By Richard Landreth
Director, Lincoln County
Library System

In order for America to become the great country that we enjoy today, violence was perpetrated that few of us can imagine.

Settlers in America fought bloody battles with Great Britain in order to establish independence, Native American tribes to take land, and finally with the French which helped to establish the role of the military in the fledgling nation. These settlers wanted to expand into North America’s “First Frontier,” the land beyond the Appalachian Mountains.

Throughout these conflicts, we find the greatest of all explorers, Daniel Boone! “Blood and Treasure…” will take you beyond the coonskin cap-wearing figure in American history that we recognize and shows a complete description of the frontiersman and Revolutionary War hero. The story of Daniel Boone, which to many is the stuff of legends, is told by two award winning researchers and brings the birth of the United States to a new level.

Using diaries, journals, newspaper reports and eyewitness accounts, this account of history in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s comes to life and is a fascinating read.

An exciting and compelling story, “Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America’s First Frontier’’ by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin, is not for the faint of heart! Warning: the story starts with the brutal murder of Boone’s son at the hands of “Big Jim,” a Shawnee who was often welcomed into the Boone home. The detailed descriptions of violence will stick with the reader. The physical book format is available throughout the Lincoln County Library System. It is also available as an ebook and eaudiobook on Libby by OverDrive at linclib.org.