The American Military Frontiers

The United States Army in the West, 1783-1900 (Histories of the American Frontier)

By: Robert Wooster

Narrated by: Jack Chekijian

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

As the fledgling nation looked west to the land beyond the Appalachian Mountains, it turned to the army to advance and defend its national interests. Clashing with Spain, Britain, France, Mexico, the Confederacy, and Indians in this pursuit of expansion, the Army's failures and successes alternately delayed and hastened western migration. Roads, river improvements, and railroads, often constructed or facilitated by the army, further solidified the nation's presence as it reached the Pacific Ocean and expanded north and south to the borders of Canada and Mexico. Western military experiences thus illustrate the dual role played by the United States Army in insuring national security and fostering national development.

Robert Wooster's study examines the fundamental importance of military affairs to social, economic, and political life throughout the borderlands and western frontiers. Integrating the work of other military historians as well as tapping into a broad array of primary materials, Wooster offers a multifaceted narrative that will shape our understanding of the frontier military experience, its relationship with broader concerns of national politics, and its connection to major themes and events in American history.

©2009 University of New Mexico Press (P)2013 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"This impressive volume sums up and advances understanding of the US Army in the West. Highly recommended." ( Choice)

"Wooster deserves an appreciative audience for this work, among both lay readers and specialists alike." ( Great Plains Quarterly)

"Historians of the frontier, American West, and United States military will find gems of insight in its pages." ( American Historical Review)

The American Military Frontiers

I found this book to be extremely interesting.It encompasses a little over 100 years of history dealing with Native American tribes and how they were dealt with by American Military heading west.Jack Chekijian narrates this one and does a fine job.If you like history as it was,not slanted in favor of the 'heroes' you should give this a try.
I was gifted a copy of this book thru Audioblast for an honest review

Life and times of the Military...

I received this audio book in exchange for a honest and unbiased review about it. This audio book is very informative and interesting, going into details of the Military of the past, all the way back to the Indians. It is always interesting to me to hear about the old west times. Back then, it was the Army that had to build the roads, railroads and bridges to get from here to there (especially to take the Military places). This book discusses the successes and the failures of past trials and what we learned from them. The Army even re-routed rivers. It even goes into the politics of the Military. Definitely a fascinating read!

The author, Robert Wooster did a really good job with delivering history and fact s to us all while keeping it interesting enough not to lose us. The narrator, Jack Chekijian did a good job delivering this book with his flawless voice and well spoken words. Very easy on the ears. Good job guys!

American Frontier

What did you love best about The American Military Frontiers?

This book is an overview of the U.S. Army’s involvement in the Indian Wars from 1783 to 1900. It covered the essential material explaining their involvement with western expansionism of the U.S. population, their assistance in improving the frontier infrastructure through the building of roads and assisting with the construction of railroads.

Fascinating and approachable history

The American Military Frontiers was a fascinating audiobook. It traces the history of the US Army back to the very beginnings of our nation. It contains a wealth of information. I listened to it in smaller increments than I usually do to help process all the information. I learned quite a bit and am interested in learning more on several sections covered. One example is the Civil War on the frontier. The production values were very good. The volume was steady and there were no extraneous noises. Mr. Chekijian has a pleasant voice. He spoke clearly and I had no difficulty understanding what he was saying. I would recommend The American Military Frontiers for anyone who enjoys American history. Although it may seem more academic, I found it to be very approachable without having an advanced education.
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."

Learn from history or repeat the mistakes

While this study is written by and for the military historian, it does represent all of the peoples involved. From the hotly contested establishment of a standing army, through the initial learning curves of the early years, to establishing and defending the westward expansion. As what constituted the western territories moved on, so did the involvement of central government, development of the standing army, state militias, greed, and the multiplicity of indigenous tribes. Well documented sources provide the information both lauding and condemning various leaders of the government, army, and various tribes. I have no claim to being a military historian, that was my husband, and regarding our Rev War. I did learn much from this forthright and easily understandable presentation. There are so many notable persons and places referenced here, that we should consider this the backstory of their involvement impacting us. This is not a light read, but anyone interested in this period of our history need not approach it as if written solely for military aggrandizement. It is not.
As usual, Narrator Jack performs the audio interpretation of what might have been a somewhat dry piece with the talent and professionalism which enhances the listener's appreciation of the material presented.

Very Disappointing

This is the only Audible book to date that I will never listen to again. The author skips around too much from battle to battle in both chronological order and from Indian tribe to Indian tribe that it becomes very difficult to understand the actual order of events, locations, etc. In addition, the book essentially recounts events in a "high school book report format". You don't get any historical analysis or thought-provoking ideas until the summary at the very end of the book. Finally, the narrator over-accentuates the entire book as if he were speaking to a deaf person or foreigner and he mispronounced too many words for my liking. Aside from the weaknesses of the actual book, the annoying narration made it very difficult to enoy.

Speed it up

The narrator is terrible. It sounds like a computer read it. I had to speed it up to 1.5x just to be able to stand listening to it. The story reads like a textbook, very little analysis or actual story to it, just facts. I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you have a very deep interest in the subject.