Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Don't get me wrong; I should have felt able to give this book a five star rating...but in the end, I simply could not do so because of three poisonous issues with the author's writing, which I'll get to shortly. First, the good news. The tale, which I did read cover to cover and carefully at that, is rich in historical fact and taught me a few things I had not fully realized about our nation's history. Secondly, being familiar with livestock in general--though not specifically with mules--I was automatically "there" with the three mule team and lived every life threatening moment on the Oregon Trail right along with the author, his brother , and his brother's dog. There are passages in the book frightening enough to force me to check my shorts to make sure they were still dry when the danger had passed. All of that is excellent work I'd be proud to call my own. Now the bad news, in three parts: 1. The language of both brothers gets pretty rank in places, particularly in the use of the F-bomb. I realize Buck is faithfully reporting the utterances as they happened. Beyond that, I'm probably at least as foul mouthed on a given day as he is...but his failure to tone it down for the printed version means the book is in no way suitable for younger readers. I could see many a gifted history teacher getting excited about the content of the book for a class of high school or even middle school students, only to discover this taint with utter dismay. An expurgated edition for classroom use may surface someday, but that shouldn't have been necessary. 2. The author uses the book as a soapbox for his political viewpoint, which is that of the extreme liberal. For me personally, this was the most difficult pill to swallow. The parrot-squawking lines are as irritating as a cocklebur under a saddle blanket, including such tired (and inaccurate) party sound bites as believing Fox News makes the viewer brain dead, the concept of rugged individualism is utter bunk, Tea Party members believe all government and all taxes are evil, etc. As a Tea Party member myself, it was extremely difficult for me to keep on reading after encountering one of those statements: I literally had to force myself to go on so that I could "see" the Trail to the end. 3. Presumably in the name of "brutal honesty", Buck is also critical of a whole lot of people (not just conservatives), often calling them (behind their backs) idiots or, at best, morons. He is, at least, an equal opportunity denigrator, dismissing entire classes of individuals at one stroke: Political leaders and RV drivers to name two. Is the book worth reading? Absolutely, as long as you can get by the "quirks" mentioned above. Would it be a good thing for me to someday meet the author? Probably...not so much.