The Infinite Dream. The Opening of the Great American West.
Ashland, Kentucky: Jesse Stuart Foundation, 2011. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover with Dust Jacket.
Classic narrative history by Allan W. Eckert recounting the opening of the American West through firsthand accounts and period sources. A people-centered chronicle of exploration, conflict, and settlement, issued in a fine first edition.
No flaws or blemishes; gift-quality copy. The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean, bright, and unmarked. Dust jacket is clean, with the publisher’s price intact, housed in a clear protective Mylar sleeve. First Edition, First Printing. 8vo; 9.25 inches tall. Illustrated map endpapers; extensive chapter notes and index.
Eckert presents the opening of the Great American West as a deeply human drama rather than a distant historical process. The narrative is structured around real individuals—explorers, settlers, Native peoples, soldiers, and families—whose firsthand voices animate the broader sweep of westward movement. The result is a work that balances accuracy with emotional resonance, appealing equally to serious readers of American history and general audiences.
Contextual Significance: Allan W. Eckert is widely regarded as one of the most influential practitioners of modern narrative history in the American Midwest and frontier tradition. His Winning of America series reshaped popular historical writing by rejecting dry academic abstraction in favor of documentary-based storytelling. The Infinite Dream stands as a later synthesis of his lifelong engagement with frontier history, reflecting both mature scholarship and refined narrative technique.
Subjects: American History, Narrative Non-Fiction, Frontier History, Western Americana, American West, Frontier Settlement, Westward Expansion, Pioneer Life, Native American History, Exploration & Settlement, United States Territorial Growth.
Item #011416
ISBN: 9781931672757
Price: $75.00
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