Follow the River by JAMES ALEXANDER Thom Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Follow the River
Book Review: A MUST READ STORY
Summary: 5 Stars
I had read James alexander Thom's book called FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA, and I was hooked on his writing style. So, I decided to try FOLLOW THE RIVER. It turned out to be such a rivetting story that I couldn't put it down till I finished it. I passed it on to my friends and even ordered another copy because my first copy was not circulating fast enough.
I have now read everything that Thom has written. I feel as though I am part of the story he narrates. A graphic, desriptive writer makes the pages jump out at you!!!
Book Review: A Novel About The Bravery Of Mary Ingles
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the fictionalized telling of the true story of Mary Ingles, a pregnant young white woman, her kidnapping from the late 1700's Virginia frontier by the Ohio Shawnee, her strength and courage during her time as their captive, and her daring escape on foot back up the Ohio River to the white settlements and home. I grew up knowing of Mary Ingles, and even visiting some of the sites in southwestern Ohio that had to do with her story. (A Shawnee village to which she was taken sat on the grounds of today's Eden Park, above downtown Cincinnati; a second Ingles site is very close to Big Bone State Park, in Boone County, Kentucky.) I enjoyed this book, not only for the inspirational tale of a courageous human spirit, but also for its setting, which is the area around which I grew up. The Indian wars of the east were every bit as fiercely-waged as the wars of/against the Plains tribes several generations later, although not nearly as well known. Books like Follow the River serve to remind us of these earlier wars, a forgotten segment of American history.Book Review: A WELL RESEARCHED BOOK
Summary: 5 Stars
THIS BOOK ABOUT MARY INGELLS HAD ME FEELING WITH HER AND IMAGINING EVERY THING SHE DID. IT HAS MANY DETAILS AND HAS YOU CRYING AND LAUGHING.Book Review: A book every American will love!
Summary: 5 Stars
I live in Point Pleasant, WV. This is the area where the Ohio and the Kanawha rivers converge. This book traces Mary Ingles steps right along the river in Point Pleasant, at our Point, where the two rivers meet. Mary Ingles slept on our Point and I will never look at the river or this area without thinking of her brave journey. The detail used to describe our landscape is so accurate. I couldn't put this book down and I haven't read a book like that is a very long time.Book Review: A dark tale of survival and perserverance
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been a fan of James Alexander Thom's for a couple of years now. His excellent historical novels are set in the early American West. I really admire Thom for his mastery of historical detail and his ability to bring complex realities to life. In my opinion, his dramatizations of Lewis and Clark's portage around the Great Falls of the Missouri and their back-breaking trek through the Bitterroots are the best accounts ever written of those key aspects of the Expedition.
Many Thom fans consider Follow the River to be his best book. This vivid historical novel depicts the true ordeal of Mary Ingles, a young mother on the Virginia frontier who in 1755 was kidnapped in a Shawnee raid along with her two small children. Mary, nine months pregnant at the time, was taken hundreds of miles from home to present-day Kentucky, having her baby along the way. Eventually, Mary's toddlers are taken away from her. When an escape opportunity presents itself, Mary is forced to make the agonizing moral choice of whether to leave her baby with the Shawnees and flee for home, or stay and condemn herself to a life of slavery.
Mary leaves the baby with a Shawnee woman and begins a harrowing ordeal, weeks of trekking through an unsettled and unmapped wilderness, unarmed and without any advantage but her wits to survive. Mary's journey reminded me of one of my all-time favorite books, The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz. It is incredible to think of someone making such a difficult journey.
There is a lot to like about Follow the River, but it was not my favorite Thom book. The reason is that I really disliked the main supporting character, Mary's fellow escapee Ghetel. Thom is a stickler for historical accuracy, so I'm sure he based his characterization of the treacherous Ghetel on sources.
I wouldn't have minded if he'd taken a few liberties with the facts. As it stands, Follow the River is an excellent depiction of how some human beings react to extreme circumstances with nobility and others with selfishness.