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David McCullough

The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West Audio CD – Unabridged, May 7, 2019

by David McCullough (Author), John Bedford Lloyd (Reader)

7,220 ratings

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The #1 New York Times bestseller by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David McCullough rediscovers an important chapter in the American story that’s “as resonant today as ever” (The Wall Street Journal)—the settling of the Northwest Territory by courageous pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would define our country.

As part of the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain recognized the new United States of America, Britain ceded the land that comprised the immense Northwest Territory, a wilderness empire northwest of the Ohio River containing the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. A Massachusetts minister named Manasseh Cutler was instrumental in opening this vast territory to veterans of the Revolutionary War and their families for settlement. Included in the Northwest Ordinance were three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education, and most importantly, the prohibition of slavery. In 1788 the first band of pioneers set out from New England for the Northwest Territory under the leadership of Revolutionary War veteran General Rufus Putnam. They settled in what is now Marietta on the banks of the Ohio River.

McCullough tells the story through five major characters: Cutler and Putnam; Cutler’s son Ephraim; and two other men, one a carpenter turned architect, and the other a physician who became a prominent pioneer in American science. “With clarity and incisiveness, [McCullough] details the experience of a brave and broad-minded band of people who crossed raging rivers, chopped down forests, plowed miles of land, suffered incalculable hardships, and braved a lonely frontier to forge a new American ideal” (The Providence Journal).

Drawn in great part from a rare and all-but-unknown collection of diaries and letters by the key figures, The Pioneers is a uniquely American story of people whose ambition and courage led them to remarkable accomplishments. “A tale of uplift” (The New York Times Book Review), this is a quintessentially American story, written with David McCullough’s signature narrative energy.

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication date

May 7, 2019
Dimensions

5.13 x 0.9 x 5.88 inches
ISBN-10

150827908X
ISBN-13

978-1508279082
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David McCullough has twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback. His other acclaimed books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, Brave Companions, 1776, The Greater Journey, The American Spirit, The Wright Brothers, and The Pioneers. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Visit DavidMcCullough.com.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (May 7, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Audio CD ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 150827908X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1508279082
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.13 x 0.9 x 5.88 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #170,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #215 in Books on CD
- #455 in U.S. Revolution & Founding History
- #2,666 in U.S. State & Local History

Customer Reviews:
7,220 ratings

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David McCullough

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David McCullough has twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback; His other widely praised books are 1776, Brave Companions, The Great Bridge, and The Johnstown Flood. He has been honored with the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Customer reviews

5 star		66%
4 star		20%
3 star		9%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Michael E. Kehoe

A Considerable Disappointment

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2019

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The advertising and promotion of this book by Amazon, and in the subtitle on the book jacket, suggestes that it is a history of the settlement of the territories created by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. It is anything but. While the first 31 pages do contain a most welcome presentation of the creation of the Ordinance, the balance of the volume is devoted primarily to the personal histories of the first settlers of the North bank of the Ohio River in the vicinity of Cincinatti. Of the larger Northwest, of the peoples of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan there is not a word, not even in the index. As an admirer of the work of David McCullogh, and the possesor of all of his previous volumes, I cannot but believe that the fault lies not with the author, but with the publisher and promoters of the book, including Amazon, for mis-representing this work Caveat emptor.

702 people found this helpful

Helpful

Excellent Writing Style that Puts STORY Back Into History

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2019

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There is a lot to appreciate in this history of American expansion into the Northwest Territories. Firstly, possibly even more amazing than the expansion into the lands acquired through the Louisiana Purchase, the virgin lands, as described by the original pioneers of this region are best appreciated if one imagines what might transpire if, or when, we travel to some distant planet.

What sets this history apart from most others, though, is the writer's writing style. It is a bit more meandering than the typical straight-talk style. I believe that helped me to better imagine that I was with Putnam and the others in that first party. The forests sound so amazing, as well as the brief detention of one among the Shawnee.

BLUSH FACTOR: No worries here. Feel free to read aloud to any who will listen. Indeed, I hope many educators will select this as a read-aloud book for their students.

EXCERPT:

Sorry, the publisher posted an excerpt in the description that provides a first-rate sample for readers to peruse before purchasing.

BOTTOM LINE

One of the best, most-fulfilling historical texts that I have ever read.

Five stars out of five.

157 people found this helpful

Helpful

Barbara A.

Not McCullough's Best

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2019

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David McCullough is a wonderful writer - usually. This book is half notes and acknowledgements. The book is well written as usual, but the content is lacking. The settlers were portrayed as hero's, and little attention is given to the Native Americans who were displaced by Americans who treated them shamefully. Mr. McCullough is capable of much better.

317 people found this helpful

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V. L. Wilson

AMERICAN HISTORY - A STORY OF OHIO COUNTRY 1787-1863 - FOR ALL AGES

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2019

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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.

