Northwest Passage

Rating:
Summary: The Master Unsurpassed
Review: I first discovered Northwest Passage at a library while I was still in high school, and ever since then I have been a confirmed Kenneth Roberts fan. His ability to bring the frontier and its characters alive is uncanny and unmatched by any other author I've ever read. His research into the foods, weapons, country and historical events he writes about is unparalleled, and each character in all of of his novels seems so real it sometimes becomes diffcult to determine if they were real or not. Mingling real-life historical figures such as George Washington, Benedict Arnold and others, with fictional characters such as Steven Nason, Cap Huff, and other truly unforgettable creations, lends them a credibility that results in history coming alive. One's understanding of historical events and people that have become blase' over the years is competely turned upside down and inside out as you gain new insight and understanding of what happened, why it happened and what it meant through Roberts' masterful writing backed up by exhaustive research into his subjects and events. The characters not only are drawn larger than life in all their strengths and weaknesses, but as they move through several of Roberts' novels and are observed and encountered differently when viewed from different perspectives, we begin to realize that history is not static but is dynamic and alive. Example: RABBLE IN ARMS and OLIVER WISWELL are both books about the American Revolution, but written from diametrically opposite viewpoints ! RABBLE IN ARMS follows the struggle of the colonists to free themselves from England's grip as envisioned from the rebellious colonists' perspective, while OLIVER WISWELL is about the very same events written from the perspective of a Loyalist; many of the very same characters populate both novels, but the view one gets of them is so different from one to the other of the books that it hardly seems as if at first they are about the same thing. Additionally, OLIVER WISWELL is an outstanding exploration of the Loyalist cause and why they believed we would all be better off to remain loyal subjects of England.

I've read all of Roberts' books, and have a first edition of OLIVER WISWELL purchased for $3.00 from a used bookstore with an original newspaper review that had been tucked inside the book by the original purchaser. The review is of the novel itself, and after reading that review from more than 60 years ago, it is very apparent over the years the very high and well-deserved reputation of Roberts has not diminished.

My recommendation is: read them. Read them all !! You will never find finer writing or an author with a keener appreciation of his subject matter and the period about which he writes than Kenneth Roberts. All of Roberts' books should be reprinted, again and again, as they were when they were first published (check the frontispieces to see how many times his novels have been re-printed over the years --- it's astounding!). Every person who reads Roberts becomes a devotee and a reader for life, and every one to whom you loan a copy of any of his novels will then be someone with whom you can share the pure pleasure of having read a Kenneth Roberts novel, and there are many of us out there. Welcome to the astounding, incredible world that will soon be at your fingertips!

Rating:
Summary: The Master Unsurpassed
Review: I first discovered Northwest Passage at a library while I was still in high school, and ever since then I have been a confirmed Kenneth Roberts fan. His ability to bring the frontier and its characters alive is uncanny and unmatched by any other author I've ever read. His research into the foods, weapons, country and historical events he writes about is unparalleled, and each character in all of of his novels seems so real it sometimes becomes diffcult to determine if they were real or not. Mingling real-life historical figures such as George Washington, Benedict Arnold and others, with fictional characters such as Steven Nason, Cap Huff, and other truly unforgettable creations, lends them a credibility that results in history coming alive. One's understanding of historical events and people that have become blase' over the years is competely turned upside down and inside out as you gain new insight and understanding of what happened, why it happened and what it meant through Roberts' masterful writing backed up by exhaustive research into his subjects and events. The characters not only are drawn larger than life in all their strengths and weaknesses, but as they move through several of Roberts' novels and are observed and encountered differently when viewed from different perspectives, we begin to realize that history is not static but is dynamic and alive. Example: RABBLE IN ARMS and OLIVER WISWELL are both books about the American Revolution, but written from diametrically opposite viewpoints ! RABBLE IN ARMS follows the struggle of the colonists to free themselves from England's grip as envisioned from the rebellious colonists' perspective, while OLIVER WISWELL is about the very same events written from the perspective of a Loyalist; many of the very same characters populate both novels, but the view one gets of them is so different from one to the other of the books that it hardly seems as if at first they are about the same thing. Additionally, OLIVER WISWELL is an outstanding exploration of the Loyalist cause and why they believed we would all be better off to remain loyal subjects of England.

