Excellent book! One of my favorites on the West. I've enjoyed reading it several times. The photographs are a valuable supplement to the text, which is clearly written and knowledgeable. The seven trails are a fascinating look at the opening and conquering of the American West from the mountain men and Louis and Clark to the transcontinental telegraph and railroad. You get a real sense of the adventure, dangers, and sheer will and perseverance that were required by early settlers. The native Americans and homesteaders are not emphasized in this book, but that is another story for separate books really. I would recommend Magnificent Failure by John Martin Campbell if you want a great book about the homesteaders and their challenges farming "The American Desert." It would be a blessing for someone to write a book about how these seven trails opening impacted Native Americans. We only have bits and pieces of that history, but I suspect it's fascinating (and very sad) history. I really enjoy this book. A pleasure to read! It has been a blessing and has made me appreciate my small place in the history of America and planet earth. Until the Lord returns!I love this book! I found it so enjoyable to read that I have purchased copies got others interested in American history. I will say that some copies are trimmed where the type is too close to the edge. Not sure what’s up with that. My first copy was perfect.Beautifully told and illustrated account of the most amazing migration of humans in history! Maps and photos are awesome. Gives great insight to the character of the American West and the people who pioneered here.The writer does an excellent job of condensing a tremendous amount of western history into one book. Never got bored.This is an attractive, eminently readable overview of seven major trails "by which the West was won". The seven are the route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition; the Santa Fe Trail; the Oregon-California Trail; the Mormon Trail; and the routes of the Pony Express, the First Transcontinental Telegraph, and the First Transcontinental Railroad. An eighth chapter is devoted to the mountain men and the fur trade.The title might suggest that the book is structured around the geographical details of each of those seven "trails". (In point of fact, five of them follow much the same route for substantial portions of their course.) In actuality, however, each of the chapters, while nominally devoted to a particular "trail", deals with a different major subject or episode relating to this country's westward expansion. With each, there is some discussion of the route and of "life on the trail", but there is as much discussion placing that episode in the context of the overall straddling of the continent and some of the political and economic forces particular to that episode.Of course, none of the 20-30 page chapters is comprehensive. But they are well-done as summaries, and they all are sprinkled with well-chosen anecdotes. I have read more about the West than the average Joe, but still some of the material was new to me. For example: the Whitman Massacre near Walla Walla, Washington along the Oregon Trail; the "handcart companies", in which about 3,000 Mormons walked from the Mississippi River to Salt Lake City with some of the adults pulling behind them carts on two wheels loaded with possessions and children; and the "hell-on-wheels" towns that sprung up as construction of the Union Pacific Railroad progressed westward towards Promontory Summit, Utah. There also are engaging and informative discussions about such better-known matters as the annual Rendezvous of Rocky Mountain trappers and traders, the Donner party, and the Sand Creek Massacre.What elevates the book above similar overviews are the many illustrations, which include historical photographs, paintings, and drawings, as well as striking modern photographs of noted geographical features. They serve to make SEVEN TRAILS WEST a handsome addition to virtually any library. But I should reiterate that the book is quite readable. While it might be most appreciated by someone new to the subject of "westward expansion", especially an intelligent and inquisitive teenager, it probably would be enjoyed by anyone, no matter how steeped he/she already is in the subject.great great book..