Description
Book SynopsisA study of US expansionism from 1815-1848,
The American Elsewhere delves into the ""adventurelogues"" of the era to reveal the emotional world of men who sought escape from the anonymity of the urban East and pressures of the Market Revolution. As volunteers, trappers, traders, or curiosity seekers, they stepped into ""elsewheres,"" distant and dangerous.
Trade ReviewAmerican Elsewhere guides us through the tortuous and often baleful mental landscapes of American adventurers in the time of Jackson. In chasing the chimera of genuine experience, Bryan’s subjects create both a brotherhood of sentiment and geography of racial difference. Bryan’s grasp of emotional topographies is masterful. Saddle up and follow his lead."" - Daniel Herman, author of
Hell on the Range: A Story of Honor, Conscience, and the American West""This book is a compelling investigation of how stories of Western adventurers (explorers, patriot warriors, and men of enterprise) from the end of the War of 1812 to the end of the U.S.-Mexican War romantically redefined the staid conventions of American manhood and thereby promoted a national ethos of manifest destiny. A unique, pivotal study in the cultural history of American exceptionalism and expansionism, it is well researched and plentifully documented, argued with judicious balance and critical discernment, and quite readable."" - Michael L. Johnson, author of
Hunger for the Wild: America’s Obsession with the Untamed West