I've read all of Roberts' books, and have a first edition of OLIVER WISWELL purchased for $3.00 from a used bookstore with an original newspaper review that had been tucked inside the book by the original purchaser. The review is of the novel itself, and after reading that review from more than 60 years ago, it is very apparent over the years the very high and well-deserved reputation of Roberts has not diminished.

My recommendation is: read them. Read them all !! You will never find finer writing or an author with a keener appreciation of his subject matter and the period about which he writes than Kenneth Roberts. All of Roberts' books should be reprinted, again and again, as they were when they were first published (check the frontispieces to see how many times his novels have been re-printed over the years --- it's astounding!). Every person who reads Roberts becomes a devotee and a reader for life, and every one to whom you loan a copy of any of his novels will then be someone with whom you can share the pure pleasure of having read a Kenneth Roberts novel, and there are many of us out there. Welcome to the astounding, incredible world that will soon be at your fingertips!

Rating:
Summary: One novel- 2 very different books!
Review: Kenneth Roberts is my favorite novelist so this review may be somewhat biased, but Northwest Passage truly is a book people should read. It is gripping, a book I had a difficult time setting down. Roberts had a style that was unique in that the reader can many times feel the sensations he is describing. When the soldiers were hungy and were failing at hunting, Roberts could create a sensation of hunger and frustration. When he described the streets of London, the reader feels like he/she is actually there.

This book is wonderful. It's full of lively, intelligent characters and solid story plots. It is as good a represtation of colonial America as was ever done in the form of a novel. Hopefully it will remain a timeless classic forever.

Rating:
Summary: A journey into the forgotten past
Review: Kenneth Roberts was one of America's best-known nonfiction magazine writers back during the heyday of the Saturday Evening Post. One of his best-known articles was a profile of Hitler following the Beer Hall Putsch, which became a book in its own right at a time when no one in America knew who Hitler was.

Beginning in the mid-1930s, Roberts wrote a series of brilliant but erratic historical novels about America in the late 1700s, set in his beloved Maine or in neighboring Boston and Portsmouth, NH. "Northwest Passage" (which was serialized by the Post) was his masterpiece and the most popular book in America for two years during the 1930s, although it's barely remembered today (or, if remembered, known only as the source for a mediocre Spencer Tracy movie of the same name).

The book is the story of a real person, Major Robert Rogers, a miltary leader from pre-Revolutionary America whose unit, Rogers' Rangers, was America's first to fight "Indian-style" (in other words, to fight battles the way we fight them today). Rogers' great success in warfare led to him becoming one of the colonies' first published authors, a star in London, and later the royal governor of Michilimackinac (the fort at the tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan ... and the land westward), but his unwillingness to join with pluderers who wanted to loot the British and colonial treasuries in the name of the Crown led to his arrest and unwarranted disgrace ... and to his ultimate decision to side with the British during the American Revolution, like Roberts' other main hero, Benedict Arnold ("Arundel" and "Rabble in Arms").

This novel is made up of two very different but intricately-plotted books. Book 1, which ranges in place from Harvard College to the British Army during the French and Indian Wars and the New England art world, tells the story of a young man, Langdon Towne, who becomes Rogers' personal secretary during Rogers' Rangers' expedition to destroy the town of St. Francis, home of the native group most hostile to the New England settlers. Book 2, which begins in London, crosses back to upstate Michigan and the Dakota lands, and then returns to London, tells the story of Towne's advancement as an artist and his involvement with Rogers' plan to discover the Northwest Passage.

