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Feb 04, 2024mebacher rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
You will come away from this fascinating book with so many tidbits of history, your friends and family will probably ask you to stop talking about it (although everyone who's read it on my recommendation has loved it). Highly recommend!
Feb 20, 2023Randa16 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I enjoy the blend of humor and history. All in all, a very interesting book.
Nov 22, 20221tarheel rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I could have done with less of the author's revelations about his relationship with his father, but, overall, this is a pretty great read. Lots of history, some spills 'n chills, and way, waaay more about mules than I ever would have…
Oct 20, 2022ryner rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
With fond memories of rugged travel from his youth, journalist Rinker Buck suddenly decides to purchase a covered wagon and travel the Oregon Trail two thousand miles from St. Joseph, Missouri, to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. When his…
Sep 27, 2022Wilsonnc rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
It is both a positive and negative that the author reveals so much about himself - positive when it is part of the trek narrative, negative when he gets on an irrelevant high horse (never miss an opportunity). You can learn a lot from…
May 28, 2020
After reading Rinker Buck’s other book, Flight of Passage, and thoroughly enjoying it, I thought I would try out this book. The Oregon trail was full of the trail’s history and Rinker and his brothers accounts from their journey across the…
Jan 09, 2020Tumbleweed1952 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book, first book I've read by Rinker Buck. So many sections were hilarious, I'd read them to my wife - now I've put it on hold for her to read at her request. I was very impressed by all the research and easy to…
May 04, 2017
I loved this book for stories that involved Rinker and his brother and all the people they met on the trail. For me it was a bit too much history, and could have been 75-100 pages shorter.
Feb 21, 2017RDJohannes rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
While this is not the normal kind of book I read to learn more on the history of our country, it was a pleasant departure. Much of this book is about the personal experiences of Rinker and his brother, he sprinkled enough information on…
Nov 08, 2016lukasevansherman rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
As somehow who grew up and went to school in Oregon, the Oregon Trail loomed large. I also am old enough to remember and play the classic, green-tinged video game ("You have died of dysentery."). So I was eager to read jounralist Rinker…
Oct 21, 2016
A hilarious, thoughtful, fact-filled, and sweary account of a man and his brother crossing the Oregon Trail. Dad approved!
Aug 02, 2016ArapahoeAnna rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
A quirky travelogue, Buck and his brother made the wagon journey on a hard board seat over 2000 miles of bumps pulled by a mule team. The part about cholera on the Platte River was an interesting bit of local history. Especially liked his…
Jul 26, 2016Einer2 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
An interesting history lesson well told. It did drag a bit at times, so don't expect to stay up all night reading it.
Jul 10, 2016PimaLib_StephanieM rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
It was slow going for me but worthwhile to hang on. I enjoyed the balance he struck between his journey and that of the historic trail travelers. His grumpy old man perspective on RVs, religion and politics (historical and modern) was…
Jul 10, 2016lilypad_1 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I loved reading this book. Although some parts were tedious at times they were easy to skim and get to the good "on the trail" parts. His research of pioneer diaries and graves along the trail and the history of why all these people would…
Jul 02, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. That is all. Thanks.
Mar 08, 2016Roundcat rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Rinker Buck and his brother, Nick, decide to get through their mid-life crises by taking a team of mules and a covered wagon across the Oregon Trail. When they are joined by friends, who happen to be women, about halfway through this…
Feb 03, 2016
Best book I read in a long time. Hilarious, educating, touching, informative. I learned so much above mules, Narcissa Whitman, pioneer women, Mormons and the Mormon trail , Native Americans, fur trappers and covered wagons. It is also…
Jan 08, 2016AffirmationChick rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Over the years, my love affair with the Oregon Trail has taken many forms. Like most 80s kids, it started by playing the game in elementary school. Then buying it to play at home and actually spending hours pouring over the various "books"…
Dec 14, 2015EmilyEm rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Two brothers retrace the path of Oregon Trail pioneers from one jumping off place in northeastern Kansas to eastern Oregon in a covered wagon pulled by three mules. Part history, part travelogue and part memoir that is definitely…
Nov 11, 2015anneperce rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
One of the best books I have ever read--superb writing, adventure packed, loaded with fascinating history of not only the Trail but the development of our West. Buck couples that with an outrageous sense of humor, humilty, and a deeper…
Sep 11, 2015
I really wanted to enjoy The Oregon Trail, and parts of it are very interesting, but here are a few warnings for other readers: The author and his brother both use "colorful speech" throughout the book--some will have no issues with…
Sep 10, 2015ulana2001 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A great read! I learned a lot of interesting things about that part of US history and more! It is very well written and even though I am not a true history buff, I found this book fascinating.
Aug 29, 2015rusty_13 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
You will become Rinker's (don't you love his name?) traveling companion as he takes you (and his brother Nick) along in his covered wagon all the way from St Joe, MI to Baker City, OR. This is a great way to get see the country from a…
Aug 28, 2015eilokeeffe rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Wonderful tale of a modern journey by two brothers from New England taking a mule team and wagon over the old Oregon Trail. Interwoven with the journey are riveting historical accounts of the pioneer experience, the two brothers'…