900 Miles on the Butterfield Trail
Greene (The Santa Claus Bank Robbery, Gulf Pub., 1986) has sensitively compiled a refreshing and currently relevant survey of the longest stagecoach line in world history. The writer's own recent travels over the varied miles of the trail are combined with recent scholarship to bring forth an exciting companion to anyone wishing to visit famous stations and stops along this vanished bastion of Americana. We experience the frustrations of attempting to connect with elusive points of interest as well as the satisfaction of standing at the very place that so many appointments and transactions of a bygone era were made. Besides the thorough coverage of the St. Louis-to-California route, this work gives special attention to the sections of the trail that pass through the wilds of Texas. Additional anecdotes and profiles conclude this most satisfying addition to a topic last covered by the The Butterfield Overland Mail (1947). Recommended for public library and college U.S. history collections.Bruce Alan Hanson, Wayzata East J.H.S. Lib., Minn.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.