198 people found this helpful

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Nick Carraway

Thorough and factual

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2019

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This is a thorough and factual recounting of pioneer settlers in the Northwest Territory, specifically Ohio, told as only David McCullough can. Human interest stories are foremost, engagingly narrated.

208 people found this helpful

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Mike Petersen

Swing and a miss.

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2019

Big fan of McCullough but found this book to be a let down. Instead of being called “The Pioneers,” it should be called a “A History of Marietta, Ohio.” Sound boring? It is. Beyond that, it presents a very limited overview of the history of the NW Territory and instead focuses on two generations of the Cutler family, which even after finishing the book I don’t really care about. Maybe we if you have Ohio roots, you would be enthused. Seems to me that McCullough simply got his hands on original source material from the Cutler family and decided to throw a book together about it that lazily intersperses in a very general way important historical events from the NW Territory. Solid miss this time.

300 people found this helpful

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HPX97

A flawed, albeit compelling and entertaining book

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2019

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Only 258 pages, David McCullough's latest book called "The Pioneers" is a well-written, captivating book... with a catch.

"The Pioneers" tells the story not of the swaths of pioneers to the Northwest territories in the late 1700s and early to mid 1800s (it provides 20 or so pages of context to the Northwest Ordinance, but not much else), but of a few families -- mainly the Cutler family -- who traveled to Marietta, Ohio. In that sense, the book covers the pioneers who ventured out west. However, its focus isn't as wide as its title and subtitle would suggest. Because of that, McCullough's book is a dissapointment, but by no means bad.

I only wish the book were longer. At 258 pages, it is on the short side. The first 3/4ths of the book are really well fleshed out, but much of the rest of the book felt rushed and underdeveloped.

Still, "The Pioneers" is a fantastic read with a compelling narrative, lively and entertaining writing, and some very well-chosen letters, diary entries, and other primary sources.

The Verdict: Although it was mismarketed (which I did not take into account in my rating of the book as bad marketing is not the authors fault) and too short and at times underdeveloped, "The Pioneers" is a must-buy both for fans of McCullough and those who enjoy late 18th and 19th century United States History.

64 people found this helpful

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David

Expansive endeavour

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 20, 2020

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Whilst this is a story which focuses on five prime actors, the breath of what David McCullough describes is staggering. To put some perspective on the narrative, the American War of Independence, also known as the American Revolutionary War, which spanned the period from 19 April 1775, until the Treaty of Paris concluded the war on 3 September 1783, with the defeat of Britain and loss of its thirteen eastern seaboard colonies, together with what was known as the Northwest Territory, which is to say the area west of Pennsylvania, east of the Mississippi River, north of the Ohio River to the border with contemporary British Canada. It was a crushing blow for Britain, which some historians consider to be the end of the first British Empire. The Northwest Territory was a vast, lush wilderness, largely uninhabited land mass of some 260,000 square miles (670,000 square kilometres), home to approximately 45,000 indigenous Indian tribes and around 4,000 traders, the latter a mix of Canadian and British subjects. In the fullness of time this new land mass, almost one-third the total area of America would become the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. However, before all of that could take place, it would be the actions of a Massachusetts minister, Reverend Manasseh Cutler, co-founder of the Ohio Company of Associates who would, with Rufus Putnam, Ephraim Cutler (Manasseh oldest son), Joseph Barker House and Samuel Prescott Hildreth encourage a small group of intrepid pioneers to fulfil the intentions of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 by making the long and perilous journey up the Ohio River to found the first settlement on the river, which they named Marietta. The story David McCullough so skilfully tells is one of adventure, daring, sadness and injustice, certainly from the standpoint of the indigenous Americans. Notwithstanding the moral issues - and they are significant - this is a narrative that adds new understanding of how Americans populated the Northwest Territory, how the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 banned slavery within the territory, advanced public school education and perhaps above all else was a difficult but nonetheless great endeavour. This is a book which can engender a feeling of being part of this movement west. This is a highly recommended read.

2 people found this helpful

R. L. D. Plager

Another great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

He is the best author of all time. Enough said!!!!

One person found this helpful

Boston Bill

Sadly below par

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2019

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This appears to have been written by several different people, for it seriously lacks the traditional David McCullough flow. It is poorly edited as well. A shame after some landmark classics of earlier days.

One person found this helpful

Dr N A Osborne

Terrible quality book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

I ordered three of these books, but each one had pages that were unfinished, cut to different sizes, and jagged. I advise anyone to wait till Amazon gets a batch that are properly made. Very disappointed.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Excellent book on a historical subject that is often overlooked

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is another excellent book by the author. It was very well-written and very engaging. I have read a lot of books on this era of American history, but I felt I learnt a lot from this book.

One person found this helpful

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