Rating: 
Summary: A Great Politically Incorrect History
Review: It was refreshing to read a politically incorrect US history centered on the year 1846. DeVoto wrote the book in 1943 and takes shots at Indians, Mexicans, Mormons, Eastern Intellectuals, and Texans in general and Fremont, Polk, Stockton, Zachary Taylor, and others in particular. I had the strong feeling that DeVoto was telling it as he saw it and many of his observations were humorous, acerbic, and accurate about the myths and mythmakers of circa 1846. I enjoyed this book, but occasionally was lost in DeVoto's stream of thought.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Politically Incorrect History
Review: It was refreshing to read a politically incorrect US history centered on the year 1846. DeVoto wrote the book in 1943 and takes shots at Indians, Mexicans, Mormons, Eastern Intellectuals, and Texans in general and Fremont, Polk, Stockton, Zachary Taylor, and others in particular. I had the strong feeling that DeVoto was telling it as he saw it and many of his observations were humorous, acerbic, and accurate about the myths and mythmakers of circa 1846. I enjoyed this book, but occasionally was lost in DeVoto's stream of thought.
Rating: 
Summary: Bernard DeVoto, Literary Passionate of the American West
Review: This is the greatest book ever written about the American West. The Year of Decision 1846 is the most defining portrayal of America's character. It is my favorite history book. I read this book every five years to gain a better perspective about this brilliant masterpiece.
To paraphrase Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (all quotations are his) in a foreword edition (1984), no other historical work about the westward movement comes closer in describing "the colors, sounds, smells of the Great Plains and of the Rockies beyond," and of Manifest Destiny than this literary achievement. Devoto's wry wit and sagebrush humor pushes the reader even deeper into his story.
This great novel closely portrays the ambition, the arrogance, the excitement, and the alienation of not only the greatest emerging country the world has even known, but reveals clear reflections of Devoto's persona himself. His conscience "continues to move us with tales splendidly and exactly told of our ancestors as they struggled in their valor and frailty against nature, the wilderness, and their own weaker selves."
"Devoto saw America as 'a system of social energies' at once pulled asunder by the 'centrifugal expansion of the frontier and the equal explosiveness of the developing industry' between the period of 1840's through the end of the Civil War, 'a terrible war that would redefine the American Republic.'"
Devoto wrote exuberantly about the conquest of Mexico, but he was adroit about quoting Emerson: "The United States will conquer Mexico but it will be as the man swallows the arsenic which brings him down in turn. Mexico will poison us."
An excellent summation of Devoto's life is provided by Ann W. Engar who reasons that Devoto did not recieve the critical attention he deserves, perhaps because he was so multitalented and often polemical. "Devoto was the unsparing critic when Americans failed to live up to the best standards of the Republic." Many current historians note the remarkable parallels today in his writings. 'Pessimism is only the name that men of weak nerves give to wisdom.' Born in Utah in 1897 and one of Harvard's greatest, Devoto died in 1955 at the age of 58. "He knew the bitterness and triumph of life."
I always get a refreshing perspective in my life about the stress of current events when compared to the readiness and eagerness of earlier legends, when they faced extreme dangers. Engar reasonably concludes that Devoto's importance lies in his attempts in both fiction and historical writing to intepret the importance of the West in the development of American culture.Take your time reading this book and get rid of all distractions.
Rating:
Summary: So much of American History is the result of 1846
Review: While the compass of the book is limited to a single year, it is amazing how many relevent stories DeVoto incorporated into it. Obviosuly, it is an overview, but one that will intrigue anyone who can apreciate what it took to make America great, and fulfill its Manifest Destiny. The bibliography is a storehouse of primary sources which should be read to flesh out this outline. Add to the fascination of the topics the skill of the author, and you have a work of memorable proportions. You will like it.
Rating:
Summary: So much of American History is the result of 1846
Review: While the compass of the book is limited to a single year, it is amazing how many relevent stories DeVoto incorporated into it. Obviosuly, it is an overview, but one that will intrigue anyone who can apreciate what it took to make America great, and fulfill its Manifest Destiny. The bibliography is a storehouse of primary sources which should be read to flesh out this outline. Add to the fascination of the topics the skill of the author, and you have a work of memorable proportions. You will like it.
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