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Follow the River A Novel James Alexander Thom Books

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Follow the River A Novel James Alexander Thom Books

Beautifully written, although excrutiatingly painful, account of Virginia pioneer woman's incredible, true escape from Indian captivity. Somehow she and an older woman not only escape, but find their way home from an Indian village in Ohio across the Appalachian mountains via the Kanawha and New River Valleys without food or warm clothing during increasingly cold and freezing weather. By the time they reach help after three months in the wilderness, they are naked and near death from starvation. This is an amazing tale of pioneer determination and endurance, the more so because it is a true story. The author states that he actually followed the route taken by these women, and so he brings vivid experience to his descriptions of their ordeal, much of which was so painful that it is hard to read. But their survival in the end is inspiring. A truly remarkable story of life on the American frontier.


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Follow the River A Novel James Alexander Thom Books Reviews

One of the best historical fictions I have ever read! It is based on the Indian Massacre of an early settlement in America, and during the French and Indian War in America. The main character, Mary Ingles, was twenty-three, married, and pregnant, when Shawnee Indians invaded her peaceful Virginia settlement, killed men,women,and children, then took her, along with her two sons and sister-in-law, captive. For months, she lived with them, unbroken, until she escaped, and followed a thousand mile trail to freedom--an extraordinary story of a pioneer woman who risked her life to return to her people. It was a raw tale, and hard to read in some parts, but I am very glad I finished it.
Sad to see how many lives were lost in order for this country to be formed, especially with all of the hostility going on in the world today. This should be a "must read" for all who live in the United States.
This is one of the best books I have read recently! Although the story is not for the squeamish, it is compelling reading and will bring out all kinds of feelings - anything from elation to disgust to fear, terror and anger. Mr. Thom writes in such a way as to suck you into the story and you are feeling what Mary is feeling, travel with Mary and "Ghetel" through ice and freezing water and, although you know Mary survives, you will not believe what these two women went through on their 1000 mile trek back to civilization! The heartaches and disasters that befall them along the way are way beyond anything you can imagine!
It is also a credit to the author that he went beyond the story of these two heroic women and told the aftermath of the story. I highly recommend reading the author's comments at the end of the book. His research into this story is unbelievable and, although no one can know what these women said and felt, I do believe that his dialog is probably as accurate as possible. I guarantee you will shed tears, laugh, feel their pain and breathe a huge sigh of relief by the end of the book!
I was looking for a book that reflected the lives and happenings of the people of Virginia during the period of the French and Indian War. I fell upon Follow the River. I am researching for a historical novel of my own, entitled, "The Other Side of the Flag" roughly about the lives of my 5th and 6th great grandfathers during this same period, in this same general location. As I read this incredible book, I was more than rewarded. Mr. Thom's day to day descriptions of Mary Ingles ordeal, were described in a detail that leads one to believe he was walking along side her during her journey. How else would he know those most intimate of details. I feel that Mr. Thom should be accoladed on the level of the top writers of our century. I don't know how I could have missed this story for this long. My thanks to the writer for this labor of love.
I rarely write book reviews, but this deserves one. This book is based on a true story. The author painted the story vividly, giving you a real feel for what she went through, which is astonishing, to say the least. It may be a little rough for some, as life could be brutal in those times and the author did not sugarcoat anything. (There are no explicit sex scenes- I wish more people would address this in their book reviews.) I've read the book more than once, it is a keeper, and I am sure I will read it again. If you like adventure stories, you won't want to pass this one up. The book is very skillfully written, not the least bit amateurish, which allows you to completely stay in the story when you're reading it, no distractions.
Before there was Cheryl Strayed's Wild, there was this story. In 1755 a young, married, and heavily pregnant woman was captured by the Shawnee Indians, with her two sons, and taken from Virginia to near present-day Cincinnati. She escaped her captors, and WALKED home, about a thousand miles, with another captive woman, arriving just this side of death, after about six weeks.

What I really liked about this story is the sensual details are deep but not excessive. I FELT hunger (enough to eat bugs), cold, wounds and sore feet. Felt fear of being recaptured, the bond formed between the two women on the trail, fear of losing the way, the grim determination.

I also liked that this book neither whitewashed the Shawnee as "noble savages," nor portrayed them as anything other than intelligent, complex human beings, while still portraying these clashes from the point of view of the early white settlers. We can (and I do) dispute the whole manifest destiny and white supremacy idealogy that led to driving Native Americans from their own homelands, but at the same time, I think it's useful to understand the mindset of the time.

There are some gruesome scenes and graphic descriptions of the Indian raids and their tradition of the gauntlet, not to mention the natural outcome of starving and eating dubious materials while on the trail. In one word, this is intense. Not for the squeamish.
Beautifully written, although excrutiatingly painful, account of Virginia pioneer woman's incredible, true escape from Indian captivity. Somehow she and an older woman not only escape, but find their way home from an Indian village in Ohio across the Appalachian mountains via the Kanawha and New River Valleys without food or warm clothing during increasingly cold and freezing weather. By the time they reach help after three months in the wilderness, they are naked and near death from starvation. This is an amazing tale of pioneer determination and endurance, the more so because it is a true story. The author states that he actually followed the route taken by these women, and so he brings vivid experience to his descriptions of their ordeal, much of which was so painful that it is hard to read. But their survival in the end is inspiring. A truly remarkable story of life on the American frontier.