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The Awakening of the Desert
- Narrated by: Barbara Birge
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Vivid, lyrical and often humorous, this respected, first-hand account of a journey across the Great American Desert now comes to life as an audiobook. Written in 1912 by Julius Birge, the memoir describes an 1866 wagon train trip taken during "the bloody years on the plains."
Recounting the risks of traveling the Oregon Trail, the author faithfully depicts the virgin environment, Native American people and abundant wildlife in words that now seem more timely than ever. From Red Cloud going on the warpath, to Mormon services where Brigham Young preached, to the legendary Buffalo Bill, Birge happened upon events, places and people whose significance was revealed with time. Late in his life, understanding the importance of what he had witnessed, he wrote The Awakening of the Desert.
Lovers of nature, students of history, listeners fascinated by the early West, and especially those traveling through its landscape today, will appreciate this recollection, abridged and narrated by the author's great-granddaughter 100 years after its first publication.
What listeners say about The Awakening of the Desert
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Charles E. Elberson
- 05-01-14
First hand account of wagon train era
Written by a western pioneer just following the civil war, we travel to and through the west, hearing first-hand accounts of cowboys, Native Americans, Mormons, boom towns and best of all gain a true sense of the authentic flavor.
The writer avoids some of the hard-to-access arcane language of the era and makes some wonderful phrasing and word choices.
The tale of discovery and adventure read by the actual great-granddaughter of the author. At first it felt a bit curious for a female voice to depict such a masculine story but over time it felt just right, especially when Julius is painting wonderful word pictures of the real west.
A great listen for history fans who want to get an authentic sense of what is often an over- (or under-) romanticized era.
2 people found this helpful
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- WK
- 12-02-15
Interesting writing. Monotonous narration.
While I understand the sentimentality of using the writer's great grand daughter to narrate the book, I'm afraid her reading is very monotonous. I kept drifting away and rewinding constantly.
This is unfortunate, as the story is very interesting and the added production of sound and music is well done.
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- equestriann
- 02-04-14
A great journey!
What did you love best about The Awakening of the Desert?
This is a fascinating book. Read by the author’s great granddaughter, it’s a first person account of an 1866 wagon train journey, told in the language of the day, which greatly enriches the tale. Subtle music and sound effects further flavor the yarn, until we feel we are trekking along with the brave souls on their great adventure. I recommend this to anyone interested in the history of the Old West.
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- kathy
- 01-19-14
Beautifully written, enjoyable, fascinating
Would you listen to The Awakening of the Desert again? Why?
This firsthand and first person account of Julius’s four-month trip across the West in 1866 is not only an important historical document, but a beautifully written chronicle that I enjoyed tremendously. Barbara Birge narrates The Awakening of the Desert, written by her great-grandfather Julius C. Birge and published over 100 years ago.The prose of this book is poetic. The rich details of life on a wagon train are fascinating (how does a new cowhand identify his own oxen from among dozens?) and often humorous. Yet the book is also written with the over-arching knowledge that this moment in time is utterly unique, as Native Americans and new settlers struggle with each other’s presence, as precious natural resources are beginning to be squandered, as people from many cultures try to live with and understand each other as they inhabit new territories.
What does Barbara Birge bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Barbara Birge beautifully reads The Awakening of the Desert, and her narration is a perfect complement to this record of history. Deft background sound effects and music offer just the right enhancement and feel of authenticity. It was pure enjoyment to listen to this audio book, and I recommend it with enthusiasm.
Any additional comments?
This would be a great road trip companion for anyone simply interested in American history and/or traveling out West.
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- Narrated by: A.T. Chandler
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In his concise, richly detailed memoir My Sixty Years on the Plains, fur-trapper W. T. Hamilton - also known as "Wildcat Bill"-gives the listener a first-hand account of life outdoors in the Old West. From trailblazing to trading with Indians, Hamilton relates how a mountain man relied on his wits and specialized knowledge in order to survive the inhospitable environments.Â
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Pretty good
- By Barbara on 06-03-18
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Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands
- A Young Politician's Quest for Recovery in the American West
- By: Roger L. Di Silvestro
- Narrated by: Tristan Morris
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands chronicles the turbulent years Roosevelt spent as a rancher in the Badlands of Dakota Territory, following the sudden deaths on February 14, 1884, of his wife, two days after giving birth, and of his mother. Grief-stricken - and driven by doubts about his career after failed attempts as a reformer fighting political corruption -the young, Harvard-educated New York politician left his infant daughter in his sister's care and went to live on a Badlands ranch he had bought a year earlier.
