Specify Regarding Books The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Title | : | The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters |
Author | : | Robert Lewis Taylor |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 544 pages |
Published | : | December 1st 1992 by Main Street Books (first published 1958) |
Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction |
Robert Lewis Taylor
Paperback | Pages: 544 pages Rating: 3.94 | 2887 Users | 155 Reviews
Relation Concering Books The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Dr. Sardius McPheeters, is a dreamer always chasing the elusive beautiful rainbow, but never quite fully grasping it in his hands, the gambler and imbiber of strong drinks, is a capable physician in Louisville, Kentucky, his family suffers though, but his creditors want their money...The time, during California's gold rush, the '49ers from all over the world are descending to the new territory, acquired by the recent war with Mexico, saying goodbye to practical wife Melissa, who very reluctantly gives permission, still the cholera epidemic here, encourages her to let him go, daughters Hannah, Mary stay and taking along their thirteen year old son Jaimie. The doctor is not only escaping unpaid bills, but a job he hates, tending to the sick, promising his wife , that he will soon come back a rich man, Melissa, is skeptical (they gather a small amount of money for the trip), she knows him too well... The not short journey from the city to the Mississippi River, is uneventful, there the two take a paddle wheel boat to St.Louis, but the too curious Jaimie, never reaches it, falling overboard into the muddy, cold waters, his father searches on both sides of the wide river but no trace is found, presumed dead , he writes to his wife about the sad tragedy. But the quest must go on, his wanderlust is too strong, the good doctor has his fantasies , they overpower his sense of duty, and common sense . Jaimie, survives the drop, swims in the dark, to an island on the mighty stream and at daybreak, finds a log and floats down with the current and after many miles, to the western shore, he grasped firmly, gets entangled with lazy farmers, they need a slave, leaves secretly at night, and is picked up by vicious outlaws, becomes a captive along with another, an older, teenage girl, Jennie, witnesses murders, but both escape, he again...Reaching the bustling little town of Independence, Missouri, population 1,000 , gateway to the West, the "good doctor," joyfully encounters his lost son, and regrettably the two bandits who abused Jaimie, they quickly skedaddle. Hitching up to a wagon train led by the trail boss, Buck Coulter, a sarcastic but very competent man, with no friends, but plenty of courage, the 2,000 mile journey begins, over the endless, featureless plains, these grasslands go on forever, with little rainfall, crossing shallow rivers and some not so, seeing Indians, who mostly keep out of sight, they hunt mainly for discarded items the people on the wagons throw out, to lighten the burden on the tired oxen and mules, the poor Pawnee, squeezed by more powerful tribes, from the north and south, have become scavengers, with few horses to chase the buffalo herds. And still yet the very young Jaimie, has to become the adult, to his intelligent, well educated, but perpetually irresponsible father , his reality is not the boy's or anybody else's. Deserts, lack of water and food, high snow capped mountain ranges, to climb, suspicious Mormons, unfriendly Indians, outlaws, illnesses and deaths, disastrous factions developing among the people, but the wagons must roll on, continue forward, month after month in the search for happiness, the promised land. This always interesting book , won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for 1958, well deserved.Particularize Books In Favor Of The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Original Title: | The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters |
ISBN: | 0385422229 (ISBN13: 9780385422222) |
Edition Language: | English |
Literary Awards: | Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1959) |
Rating Regarding Books The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Ratings: 3.94 From 2887 Users | 155 ReviewsAssess Regarding Books The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of RLT, follows Jaimie and his (Dr) father who has creditors after him, he is a bit of a gambler and prone to drink. The Dr's solution is to strike it rich in the gold rush by the way of a long journey across barren mountains. plains, canyons and deserts. The wagon-train was lead by a guide book that led them through, sometimes they would get lucky and it was right on, other times though there were setbacks, that seem to be lying in wait behind the next corner.I just finished a second reading of The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, as always a little afraid that I wouldn't like it as well as I remembered. The novel begins this way: "On the day when I first learned of my father's journey, I had come back with two companions from a satisfactory afternoon in the weeds near Kay's Bell Foundry, shooting a slingshot at the new bells, which were lying out in the year and strung up on rafters." Jaimie narrates the story, and the journey is as much his as his
This book was compared to Lonesome Dove and I blame my disappointment on this statement. While this novel does involve a long journey, all similarities end there. The style, although funny at first, grew repetitive and boring quickly. The characters were mostly cardboard flat, undergoing little to no development. Events mostly rely on unlikely coincidences and cartoon-like situations where every weak-looking man ends up being the strongest in a fight, and the like. Very disappointing, sarcastic
I shall say, in a way I imagine Dr. McPheeters might have put it, a splendid book, although he would have expounded extensively on the subject!
Within a few pages of starting The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters I thought I was in for a treat. It immediately reminded me of a more humorous version of Lonesome Dove, which also won the Pulitzer and was also on a topic I didnt think I cared about.The story was that of a father and son who left their comfortable lives in Louisville to strike it rich in the gold rush of 1849. I think we all know how the gold rush worked out for most folks, and the folks in this book were no exception. They did
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis TaylorThis Pulitzer Prize winner is perfect - when thinking about flaws, one may think of some details that at times may seem more than sufficient, regarding some diseases for instance, but even there, the masterful, genius author is as humorous as Mark Twain - the hero, Jaimie McPheeters resembles Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.The Travels is the quintessential chef d'oeuvre, seeing as it exemplifies the vital role of the glorious novel, taking
This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1959. It is about a young boy and his father traveling West to California from Louisville in the mid 1800's to search for gold. It reminds me of a Huck Finn adventure. The many struggles chronicled along the way by the boy and his father are entertaining. The book was a bit long, but had a happy ending. I give this book 4 stars.
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