The Tennessee: The Old River: Frontier to Secession

"The Tennessee" by Donald Davidson is a sweeping vista of the river region from its early exploration to the end of the Depression.Very little to date has been written about the Tennessee Valley and less still about early (pre-Jacksonian) confrontation between White settlers (English and French) and the Cherokee and Creek. Most books about the South tend to focus on the more populous states. And most cover the Civil War or the Civil Rights eras.The author was a poet by profession, a fact that carries two consequences.First, his prose is lucid. He has an eye for just the right detail. He captures the character of Tennessee's inhabitants. The strongest part, from a literary perspective, is the description of the landscape. The river, the valley, and the surrounding mountains must have been a wonder to behold before they were "tamed" by the Tennessee Valley Authority. (The story of the TVA, one of the marvels of Depression-era civil engineering, fills volume 2.)Second, Davidson does not obey the conventions of professional historians. Since there is very little archeological or documentary evidence dating back to the 17th century in Tennessee, the author collected oral traditions to fill the gaps. He interviewed the descendants of the early settlers and culled what evidence he could muster from local historical societies. Had Davidson relied exclusively on parchments and soil samples, this book might have been another dry read about pioneers and their misdeeds. Instead, he produced an engaging story about some extraordinarily courageous people, people who deserve our garded admiration.Highly recommended.