Bold statement incoming: Paul Andrew Hutton’s The Undiscovered Country is the finest single-volume work of Frontier Partisan history available in 2025. If I was to hand a neophyte one book to give him or her a clear picture of the triumph and tragedy, the glory and the sorrow of the American frontier story, this would be it. And a seasoned student of this rich history will find it worthy and revelatory, too.
Hutton is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of New Mexico and a multiple Western Writers of America Spur Award Winner. My expectations were high for his career-capping magnum opus — and he exceeded them. He sweeps across 150 years of history, from the Appalachians to the Pacific, from Braddock’s Defeat on the Monongahela River in 1755 to Wounded Knee, and manages to immerse us in the magnificent, strange, savage — and sometimes seriocomic — worlds of the continental frontier the whole way.
His account of Braddock’s campaign to take For Duquesne at the Forks of the Ohio, and his catastrophic repulse at the hands of the French and their native allies is the most vivid I have seen, and believe me, I’ve seen a bunch. His profiles of obscure yet significant frontier characters like Sarah Bowman, aka The Great Western, and the daredevil Irish entrepreneur and scout James “Paddy” Graydon are both delightful and illuminating.
The Great Western — an imposing six-foot-tall (and “well proportioned”) red-head was a provider of important services to the U.S. Military during the Mexican-American War. Art by Bob Boze Bell.
This isn’t a great work because it breaks new interpretive ground, like, say Richard White’s paradigm-shifting The Middle Ground:
It all comes down to storytelling. Hutton’s work is grounded in a lifetime of research, and primary sources are woven seamlessly through the narrative. But the narrative itself is the foreground, because Hutton understands something that academics often forget: History is Story. In the case of frontier history, Story was being woven into a tapestry of foundational myth even as it was being enacted in real time.
Hutton has elite-level storytelling chops. Part of that is straight-up skill; he’s a fine writer. But there is an ineffable element that can only derive from his deep love for the subject; like many of us, Hutton is clearly besotted with the good, the bad and the ugly of the American frontier epic.
I salute the Professor as he moves into his new role at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, and thank him for all he has given us. And I will tell you Frontier Partisans that The Undiscovered Country is a must-read. And one to pass along.
Matthew says
I definitely want to get this even though I’ve probably spent too much money on books (and a dental bill) for this month already.
Our brains run on narrative. We turn everything into story. It is entirely possible that is because everything is story. That’s a philosophical statement I can’t prove but I think you have to consider.
I’ve been (slowly) going through a book called The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGhilcrist about the differences between the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere of the brain and how it effects society. It is NOT easy going. McGhilcrist makes the case that, contrary to what is commonly thought, the left side is not the rational side and the right the airy fairy side. Rather the right sees context and the left creates categories. It’s all complex. He then speculates that even though the right side is actually better at making decisions. He has a lot of evidence for this. He then postulates that we have become to dominated by the left which is why we are dominated by very simplistic narratives in this age. I am skeptical of social commentary but it might explain why people on both sides of the political spectrum are so extreme these days. That said I have a skepticism of social commentary and sometimes McGhilcrist seems a bit, ironically, left brained about the left brain. The book does show that creative pursuits and spirituality and a lot considered “irrational” have a purpose. So it is definitely something to consider though book is not an easy read.
Clyde says
I must have 8 or 9 books stacked next to the bed to read already. What the heck, what’s one more?
JimC says
Words to live by.
Quixotic Mainer says
I always thought Paddy Graydon and The Mule Bombs would have made a great band name!
If Undiscovered Country is up on Audible, I would be more than willing to give it a whirl. Hutton is definitely one of the greats.
Have you read Kearny’s March, by Winston Groom? It tells the intertwined Fremont, Donner, Carson, California and Mexico tale with real relish. Like you said in the article, the facts are there, but he also tells the STORY. Groom also does a great job with San Pasqual, which forever remains one of my favorite battles.
JimC says
I never read that one. The Undiscovered Country is on Audible.
I may well steal that band name. Paddy and the Mule Bombs. Damn…
James king says
Just received my copy, skimmed it very well illustrated, I always enjoyed Hutton’s commentary on the old history channels “Hunter heroes” series. Waiting by the mail box for David Wrights art book and Peter Cozzens “ A Brutal Reckoning”
JimC says
That’s some rich doins.
Paul Hutton says
Thanks Jim–that is mighty heady praise. You really nailed exactly what I hoped to accomplish with this book–and I deeply appreciate your insightful review Paul
JimC says
Truly, a magnificent achievement. Wishing you the best in Cody. I really like that place (the museum AND the town).
Nochum Elek says
A couple years back you recomended to me his “Apache Wars”, and I really enjoyed it. I love his writing style. Reads like fiction, but give you lots of information without boring you to death like some other academicians. I ordered the book today and I am looking forward to reading it.
The campfire has been a breath of fresh air and as a rule I love the books you recommend fiction or otherwise.
JimC says
This makes my day. Nothing is more gratifying to me than to know that the information and resources we share here make peoples’ lives more vivid and full.