Reviews for True History of the Missouri Compromise and Its Repeal

The average rating for True History of the Missouri Compromise and Its Repeal based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-12-06 00:00:00 Mark Dean Joaquin Miller is a somewhat forgotten author, to the extent that a man with schools and parks named after him can be forgotten. You'd probably have to admit though that it's rare to hear his work discussed much nowadays. There was a time though when he was immensely popular,especially in Europe. In fact, for a time it appears he provided European readers with their vision of what the American West was and had become. Miller is often called The Poet of the Sierras, and after reading this book, I gained an understanding of how he earned this title. From the opening line in this book describing Mt. Shasta as "Lonely as god and white as a winter moon..." and throughout the work he beautifully describes the land and the people of Northern California during the gold rush days and beyond. Miller was clearly a progressive thinker and he takes some stands regarding the native American population that were likely unpopular in his day. Besides marrying a native American woman in the book and raising a child with her, he also advocates for a sovereign nation for native Americans that would include good and productive lands. He also touches on the damage miners did to the environment and how it affected native populations in his account of the battle of Castle Crags. Miller fought in this battle, which was the last battle in which native Americans used only primitive weapons. Miller was shot in the face with an arrow but recovered. Overall the book is a fantastically written account of a very adventurous life during a time when there wasn't much law. I have a copy of this book that I take with me when backpacking because I live near many of the places that Miller describes. It is difficult to know how much of this book is truth and how much is fiction. Miller did indeed live in these areas, and appears to have married a native American woman at some point in his life. But Miller places himself into nearly every significant historical event in far Northern California and I find this to be highly unlikely. In addition, he is inconsistent, at times advocating for Native American rights and then describing taking part in a massacre involving the Pitt River indians. But, such inconsistency is a hallmark of those times and whether or not this story is 50 percent true or 100 percent true matters not to me. It's a great read and I would highly recommend it as an introduction to Joaquin Miller's work.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-08-29 00:00:00 Rob Cruzad Interesting account of the gold rush days mostly in the Mount Shasta / Yreka area. There's not much here about the actual daily life of the Modocs, which I was hoping for, yet it was interesting enough for me to keep reading. Most interesting (and horrifying), it is a rare narrative of living at a time of human and environmental devastation that was completely accepted as "normal" by the culture coming into power. Miller waxes poetically hysterical at moments and is the too-obvious star in his own story, but at times he's also a keen observer of human behavior and one can't help but feel a little corresponding thrill when he glories in the views of Mt. Shasta. Lots of interesting tidbits about that time and place and worth a read if you have any interest in that area or in recent California history.