The reason that this book rates 4 stars instead of 5 has to do with a writing issue that must be mentioned. Roberts' friend Booth Tarkington served as "editor" of the first three-quarters of the book, and the Roberts-Tarkington prose is stellar. However, under severe time pressure to finish the second half of the book (due to its smash-hit status), Roberts wrote the last quarter without Tarkington's help, and the change in writing quality is jarring -- especially as it comes right during the most historically-important and dramatically-important section of the book, Rogers' betrayal by his Northwest Passage expedition commanders and by his British and American enemies. Roberts had offered Tarkington co-writing credit, which Tarkington refused, but this justaposition of styles shows just how critical Tarkington's help was. The plot continues smoothly, though, even if the writing doesn't.

One more point: in researching and writing this book, Roberts uncovered (after two years of searching, and just before publication of Book 2) the actual court-marshal transcripts of the two court-marshals with which Rogers was involved, which were believed to have been destroyed by Rogers' enemies -- and both supported Roberts' sympathetic treatment of Rogers. Thus, not only was this book incredibly popular, but it was significant for historical research as well. What more can you ask from one book?

Rating:
Summary: Following the master
Review: Kenneth Roberts was the master historical novelist. The vibrant style and witty dialogue in Northwest Passage greatly influenced my own historical fiction novel, Horse Dreamer. The characters in Northwest Passage -- especially Major Rogers -- are dynamic, and the action -- especially the attack on the St. Francis Indians -- is unforgettable. This novel is literary art at its highest form.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent historical fiction of an early American hero.
Review: Kenneth Roberts' "Northwest Passage" is one of the great novels of the 1930's. Little remembered now, it is the story of Major Robert Rogers and the early Rangers of the French and Indian War. Most of the book is an accurate description of what occured during that time period, and one gets an incredible feel for the hardships and calamities that befall these men. The book is written in the first person as the narrator is one of the Major's trusted associates; the story involves both men and their lives together in the wilderness and much later when their paths cross once again near the end of the 18th Century. Rogers himself commanded the first real "commando" unit and he is the father of all subsequent outfits like the Green Berets, the Navy Seals etc. Kenneth Roberts was one of the great historical fiction writers of his day and anyone who is interested in this time period would be wise to read this book. It is truly a classic.

Rating:
Summary: THE GREATEST AMERICAN HISTORICAL NOVEL!
Review: Northwest Passage is an almost perfect historical novel . It is well worth searching for secondhand. It is derring do of the highest order. After reading one wishes to be a ranger to

Rating:
Summary: Grand historical fiction, authentic and graphic
Review: Northwest Passage:

Kenneth Roberts was the premier historical fiction author of his day. What starts out as a simple French and Indian War tale of a daring raid on the St. Francis Indian village by Major Robert Rogers, eventually spans North America, Europe and the Mediterranean. Roberts' descriptions of wilderness warfare and survival bespeak his excruciatingly thorough research and knowledge of eighteenth century America, to the point where you might wonder if he was actually there. His battle scenes are unsparingly violent and brutal, even by today's standards, but the whole novel is infused with a quaint romanticism, that is usually avoided in modern literature. In Robert's works, warfare is bloody, and politics unsavory, but noble spirits and strong hearts prevail. Anyone who likes historical fiction, art history, or adventure travel, would do well to start with Northwest Passage.

Rating:
Summary: A gripping read and a standout historical novel.
Review: Set in Colonial America during the French and Indian War, historical novelist Kenneth Roberts' Northwest Passage is an epic work about the larger-than-life Major Rogers and the artist Langdon Towne who joins Rogers' Rangers. As Langdon gradually draws strength, wisdom, and experience from adversity, Major Rogers slowly crumbles before hardship. A powerful story of enduring the fire for better or ill, Northwest Passage is a gripping read and a standout recommendation on the historical fiction shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth the read...
Review: This is a book which I would consider it third in a group of books which I've read regarding the American Frontier and/or regarding the period from French and Indian War to the War of Independence. A book which is factual and and absolute must read is The Frontiersmen by Alan Eckert. However, in reading some works which are part or all fiction I would then say that the Leatherstocking Tales (i.e... Last of the Mohicans, Drums Along the Mohawk, etc...) by James Fenimore Cooper surpass this one to some extent but this one is still entertaining and is definitely worth the read.