• The Frontiersmen

  • A Narrative
  • By: Allan W. Eckert
  • Narrated by: Kevin Foley
  • Length: 30 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,050 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
The Frontiersmen  By  cover art

The Frontiersmen

By: Allan W. Eckert
Narrated by: Kevin Foley
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.36

Buy for $25.36

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The frontiersmen were a remarkable breed of men. They were often rough and illiterate, sometimes brutal and vicious, often seeking an escape in the wilderness of mid-America from crimes committed back east. In the beautiful but deadly country that would one day come to be known as West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, more often than not they left their bones to bleach beside forest paths or on the banks of the Ohio River, victims of Indians who claimed the vast virgin territory and strove to turn back the growing tide of whites.

These frontiersmen are the subjects of Allan W. Eckert's dramatic history. Against the background of such names as George Rogers Clark, Daniel Boone, Arthur St. Clair, Anthony Wayne, Simon Girty, and William Henry Harrison, Eckert has re-created the life of one of America's most outstanding heroes, Simon Kenton. Kenton's role in opening the Northwest Territory to settlement more than rivaled that of his friend Daniel Boone. By his 18th birthday, Kenton had already won frontier renown as woodsman, fighter, and scout. His incredible physical strength and endurance, his great dignity and innate kindness made him the ideal prototype of the frontier hero.

Yet there is another story to The Frontiersmen. It is equally the story of one of history's greatest leaders, whose misfortune was to be born to a doomed cause and a dying race. Tecumseh, the brilliant Shawnee chief, welded together by the sheer force of his intellect and charisma an incredible Indian confederacy that came desperately close to breaking the thrust of the white man's westward expansion. Like Kenton, Tecumseh was the paragon of his people's virtues, and the story of his life, in Eckert's hands, reveals most profoundly the grandeur and the tragedy of the American Indian.

©2001 Jesse Stuart Foundation (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Historian-novelist Eckert has fashioned an epic narrative history of the struggle for dominance of the Ohio River Valley that makes compelling reading." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Frontiersmen

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,595
  • 4 Stars
    312
  • 3 Stars
    100
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    18
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,385
  • 4 Stars
    304
  • 3 Stars
    87
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    17
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,473
  • 4 Stars
    216
  • 3 Stars
    87
  • 2 Stars
    19
  • 1 Stars
    14

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A Masterpiece for History Novel Enthusiasts!

I am an incredible dork when comes to history. Unfortunately, I was never a big fan of history class. The reason was this: I have always been of the mind that history is a story - of people and places and experiences - but the people who write history books are not storytellers. Allan W Eckert is a masterful storyteller. As it tells you in the beginning of the this audiobook, he spent most of a decade tracking down and sifting through historical records, and specifically people's diaries, to weave together the stories and people he brings once more to life in this remarkable book. And it's all real. The people, their names, their lives, their stories. All real. I kept having to remind myself of that as I was listening/reading this book. It is a novel. It reads like a novel. But everything in it is historical fact. It is a beautiful amalgamation of history and literature. If you love history, biographies, or historical fiction (my personal favorite) you will LOVE this book! It is a must read for you! Happy Listening -Whitney

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

35 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

All I Can Say Is "AWESOME"

This is history at its best! Except you don't realize that you're getting a history lesson while reading it. Learning about Daniel Boone, Blue Jacket, Techumpsa (Techumpsa) and a serious frontiersman - Simon Kenton.

You certainly didn't learn this in school and would have paid more attention and enjoyed the time better if it had been taught like this book!

If you didn't realize for example, that Daniel Boone's life was saved by a frontiersman named Simon Kenton and how Daniel Boone got into that situation (as well as numerous other things that happened similarly exciting) you'll love this book in your collection.

For my own part, I could not put it down...I wanted to listen to 'what would happen next' at every idle moment.

What more can be said?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't put it down

First book in a long time that I couldn't put down. I stayed up until 4:00am to finish it up. The reader is the best in the industry and the content is amazing in detail. If you like early American Frontiersman stories, you'll love this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awsome Book

I have read this book several times and listening I gained a greater understanding of the life and time of notable people late 1700s frontier. Allen Eckert books are awsome and provide a picture of frontier life in Kentucky,Ohio, and Indiana. Hope more come out in audio form.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

You Are There

Allan Eckert published The Frontiersmen over a decade ago. I have just returned to renew acquaintance with this work and have been rewarded by the effort. Eckert presents history as narrative and in this book he describes the lives, sacrifices, and problems faced by American frontiersmen – white and Indian alike. At the same time this book can be gut wrenching, eye opening, heart breaking, and entertaining. Sections dealing with the relationships between the Indians, settlers, and the US government are nuanced and particularly painful to read. If you will give over a little time and turn some pages, Eckert will make early American history – westward expansion, Daniel Boone, William Henry Harrison, the fight for Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley all come to life The reading of Kevin Foley is excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Nice story but not well sourced on historical details

It's a fun read, but DNA evidence of Blue Jacket's descendants confirmed that he was not white. Most conversations in this read are pure speculation or legends. If this sparks an interest in the reader for history, that's great. As historical fiction, it has a good narrative flow. The writer was very familiar with the period and major events throughout Kentucky and the Old Northwest. But to start with the words "this is a true story", it should not take such liberty with other people's thoughts and words. Use dialogue from people's letters, reports, and diaries. Good history books are well sourced and able to stand up to scrutiny.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • BB
  • 05-19-11

Terriffic Read

A masterful woven story on what life was like in northern KY, WV and Ohio in the 1770-1810s. Very credible read. Well balanced and well researched. The Narration was superb. Kudos to the narrator. This book should be mandatory reading for all KY,WV and OH high schooler as to how their states were formed.

One of the best Audible books I've listened to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Beginning of a Wonderful Series of Books.

Allan Eckert brings the 'New Frontier' into such a stark and vast understanding of what life was like back then, it is amazing. This is so much more than History, it is true Life. I have read all the books in this series and find them unequaled by any other Author. The amazing detail and research shows on every page. I can only hope that Audible will have more of his books on line soon for everyone to enjoy. I appreciate being able to revisit this book in it's Unabridged version and the Narrator does a fantastic job with all the Characters that you come across. His speech and pace, pronunciation of the Indian Dialect is spot on. Thanks so much for making this such an outstanding listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

These great reviews are all true!

When I read the reviews for this book they were all so gushing that I almost couldn't believe they were true. So, I listened to this book and it truly is outstanding. The story line compares with Unbroken in that there is one amazing event happening to Simon after another. How can one man live through even one of these things let alone go through years of them? The main character is a true hero. This makes the overall book a positive and uplifting experience. You get both sides of the picture in that the Native American side is told through Tecumseh's perspective and the settler's side is told through Simon Kenton. The narrator is one of the best I have heard. He pronounces the words properly and inflects appropriately and consistently based on the changing characters. This is early American history at its very best. I am anxiously looking forward to more from both the author Allan Eckert and his narrator Kevin Foley. Thank you gentlemen for a great work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Spell binding and informative. An excellent read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this exceptionally well written book about early America. Very descriptive as to life in the era. I hope more of Mr. Eckert's historical books will soon be available from Audible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful