A Shovel of Stars: The Making of the American West, 1800 to the Present

After having read and enjoyed Ted Morgan's book, "Wilderness at Dawn", I was most anxious to see how he would treat the next time period. I was not disappointed. Morgan has such a talent for bringing in the unsung heroes in our nation's historical past and making his reader feel right there in time and place. Because of these two books, I'm now launched into reading some of his other works and hope to eventually read everything he has ever written. He is a true genius with the written word. Would that my own published works could do half as well. Fred J. RichardsonShovel Of Stars: The Making of the American West 1800 to the Present

I have never read a book by Ted Morgan (or his previous incarnation as Sacha de Gramont - note the anagram!) that was not well-written, entertaining and highly informative. He writes about a very wide range of topics and it seems to be impossible to guess what his next work will deal with. This excellent book describes the process whereby the areas west of the Appalacians that became United States post-1800 were initially acquired, how they were incorporated as Territories and finally, how they achieved full statehood. The sequence would be interesting, but presumably familiar, for most US citizens, but for the non-North American the story is totally fascinating. Morgan does not just deal with the official governmental processes but also with the human and sociological aspects of the settlement and development of these vast areas. He intertwines a huge number of personal reminiscences - ranging from the heroic to the tawdry, from the tragic to the hilarious, from the inspiring to the outright indecent - into his narrative, such that it the story comes alive. Having read the book right through once with great pleasure, I find it afterwards to be a splendid tome to dip into at spare moments. It's an excellent bedside companion or a gift for a historically-oriented friend. Practically every page is a delight.