West like lightning : the brief, legendary ride of the Pony Express / Jim DeFelice.
In the spring of 1860 on the eve of a civil war that threatened to tear the country apart, two Americans conceived of an audacious plan for linking the nation's two coasts, thereby joining its present with its future. This book traces the development of the Pony Express and follows it from its start in St. Joseph, Missouri 1,500 miles west to Sacramento.
"On the eve of the Civil War, three American businessmen launched an audacious plan to create a financial empire by transforming communications across the hostile territory between the nation's two coasts. In the process, they created one of the most enduring icons of the American West: the Pony Express. Daring young men with colorful names like "Bronco Charlie" and "Sawed-Off Jim" galloped at speed over a vast and unforgiving landscape, etching an irresistible tale that passed into myth almost instantly. Equally an improbable success and a business disaster, the Pony Express came and went in just eighteen months, but not before uniting and captivating a nation on the brink of being torn apart. Jim DeFelice's brilliantly entertaining [book] is the first major history of the Pony Express to put its birth, life, and legacy into the full context of the American story. The Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company--or "Pony Express," as it came to be known--was part of a plan by William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell to create the next American Express, a transportation and financial juggernaut that already dominated commerce back east. All that stood in their way were almost two thousand miles of uninhabited desert, ice-capped mountains, oceanic plains roamed by Indian tribes, whitewater-choked rivers, and harsh, unsettled wilderness. The Pony used a relay system of courageous horseback riders to ferry mail halfway across a continent in just ten days. The challenges the riders faced were enormous, yet the Pony Express succeeded, delivering thousands of letters at record speed. The service instantly became the most direct means of communication between the eastern United States and its far western territories, helping to firmly connect them to the Union. Populated with cast of characters including Abraham Lincoln (news of whose electoral victory the Express delivered to California), Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill Cody (who fed the legend of the Express in his Wild West Show), and Mark Twain (who celebrated the riders in Roughing It), West Like Lightning masterfully traces the development of the Pony Express and follows it from its start in St. Joseph, Missouri--the edge of the civilized world--west to Sacramento, the capital of California, then booming from the gold rush. Jim DeFelice, who traveled the Pony's route in his research, plumbs the legends, myths, and surprising truth of the service, exploring its lasting relevance today as a symbol of American enterprise, audacity, and daring."--Jacket.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780062496768
- ISBN: 006249676X
- Physical Description: viii, 357 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York, NY : William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2018]
- Copyright: ©2018
Content descriptions
General Note: | Maps on end caps. |
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-357) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Go! -- Money, ambition and other complications -- Bleeding Kansas, bleeding men -- Of colts and cranks -- Threat of dissolution -- Rough men -- Buffalo Bill -- Unbonded -- The great divide -- Saints -- Sand and silver -- Indian wars -- Storms -- A place called tomorrow -- Remains of the day. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Pony express > History. Postal service > United States > History. Frontier and pioneer life > United States. West (U.S.) > History. |
Available copies
- 14 of 14 copies available at Missouri Evergreen.
