That Dark and Bloody River

Chronicles of the Ohio River Valley

By: Allan W. Eckert

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 35 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

An epic novel by an award-winning author chronicles the settling of the Ohio River Valley, home to the defiant Shawnee Indians, who vow to defend their land against the seemingly unstoppable.

They came on foot and by horseback, in wagons and on rafts, singly and by the score, restless, adventurous, enterprising, relentless, seeking a foothold on the future. European immigrants and American colonists, settlers and speculators, soldiers and missionaries, fugitives from justice and from despair-pioneers all, in the great and inexorable westward expansion defined at its heart by the majestic flow of the Ohio River. This is their story, a chronicle of monumental dimension, of resounding drama and impact set during a pivotal era in our history: the birth and growth of a nation.

Drawing on a wealth of research, both scholarly and anecdotal-including letters, diaries, and journals of the era-Allan W. Eckert has delivered a landmark of historical authenticity, unprecedented in scope and detail.

©1995 Allan W. Eckert (P)2019 Tantor

Critic reviews

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

History of a Time of Turmoil and Loss

Great collection of info about the Native Americans in Ohio and Pennsylvania during the 1700s. Crazy stories and wild adventures. Loved it. Awesome narration.

Sad but true. Native peoples were wronged.

Although a long, difficult story, glad I stuck with it. It’s my second book by Eckert and both were superb. The frontiersman was my first. Keeping up with the names and dates and locations were made easy to the narrator who did a nice job and keep my attention. Amazing how bloody the struggle was and I’m amazed at the low value of life. People were killed for no reason Including women, children, and newborns. But those were difficult times and the arrogance of those who stole land is appalling. There were no hero’s….. only selfish people who cares nothing about the people who were here nor the land and the rest of God’s creation they encountered.

America must show shame for its past and never try to hid it. America is the laughing stock of the world because it’s hypocrisy is mind boggling.

Great Book! Awesome Listen!

This is a fantastic book for any history buff to enjoy. Eckert has done meticulous research. His writing style is something anyone can enjoy. I read this book years ago but was thrilled with the opportunity to listen. Performance was superb. Please provide more of his books on Audible.

Allan Eckert is the reason I like reading.

Great book on some of the early pioneers of America. The Indian Wars before the Indian Wars back to the days of the Iroquois, Mohawks, and Shawnee. A time when scalping was turned into an art form.

A Must Read or Listen

I have a signed copy of this book and read it when it was first published. As someone who grew-up hunting, fishing, and hunting for flint and stone artifacts in Ohio, I have always been fascinated with American history and, more specifically, Ohio’s incredible history and it’s place in the history of the country. I have a degree in history from OSU and have been twice published in ‘The Ohio Archaeologist’ quarterly journal. It’s important to remember that Eckert’s books are written to entertain as well as to inform. Much of the “dialogue” between characters is made-up however, the work Eckert put into using primary sources whenever possible, makes his books extremely fun to read as well as being as historically accurate as possible. Readers have only to look at the hundreds of footnotes to realize how much painstaking-work went into the ‘Winning of America’ series. I was not a fan of the narrator I must say. His raspy, breathy voice was challenging for me to understand in some instances. Otherwise, the book was as fun to listen to as it was to read back in my younger days. So many people are completely ignorant when it comes to the history of this country and what our founders went through, good and bad, moral and immoral, to settle this great country. Give Eckert’s books a read. You might just learn something! Semper Fi

Wonderful history of the Upper Ohio River Valley

Loved it! Listened to it every day. Very accurate telling of our history in the Wheeling WV area.

Another great book by Eckert!

I have read all of Eckert’s books, including this one, and just had to listen to the reading of it and so glad I did! Well worthwhile.

We are lucky to live in such relative peace today in America

Incredibly well researched and smoothly written. I gave four stars instead of five simply because the length and brutal violence make it hard to get through at times, in the same way it’s hard to get through Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Yet, when the book ended, I wanted it to continue through history, following the times of Tecumseh. This part of American history is not often discussed, least of all with a goal of objectiveness or accuracy. Eckert’s research goes far and wide to get as close as we can to both. The book is very long, and dark and bloody indeed. But it is absolutely worth the listen.

Good companion to The Frontiersmen

Another great book by Eckert!
The reader is not the best for this story, but not a deal breaker either.

awesome

awesome historically accurate telling of pre and early American settlement of Ohio and Kentucky. should be mandatory 8th grade reading.