Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am a fan of David McCullough's books and this one captivated me at once, as I had expected. Settling down with this beautiful book including photos, I read it straight through, marveling at those courageous families who crossed the mountains into Ohio and settled the town of Marietta out of a wilderness. The descriptions of forests, the Ohio River, Indians, wild animals and the brave men and women who persevered from 1787 to 1863 making the new state of Ohio into a free state, with schools and colleges, inventions and industry, by sheer hard work and determination, kept me turning the pages, just as the author planned! The new government and political figures; Washington, Jefferson, Adams and others were represented in surprising ways thanks to the author's research. I was amazed, sad, joyful, shocked - a whole range of emotions as I kept reading and this is what makes for a fascinating book about real people and the beginning of westward expansion in America.