- 1 of 1 copy available at Trails Regional. (Show)
- 0 of 0 copies available at Trails Regional-Technical Services.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 14 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barry Lawrence - Cassville Library | 383 DEF (Text) | 37884103153064 | Adult Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Barry Lawrence - Monett Library | 383 DEF (Text) | 37884103153072 | Adult Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Barry Lawrence - Mt. Vernon Library | 383 DEF (Text) | 37884103153080 | Adult Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Dulany Memorial Library | 383.143 DEF (Text) | 35712001525757 | Adult Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Henry County - Main Library | 383 .143 0973 D36J (Text) | I0000000272428 | Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Keller Public Library-Dexter | A 383 Def (Text) | 139109 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Marion County Library | 383.143 DEF (Text) | PPL69457 | Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Neosho Newton - Neosho | 383.143 DEF (Text) | 34162001911690 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
North Kansas City Public Library | 383.143 DEFELICE 2018 (Text) | 0001002241170 | Nonfiction | Available | - |
Polk County Library-Bolivar | 383.143 DEF (Text) | 34531000196815 | Non-Fiction | Available | - |
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100 | 1 | . | ‡aDeFelice, Jim, ‡d1956- ‡eauthor. ‡0(ME)346747 |
245 | 1 | 0. | ‡aWest like lightning : ‡bthe brief, legendary ride of the Pony Express / ‡cJim DeFelice. |
250 | . | ‡aFirst edition. | |
264 | 1. | ‡aNew York, NY : ‡bWilliam Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, ‡c[2018] | |
264 | 4. | ‡c©2018 | |
300 | . | ‡aviii, 357 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : ‡billustrations, maps ; ‡c24 cm | |
336 | . | ‡atext ‡btxt ‡2rdacontent | |
337 | . | ‡aunmediated ‡bn ‡2rdamedia | |
338 | . | ‡avolume ‡bnc ‡2rdacarrier | |
500 | . | ‡aMaps on end caps. | |
504 | . | ‡aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 271-357) and index. | |
505 | 0 | . | ‡aGo! -- Money, ambition and other complications -- Bleeding Kansas, bleeding men -- Of colts and cranks -- Threat of dissolution -- Rough men -- Buffalo Bill -- Unbonded -- The great divide -- Saints -- Sand and silver -- Indian wars -- Storms -- A place called tomorrow -- Remains of the day. |
520 | . | ‡aIn the spring of 1860 on the eve of a civil war that threatened to tear the country apart, two Americans conceived of an audacious plan for linking the nation's two coasts, thereby joining its present with its future. This book traces the development of the Pony Express and follows it from its start in St. Joseph, Missouri 1,500 miles west to Sacramento. | |
520 | . | ‡a"On the eve of the Civil War, three American businessmen launched an audacious plan to create a financial empire by transforming communications across the hostile territory between the nation's two coasts. In the process, they created one of the most enduring icons of the American West: the Pony Express. Daring young men with colorful names like "Bronco Charlie" and "Sawed-Off Jim" galloped at speed over a vast and unforgiving landscape, etching an irresistible tale that passed into myth almost instantly. Equally an improbable success and a business disaster, the Pony Express came and went in just eighteen months, but not before uniting and captivating a nation on the brink of being torn apart. Jim DeFelice's brilliantly entertaining [book] is the first major history of the Pony Express to put its birth, life, and legacy into the full context of the American story. The Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company--or "Pony Express," as it came to be known--was part of a plan by William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell to create the next American Express, a transportation and financial juggernaut that already dominated commerce back east. All that stood in their way were almost two thousand miles of uninhabited desert, ice-capped mountains, oceanic plains roamed by Indian tribes, whitewater-choked rivers, and harsh, unsettled wilderness. The Pony used a relay system of courageous horseback riders to ferry mail halfway across a continent in just ten days. The challenges the riders faced were enormous, yet the Pony Express succeeded, delivering thousands of letters at record speed. The service instantly became the most direct means of communication between the eastern United States and its far western territories, helping to firmly connect them to the Union. Populated with cast of characters including Abraham Lincoln (news of whose electoral victory the Express delivered to California), Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill Cody (who fed the legend of the Express in his Wild West Show), and Mark Twain (who celebrated the riders in Roughing It), West Like Lightning masterfully traces the development of the Pony Express and follows it from its start in St. Joseph, Missouri--the edge of the civilized world--west to Sacramento, the capital of California, then booming from the gold rush. Jim DeFelice, who traveled the Pony's route in his research, plumbs the legends, myths, and surprising truth of the service, exploring its lasting relevance today as a symbol of American enterprise, audacity, and daring."--Jacket. | |
650 | 0. | ‡aPony express ‡xHistory. | |
650 | 0. | ‡aPostal service ‡zUnited States ‡xHistory. ‡0(ME)299102 | |
650 | 0. | ‡aFrontier and pioneer life ‡zUnited States. ‡0(ME)296201 | |
651 | 0. | ‡aWest (U.S.) ‡xHistory. ‡0(ME)509555 | |
904 | . | ‡aMARCIVE 2018 | |
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