The Annotated and Illustrated Journals of Major Robert Rogers

Rating:
Summary: History brought to Life
Review: A creation of the two greatest experts on Robert Rogers and his Rangers, this book is a must for all American history buffs. Not only is Rogers' own journal reproduced, but Todish and Zaboly both contribute fascinating and insightful introductions. If there is any more to be learned about Rogers, it will be found in Zaboly's forthcoming full-scale biography. His numerous full page highly detailed illustrations add immeasurably to this work's appeal. For those who are interested in the period, to miss this volume would be a sin.

Rating:
Summary: History brought to Life
Review: A creation of the two greatest experts on Robert Rogers and his Rangers, this book is a must for all American history buffs. Not only is Rogers' own journal reproduced, but Todish and Zaboly both contribute fascinating and insightful introductions. If there is any more to be learned about Rogers, it will be found in Zaboly's forthcoming full-scale biography. His numerous full page highly detailed illustrations add immeasurably to this work's appeal. For those who are interested in the period, to miss this volume would be a sin.

Rating:
Summary: Roger¿s Journals Finally Go Snap, Crackle & Pop
Review: No one lived through more extraordinary adventures than Major Robert Rogers: they were bone-chilling, hair-raising. But Rogers understates them. Spine-tingling events historians know-from others who were present-that Rogers lived through he skipped over. Once he jumped twelve feet into a river to escape capture by French and Indians and never even mentioned it. Perhaps Rogers was a genuinely modest man. Perhaps his "adventures" were scarey memories he didn't wish to revisit. Perhaps it was bad judgment mixed with a phlegmatic mind. Low key or not, Roger's journals are standard reading for history buffs of the French and Indian War. Todish and Zaboly imminently enhance Roger's accounts without altering them, to the point readers glimpse an exceptional man. Todish indents his annotations in the middle of the narrative at to flesh out details of time, place, and historical significance. His scholarship is first rate: insertions are by others who were present, or are comments from earlier Rogers scholars. His co-author, Zaboly, takes great care to make the his illustrations historically accurate in lieu of setting, clothing, and military accouterments. Drawings are a page or two pages wide, with an accompanying page of explanation of included details. These chosen details are themselves footnoted to their museum source. If one decides to read Roger's journals, read them in this edition.

Rating:
Summary: Roger¿s Journals Finally Go Snap, Crackle & Pop
Review: No one lived through more extraordinary adventures than Major Robert Rogers: they were bone-chilling, hair-raising. But Rogers understates them. Spine-tingling events historians know-from others who were present-that Rogers lived through he skipped over. Once he jumped twelve feet into a river to escape capture by French and Indians and never even mentioned it. Perhaps Rogers was a genuinely modest man. Perhaps his "adventures" were scarey memories he didn't wish to revisit. Perhaps it was bad judgment mixed with a phlegmatic mind. Low key or not, Roger's journals are standard reading for history buffs of the French and Indian War. Todish and Zaboly imminently enhance Roger's accounts without altering them, to the point readers glimpse an exceptional man. Todish indents his annotations in the middle of the narrative at to flesh out details of time, place, and historical significance. His scholarship is first rate: insertions are by others who were present, or are comments from earlier Rogers scholars. His co-author, Zaboly, takes great care to make the his illustrations historically accurate in lieu of setting, clothing, and military accouterments. Drawings are a page or two pages wide, with an accompanying page of explanation of included details. These chosen details are themselves footnoted to their museum source. If one decides to read Roger's journals, read them in this edition.

Rating:
Summary: Three Fine Books in One
Review: This edition of the _Journals of Major Robert Rogers_ is really three books in one, and that amounts to a major treat for anyone even remotely interested in the struggle for colonial America's frontier.
Major Robert Rogers was one of early America's greatest frontier soldiers, and the feats performed by Rogers' Rangers are the stuff of legend. Despite the self-serving nature of Rogers' memoirs (and whose memoirs are not self-serving?), this work remains an essential source on the French and Indian War.
The annotations supplied by editor Timothy J. Todish, a longtime Rogers' Rangers reenactor and a widely published student of 18th and 19th century American military history, greatly increase the value of this edition. Todish provides the kind of insights, additional information, and corrections that can come only from someone who is thoroughly familiar with the subject.
The book's crowning touch comes from the twenty-two illustrations by Gary S. Zaboly, an accomplished historical artist whose knowledge of Robert Rogers and his times is unmatched by anyone working in the field today. Zaboly wrote short essays explaining each one of his illustrations, along with an authoritative, 31-page examination of the uniforms worn by Rogers' Rangers.
By combining the talents of Rogers, Todish, and Zaboly, this handsome volume serves as a window opening on some of the most harrowing and thrilling episodes in American history. This book is a must for anyone interested in colonial America, the Eastern Woodland Indians, and the French and Indian War.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Very well done book. This book will add alot to the knowledge on the French and Indian War. And one of the most colorful people of that time. If you would like to understand more about the modern army rangers and the past history of this great nation this is the book.