]

No period of United States history holds more fascination for readers than the opening of the American West. Trailblazers approaches the era from the perspectives of the different people who created American history west of the Mississippi River: mountain men, prospectors and miners, ranchers, settlers, and Native Americans. Packed with period photographs and illustrations, this volume conveys the human side of life on the frontier through lively anecdotes and quotations drawn from such primary sources as diaries, letters, and newspapers. Trailblazers brings the people, places, and events of the Old West to life like no other book.