Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Kim Crawford's new book is really, really good

OK, I'm biased, but I'm nearly finished reading Kim Crawford's latest book "The Daring Trader: Jacob Smith in the Michigan Territory 1802-1825" and I'm calling it a hit.

For those of us who know Kim, he is a great story teller and an even better writer, so this is not a surprise.

Further, for those of us who heard bits and pieces of his research over lunches during our time at the Flint Journal, this puts it all together and without the interuptions caused by all Kim's and David Graham's friends who stopped by during lunch hours to chit chat.

The story is more than that of a fur trader in Flint, but of government influence over the planned settlement of the west and the treatment and dealings with Indians at that time. It is also a tale of early U.S. espionage and intrigue.

Some of the key events take place during the War of 1812 and so if your are a fan of that war this book is also a great read. Kim is a meticulous researcher and the book reveals that.

This is Kim's third book and the other two, which are also in my collection, are Civil War regimental histories that although are completely factual, read like a novel.

To buy the book go here.

For his 16th Michigan Regimental History you can purchase that here.

And for the 4th Michigan (which I saw for sale at the Gettysburg park library) the book can be purchased here.

1 comment:

Barb Modrack said...

I saw Kim at a book conference in Ann Arbor not too long ago where he was on a panel to discuss his last book about Michigan soldiers in the Civil War. It was great to see him and hear him talk. He did a great job; really fascinating. I can't wait to see this new book. Go Kim!