The Oregon Trail (Oxford World's Classics)

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I almost want to give this book five stars: it is "amazing" and there is plenty here for a variety of readers, whether into travel, memoir, history... and I do highly recommend it to anyone even a little bit curious about any aspect of it... but somehow I just can't round up from 4.5 stars. Fascinating details about the logistics and mechanics of the undertaking and some interesting folks who assisted along the way made this an interesting read. Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.

When I strike the open plains, something happens. I’m home. I breathe differently. That love of great spaces, of rolling open country like the sea, it’s the grand passion of my life.” – Willa Cather, (epigraph to The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey) Think for a moment how high up the driver’s seat on a covered wagon is, for example, and how immensely soporific the repetitive clopping of hooves are on a very warm spring day. There is no safety belt; there is nothing whatsoever to keep a man from falling off and being crushed beneath the wagon.

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His solution was an energizer resorted to by many – a road trip -- but not your normal road trip. He decided to retrace the Oregon Trail – but not in a normal way. He decided to make the journey the way the pioneers did, in a covered wagon pulled by a team of mules. And then it gets kind of good! Their lives, including the mules and the dog, are in danger more than once and a genuine camaraderie is formed. This is why I hate to not finish books; sometimes the best is yet to come. Could not be more in my wheelhouse! A stunt memoir! Set in the American West! Bringing to mind tales of Laura Ingalls Wilder! And it's funny with a cranky old guy as the author's companion a la Bill Bryson! I knew this book would be a hit with me from the moment I heard about it. The Oregon Trail is a smorgasbord of a book. It’s a travel book, it’s a history, and it’s a family saga. While telling an incredible tale of the first covered wagon crossing of the entire Oregon Trail in a century, it chronicles the history and importance of the trail as the highway of history’s largest overland migration. Along the way it fills us in on incidental histories — mule breeding, wagon building, etc. The author also relates his family history — his eccentric father who took his family on covered wagon vacations along the East Coast in the late ‘50s, sparking a lifelong interest that culminated in this journey and book.

I listened to this on audio, which was vastly entertaining, but I also enjoyed flipping through the print version because it has some great photographs and other illustrations. I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy amusing travelogues or anyone interested in pioneer history. I’m not sure what is the most remarkable part of this wonderful memoir: the novel aspect of the covered wagon trip during the 21st century, or Rinker’s voice, which switches seamlessly from that of historian, to that of family member with family issues, to that of the humorist who can appreciate life’s ironies even in adverse circumstances. All I know is that you don’t want to miss out on this one. What a terrific story! It is all told in robust prose, filled with humor and insightful observations about America now and then. The added bonus was how good the people were, across the country, supporting the brothers, on their journey, reminding us how caring and decent, Americans can be. I guess I'm just a bit too put out by all the macho posturing, the need for spelling out the word instead of just f* despite how often it's used.... And what's the deal with all the insults and prejudices expressed against so many people including Amish, Mormons, RVers, himself... the only ppl he admires are his brother & cowboys and that attitude gets old, whether it's sincere or persona for the sake of humor.Didn't die of dysentry, but nearly died of boredom. As someone who, yes, played that 'Oregon Trail' game, I was so looking forward to this book. Man decides he wants to travel along the Oregon Trail? In an actual wagon pulled by mules? Sure, why not? Pioneering spirit" is a phrase that was used a lot in my family while I was growing up in the 1950s, and it probably explains, too, why I was so drawn to covered wagon travel. I am emotionally connected to my past as a covered wagon traveler — a time when my father was so strapping and young, fun-loving and emotive, a man so wonderful to love. He was a nonconformist in a rigidly conformist age, but I've often felt since then that there was a logic behind his eccentricity. Also interesting content on his family history and the personal dynamics of his relationship with his brother.

Also included are in depth looks at the trail gear they used and how they acquired it. There are several drawings depicting said gear and a few drawings of significant landmarks they passed on the trail. What's missing are actual photos of their trip. There are a couple (including the ones on the inside covers of the book) but with so many people taking their photos as the wagon passed or stopped and even a photographer on board for part of the trip, I'm surprised they didn't make the book. The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance. Seeing America slowly was, in a way, like eating slow food-I wasn't covering much ground in a single day, but I was digesting a lot more.”Publishers Weekly: " An entertaining and enlightening account of one of America’s most legendary migrations. Even readers who don’t know a horse from a mule will find themselves swept up in this inspiring and masterful tale of perseverance and the pioneer spirit. [3] I mostly enjoyed the author's account of his journey along the trail, especially the parts about the mules and dog, but the multitude of tangents varied greatly with how interesting they were (or were not). Also could have done without the author's numerous political and societal opinions, which make you question his ability to intelligently research and assimilate other material used for the book. Favorite Quote: The contradiction of being able to see the modern world more clearly from the vantage of a nineteenth-century wagon appealed to me. Seeing America slowly was, in a way, like eating slow food - I wasn't covering much ground in a single day, but I was digesting a lot more.

Cattle guards were a big problem as the mules wouldn't cross them. Seems they didn't consider blindfolds, blinkers, tarps...? If read as a light-hearted memoir instead of a factual nonfiction book, it's not bad. While the brother will be off-putting to some due to his colorful vocabulary, I found his interjections of humor refreshing in what otherwise could be dull at times. By turns frankly hilarious, historically elucidating, emotionally touching, and deeply informative. No offense, but, MY GOD, I wanted this book to end. And it just wouldn't. It went on and on and on and on. I listened to it on Audible and the reader was just fine. Initially I really liked the book. As minutes turned to hours and hours turned to days, though, I just really started to dislike (intensely) the author. This book starts out slow. Not too slow - it's the build-up process of the Oregon Trail. I usually don't like all this build up stuff. I wanted to get into the meat of the 1840s and 1850s trek to Oregon by covered wagon. But as I read the story all this build up made sense.Rinker does an excellent job in his research of the old Oregon Trail and inserts it in the story as they travel along some of the same ruts/trails that remain today. I would highly recommend this book if you have any interest at all (or don't) about the OREGON TRAIL. AND you know how siblings can be at times when you are together too long. Over 4,000 settlers tried this trail and today only 2 did it much the same way. I had thought this book would be as enjoyable as A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, with both authors challenging themselves to complete two very different historical trails along with their similarly crazy and risk-taking cohorts. I am a walker, so I could somewhat empathize with Bill Bryson, and he's at least entertaining. But... From the 1830s to the late 1860s, the Oregon Trail was one of the major routes for anyone wanting to travel west across the United States — and it certainly became the most famous, leading to many books about the Oregon Trail being written.