Political Intrigue in the American West: Winston Groom Takes On Kearny's March
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Called a “masterful storyteller” by the Dallas Morning News, Winston Groom offers a thrilling re-creation of a pivotal moment in American history. Kearny’s March is the story of a crucial campaign in the Mexican-American War: General Stephen Watts Kearny’s year-long, two-thousand mile expedition to the west.
Kearny’s March has all the stuff of great narrative history, including hardships on the trail, international conflict, political intrigue, personal dramas, gold rushes, and land-grabs. Groom plumbs the wealth of primary documentation—journals and letters, as well as military records—and gives us a sleek, exciting account that captures the imagination and sheds light on the sometimes dirty business of country-making.
Select praise:
“Informed, reliable, shrewd and insightful, but laid-back…. Graceful and succinct…. Kearny’s March is for those who long to relive those exciting and dangerous days—and more particularly for those happy just to read about them. Groom fleshes his story out with enough extravagant, flawed personalities to cast a Shakespearean comedy.”
—Dallas Morning News
“Groom describes the hardships of [Kearny’s] trail beautifully…. The exploits of many of the colorful characters in this history are often breathtaking…. A grand story…. Groom has developed his powers of storytelling—characterization, concision, and scene-by-scene description—to a high art.”
—Tuscaloosa News
“Thrilling…. Groom is a graceful, fluid wordsmith with a gift for crafting history…. An altogether superior read. …[Groom] engages, informs and entertains the reader all at once, so that one comes away from his nonfiction books feeling good about what’s been so effortlessly learned…. Groom is not only a good writer, he’s a fine historian into the bargain.”
—Mobile Press-Register
“Groom has done a sprightly job of chronicling this important but little-studied conflict.”
—Larry McMurtry, Harper’s