"Cayton's graceful, arresting narrative is grounded in primary and secondary sources, including classics by Emma Lou Thornbrough and Bernard Knollenberg, James Madison's The Indiana Way (CH, Jan'87), and new studies from such scholars as Richard White and Gregory Evans Dowd. Spanning 1700—1850 in ten chapters and an epilogue, Cayton's first-rate study interprets the successive worlds of the Miami (1700—1754), then of individuals whose experiences epitomized unfolding chapters of Indiana frontier history. With a keen ear for the revealing anecdote and apt quotation, the author treats the world of George Croghan (1750—1777); the village of Vincennes (1765—1777); the milieus of George Rogers Clark (1778—1787), Josiah Harmar, and John Francis Hamtramck (1787—1790); Little Turtle (1790—1795); Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison (wife of William Henry Harrison, 1795—1810); Tenskwatawa (1795—1811); Jonathan Jennings (1800—1816); and the end of the frontier (1816—1850). Along the way readers discover figures such as John and William Conner, the early rivalry between Centerville and Richmond, an explanation of why Indiana remained a state of small towns and farms until the latter half of the 20th century, and the basis for understanding one of the more interesting states of the Union. Fine illustrations, maps. All levels."—D. W. Steeples, Mercer University , Choice, February 1997". . . excellent . . . valuable contributions to both the general and the informed reader."—American Historical Review"Extremely readable and exciting treatments of the region during the 18th and 19th centuries."—The Annals of Iowa"Andrew Cayton has contributed another valuable addition to the historical literature on the Old Northwest. . . . a finely textured social history."—Michigan Historical Review"The research and scholarship that went into the work are excellent; so good, in fact, that the book should be on the required text list for all Transappalachian frontier courses."—History"Cayton's book will give pleasure to anyone who wants to know more about Indiana and its peoples, and will also be appreciated by scholars for its perceptive analyses and for its incorporation of recent research on a variety of topics."—Journal of the Early Republic"A superb introduction to the latest scholarship on American frontiers."—William and Mary Quarterly
