Daniel Boone: An American Life
by Michael A. Lofaro
The name Daniel Boone evokes an image of the quintessential American hero: a man of action, a pathfinder, an emblem of the great adventure of his age―the westward movement of the American people. The prototype for the frontiersman, he was a multifaceted individual who shaped and was driven by the complex forces of one of the most dynamic periods in American history.
Early in life Boone showed a hunger for adventure, using his extraordinary skill as a woodsman to guide his family's migration down the valley of Virginia to North Carolina. Too restless for the life of a farmer, he needed no urging to penetrate the wilderness in search of better hunting and the dream of wealth through speculation in rich and fertile lands. After his first historic explorations of Kentucky in 1769, Boone brought back tales of a hunters' paradise that stirred the imagination. A natural leader, Boone helped open the Trans-Appalachian West, clearing trails, guiding settlers, founding forts, and reluctantly fighting in Indian wars in which he saw the plight of both sides all too clearly.
His exploits and consequent fame, however, could not help him navigate America's increasingly complex legal system. Spurred on by the loss of his considerable land holdings and crowded by the expansion of civilization into Kentucky that he had made possible, Boone set out again at the age of sixty-five, heading to Missouri. He would only repeat the joy and despair of that same boom and bust cycle as Americans continued to migrate on the trail he blazed.
Daniel Boone: An American Life brings together over thirty years of research, depicting Boone through the eyes of those who knew him and within the historical contexts of his eighty-six years. Boone's story offers new insights into the turbulent birth of the nation and demonstrates why the frontier forms such a significant part of the American experience.
About the Author
Michael A. Lofaro is Lindsay Young Professor of American studies and American literature. A recognized authority on the early West, he has authored or edited eight books and written over fifty articles on Boone, Crockett, and the frontier.