The Oregon Trail: Yesterday and Today

My brother bought this book for me while we were traveling across country from Ontario, Canada to Eugene, Oregon in 2001. We were in the basement underneath the St. Louis Arch Way to the West at the time. We indeed followed the Oregon trail on our cross country adventure by RV and used this book repeatedly as a guide. So when I found new friends here in Oregon from pioneer stock, I thought this book the perfect gift as a memento of our friendship. It's the perfect guide, gift and reference point.

This is a very good book for those having an interest in The Oregon Trail and its history. It bridges the gap between the history of the trail and a current travel guide to trace its history. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the trail or the general history of the area.

This is an excellent introductory overview of the Oregon Trail, geared mainly for the modern-day traveler. Hill breaks the book down into four sections: 1) Historical overview: summary of trail highlights, listed by years (1803-1859); 2) A copy of the Fremont-Preuss maps of 1846 (a little hard to read); an excerpt from Lansford Hastings's EMMIGRANT GUIDE (1846) and Clayton's GUIDE (1847); and some excerpts from a few trail diaries; 3) The longest section, a pictorial "see it then, see it now" chapter, compiling phtos and pictures of scenes along the trail taken or drawn by early travelers and the same scene as viewed today (photos taken by Hill on his own travels); 4) a listing of museums and displays in cities and towns that the trail went through (there are a lot of them, more than I expected), and an annotated bibliography. Anyone just getting interested in the Oregon Trail will find this book beneficial. It touches on a number of aspects regarding the trail without getting into too much detail - and pushes the reader in the right direction to find out more. Well done!

My wife and I are planning to travel some of the trail this coming summer - I think this book will help us feel a part of the past as it not only shows great pictures, but tells the stories about these places as you follow it!