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14 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Captivating!Jan 30, 1998
By John A. Johnson
Dana Fuller Ross captured my interest in the first paragraph of Independence, Vol. I of Wagons West Series. He kept my interest through 22 more volumes of Wagons West plus the sequel of The Holts, An American Dynasty and a The Frontier Trilogy of Wagons West. In the story of the first wagon train from the east coast to Independence, Ross introduces the Holts, the Brentwoods, the Blakes, the Indian White Elk and many other characters that will dominate the pages of this imaginative story for the next 100 years. This becomes my own community as we struggle across the great rivers, plains, deserts and mountains to California, Oregon, Washington and Hiwaii. American History comes alive when this community becomes a part of the Discovery of Gold in the West, the development of Oregon and California, the Revolutions in Hawaii, Cuba and the Phillipines, and the World Wars I & II. I have never been so captivated by one writer as I have been with Dana Fuller Ross. I warn you if you read Independence you are in for many exciting hours of entertainment for some time to come. I read them all between February 1997 and February 1998 and was I sorry when I finished the last one.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Makes Me Wish I Was A PioneerJul 08, 2010
By Mary Gerber
"ltlmsmfft"
I can't wait to read the rest of this series! The book was an easy read and I really came to love the characters. It was fascinating to see how so many different kinds of people came together to make the wagon train a success. I feel like I have a much better picture of how the west was settled, yet I don't feel like I've just had to sit through a class.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Westward Ho! 1st Book In An Extraordinary Series!Jul 02, 2004
By Jana L. Perskie
"ceruleana"
The year is 1837. United States' President Andrew Jackson, his Vice-president, Martin Van Buren, and financier and fur trader, John Jacob Astor, are in a race with the British and the Russians to settle and claim the Oregon Territory. Jackson calls upon his close friend, mountain man and rugged veteran Sam Brentwood, to put together a wagon train with the purpose of traveling overland to Oregon and settling the territory. The train of prairie schooners eventually includes over 500 people - folks who were willing to risk their lives to make the first overland trip across America in an entourage of this kind. They were motivated by the gift of 600 acres of free land to homestead in Oregon, and the opportunity to start new lives. The financial situation in the US was terrible during this period. Due to a major depression many of the potential Oregonians had lost their jobs, life savings and/or property.Brentwood, the wagonmaster, and his assistant Whip Holt, begin the journey in Long Island along with a beautiful, feisty widow, her younger sister, and the sister's elderly husband. The small group pick up more people and covered wagons as they slowly move cross-country to Independence, Missouri. Missouri is the frontier town where Sam Brentwood will set-up a trading depot and leave the wagon train in charge of Whip Holt. Missouri will be the pioneers' last look at civilization until the Pacific Northwest is reached. This is Book 1 of 24 in Dana Fuller Ross's fabulous "Wagons West" series. This fictional account of the first wagon train to cross the US is extraordinary. The characters are complex and very well developed. They obviously grow and change throughout the journey of almost three years. The author vividly brings history to life here. And the politics behind the settling of the West are fascinating, as are the descriptions of the land and the Native Americans the group encounters along the way. As one would expect, the novel is filled with tales of adventure, hardship, courage, love, loss, tragedy and triumph. Many details have been taken from actual diaries and journals of early settlers. Reader BEWARE! Once you start this book you won't be able to stop until you have read all 24 novels. The next one is "Nebraska," and deals with the second leg of the trip from Independence to the foothills of the rocky Mountains. Very highly recommended!
JANA
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
The story that started the Wagon's West series!!Jul 26, 2003
By Tanya L. Schaub
"TSchlaack"
This is the first book in the Wagon's West series. The president of the USA is calling in favors. He wants to make sure that the west is American territory and not British or Russian. To do this he calls on his old friend Sam Brentwood and asks him to start a wagon train to Oregon. Sam agrees and will guide the train to Independence, MO where he will stay and make a way station for the future trains to come. This is where you first meet all the main characters and learn the interaction between them and the types of things that they must face if they are going to try and forge a new life in the west for themselves. This is the story of their struggles against the British & Russian forces trying to keep them for making the trip. This book is one of the 7th printing from back in the early 80's. If you are interested in the settlement of the American West this is one series that you need to revisit.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Didn't catch this the first time around..........Jun 11, 2010
By Gloria Beaverson
"RockyMountainGirl"
...but am glad I picked up the re-issue. Good story, great characters. I look forward to the rest of this series.
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