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Outstanding
- By Buyce Consulting on 04-26-15
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Roosevelt the Explorer
- Teddy Roosevelt's Amazing Adventures as a Naturalist, Conservationist, and Explorer
- By: Paul H. Jeffers
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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No American president has been more enthusiastic in appreciating the wilderness and in conserving our nation’s natural treasures than Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919). And no other president wrote more about nature and his explorations of it than T. R., in scattered books, such as African Wilderness, and in his countless letters, including those collected in The Selected Letters of Theodore Roosevelt).
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Performance
- By John on 01-12-18
By: Paul H. Jeffers
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Roughing It
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1861, young Mark Twain found himself adrift as a tenderfoot in the Wild West. Roughing It is a hilarious record of his travels over a six-year period that comes to life with his inimitable mixture of reporting, social satire, and rollicking tall tales. Twain reflects on his scuffling years mining silver in Nevada, working at a Virginia City newspaper, being downandout in San Francisco, reporting for a newspaper from Hawaii, and more.
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The wild humorist of the West
- By Tad Davis on 01-02-12
By: Mark Twain
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The Log of a Cowboy
- A Narrative of the Old Trail Days
- By: Andy Adams
- Narrated by: Michael Martin Murphey
- Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
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At the young age of 16, Andy Adams left his San Antonio home to follow his dream of becoming a cowboy. Going on long drives with some of the 19th century's hardiest cowboys, he learned his trade through many adventurous years of trial and error. This account of his true experiences includes dusty cattle drives, brandings, stampedes, dangerous river crossings, and remarkable encounters with the Blackfoot, Oglala, and Platte Indian tribes.
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The Real West Portrayed By One Who Was There
- By JackMargo on 04-20-12
By: Andy Adams
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Jedediah Smith
- No Ordinary Mountain Man
- By: Barton H. Barbour
- Narrated by: Douglas R Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Mountain man and fur trader Jedediah Smith casts a heroic shadow. He was the first Anglo-American to travel overland to California via the Southwest, and he roamed through more of the West than anyone else of his era. His adventures quickly became the stuff of legend. Using new information and sifting fact from folklore, Barton H. Barbour now offers a fresh look at this dynamic figure.
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Narrator could use a pronunciation guide
- By Ralph M. Vaga on 03-16-20
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Geronimo, His Own Story
- An Autobiography
- By: Geronimo
- Narrated by: Stephen F. Clark
- Length: 2 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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The autobiography of the famous Apache war chief, Geronimo. A shout of "Geronimo!!!" is still evoked to show courage. Hear, in his own words, the war story of Geronimo and his Chiricahua band of Apache Indians.
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a Chronicle of Greed
- By Chupuk on 03-08-21
By: Geronimo
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A Splendid Savage
- The Restless Life of Frederick Russell Burnham
- By: Steve Kemper
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Frederick Russell Burnham's amazing story resembles a newsreel fused with a Saturday matinee thriller. One of the few people who could turn his garrulous friend Theodore Roosevelt into a listener, Burnham was once world famous as "the American scout". His expertise in woodcraft, learned from frontiersmen and Indians, helped inspire another friend, Robert Baden-Powell, to found the Boy Scouts. His adventures encompassed Apache wars and range feuds and death-defying military feats that brought him renown and high honors.
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Excellent historical-adventure biography
- By Brandon on 04-18-17
By: Steve Kemper
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Journal of a Trapper
- Nine Years in the Rocky Mountains, 1834-1843
- By: Osborne Russell
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1834, Osborne Russell joined an expedition from Boston, which proceeded to the Rocky Mountains to capitalize on the lucrative salmon and fur trade. Beginning at the age of 20, he detailed the life of a trapper in his journal and recorded his adventures through treacherous terrain, encounters with dangerous wildlife, and confrontations with the Rockies natives of the Rockies. Osbourne would remain there for the next nine years. Journal of a Trapper is his remarkable account as he developed into an experienced trapper and a seasoned mountain man of the Rockies.
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early primary source of Rocky Mountain History
- By Ken Pearson on 09-23-20
By: Osborne Russell
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Ishi in Two Worlds
- A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America
- By: Theodora Kroeber, Karl Kroeber
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The life story of Ishi, the last Yahi Indian, lone survivor of an exterminated tribe, is unique in the annals of North American anthropology. Ishi stumbled into the 20th century on the morning of August 29, 1911, when, desperate with hunger and terrified of the white murderers of his family, he was found in the corral of a slaughterhouse near Oroville, California.
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you have got to be kidding
- By ron on 08-12-11
By: Theodora Kroeber, and others
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Exploration Fawcett
- Journey to the Lost City of Z
- By: Lt. Col. P. H. Fawcett
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the true story of the real Colonel Fawcett, whose life was the inspiration for the best-selling book The Lost City of Z and an upcoming movie starring Brad Pitt. A thrilling account, it tells of Colonel Fawcett and his mysterious disappearance in the Amazon jungle, which is now considered one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century.
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Rather academic, but fascinating.
- By Belinda C. on 04-03-17