In this little classic, first published in 1977, Ray A. Billington 
outlines the three-century-long process of westering that forged the 
American characteristics of resourcefulness, individualism and 
democracy, and upward social mobility.

     "The American Frontiersman" looks at the mountain men of the 
fur trade who succumbed to the wilderness world in which they 
found themselves and in which they were forced to begin the climb 
upward to civilization once more. In "The Frontier and American 
Culture" the author suggests that although many backwoodsmen 
seceded from civilization, others made a heroic effort to perpetuate 
their culture. And in "Cowboys, Indians, and the Land of Promise" 
Billington reviews the worldwide myths of the American West—
its violence and lawlessness on the one hand and its ripe 
abundance on the other.

_________________________________________________________

RAY A. BILLINGTON served as the first president of the Western 
History Association and was a teacher of history for many years. 
He was the author of a number of other works, including Frederick 
Jackson Turner, Allan Nevins on History, America’s Frontier 
Story, and Westward Expansion.


Number Three: Elma Dill Russell Spencer Series in the West and 
Southwest


What people are saying about this book

". . . [contains] crystal clear organization, dramatic and exciting 
style . . . a joy to read."—from the foreword