At head of title: Reader's digest.

Coming of the Europeans --
West beckons --
To the Mississippi and beyond --
Of mountain men and indians --
Texas and the great southwest --
From sea to sea --
Great rush west --
Wars in the west --
Rails transform the nation --
Cowboys and cattle kings --
Settling the plains --
West comes of age.

Recounts the settlement of the West from the first pioneers who crossed the Appalachians to the eventual disappearance of the frontier.; This book is the most exciting and lavishly illustrated one-volume history of the West ever published. Its 384 pages sparkle with a lively text and almost 1,000 illustrations, including some of the first photographs ever taken of the West and its homesteaders. No other single book helps you to understand so well what life was really like for the westering pioneers. With the aid of 23 vivid reconstructions, prepared under the supervision of expert consultants, you can imagine yourself in a variety of frontier situations. Here, in one superb volume, is the story of America's greatest adventure -- the new country, the Indians, the people, the wars, the trails, and the great bonanzas of silver and gold. - Jacket flap.

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