The saga of the West, 'the most American part of America', has always fascinated. John Selby's thoroughly researched book is a mammoth tour of the United States, concentrating on the colourful and the dramatic. In it are to be found the exploits of Daniel Boone, Meriwether Lewis, Kit Carson and John Fremont; the treks of the Mormons, the pioneer work of the mountain men, the missionaries and the miners and the subjugation of the Native Americans. Here too are the dramatic incidents of American history conveyed with a startling immediacy: the Alamo, the Bear Flag Revolt, the Fetterman Massacre, Custer's Last Stand, Wovoka's Ghost Dances and Wounded Knee.