Slowly, carefully, excitingly, Mr. Miers is creating a history of the United States for young people that, when completed, should stand as the definitive story for those who share the author's belief that history is dramatic, created by people, and not merely a compilation of dates and facts.
Wild and Woolly West is, in no sense, part of a chronological series. Eventually, the story will be complete, but it is being told episodically and regionally.
In Billy Yank and Johnny Reb we had the story of the Civil War and its lasting effect on the American people. Then came Yankee Doodle Dandy, a recreation of the Revolutionary War, told through the eyes and hearts of those who lived through it.
Now we have the realistic story of Western expansion and the disappearance of the frontier.
Mr. Miers has great respect for his readers; he does not believe in sugar-coating, and he is impatient with the brand of "Westerners" that makes heroes of ruffians.
There are genuine heroes in this book and genuine villains and they all are realistically presented. While young people are reading a thrilling and authentic tale, they also discover that the "winning of the West" was a grim struggle for survival.
The job was accomplished by men and women of all kinds, wielding six-shooters, plows, and picks and axes, doing hard riding, building, stealing, rustling, Bible reading, mining, and raising families.
Through the pages of Wild and Woolly West, the real people who accomplished this gigantic task come to life—Lewis and Clark, the many Indian tribes, Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill, Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok, John Fremont; others, whose names are not so well known, such as Joe Meek, Charles Larpenteur, and Ezekiel Merrit; still others—mountain men, trappers, miners—whose names are lost to history, but who made their contribution nevertheless.
Often in their own words, the reader of Wild and Woolly West will learn of their accomplishments and of their depredations.
Mr. Miers tells his story as it happened, including the bad with the good, and allowing his readers to draw their own conclusions.
It cannot be said that the story of westward expansion, in all its aspects, always resounds to the glory of our nation, but such is history: it is sometimes magnificent, sometimes shameful, but always glowing with life.
"...combines accuracy and vivid detail with brevity and a generous sampling of quotations from contemporary sources." —N.Y. Times
—from the dust jacket
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