Items related to Powderkeg (Thorndike Press Large Print Western Series)
Synopsis
Gunslinging saint Porter Rockwell and a small band of Brigham Young's finest against 3000 U.S. Army Regulars in 1857 Utah. Based on a true story.
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From Kirkus Reviews
Screenwriter Gordon and historian Vetterli team up effectively to produce an absorbing Western in which the open-air action is nearly overshadowed by politics and by personalities--from Brigham Young to James Buchanan to Wild Bill Hickok. President Buchanan's fierce, fervent desire to preserve the Union at all costs is put to the test by a conspiracy of southern senators, cabinet members, and high-ranking army officers. Political disorder in the Utah territory has provided these southern sympathizers with an opportunity to divert federal forces and then build a new alliance of slaveholding states from the Carolinas to California. The President is forced to send a large force under General Albert Sidney Johnston to quell the supposed insurrection of Utah's Mormons. Mormon leader Brigham Young, however, has no intention of following the southern scenario. Enlisting lapsed Mormon gunfighter Porter Rockwell, Young wages a guerrilla war on the federal troops without firing a shot. Rockwell's wits and winter's early arrival successfully force the big army to halt short of its goal of Salt Lake City. The lapse in action gives Rockwell time to sort out his feelings for a pretty Scottish immigrant, the first woman to thaw him out since his wife died in childbirth. Back in Washington, the scheming politicians, including Jefferson Davis, find that Young's strategy has begun to turn public favor to the Mormons and that Texas hero and Mormon sympathizer Sam Houston has gotten the President's ear and the pro- South plan is unraveling. Very well done. Much action, fascinating politics, complex characters, and historical figures who speak English rather than history. Clean but never sappy. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
From Publishers Weekly
Screenwriter Gordon and Brigham Young University professor Vetterli debut in the historical fiction genre with this intriguing tale based on a real incident. The time is 1857-1858, during the presidency of James Buchanan. Secessionists abound in the nation's capital, including Secretary of War John B. Floyd. The ringleader of a conspiracy which includes Mississippi senator Jefferson Davis, Floyd launches a scheme to weaken the army by sending 30,000 troops to Utah to put down a fictitious rebellion by Mormon settlers. The real purpose of the expedition, led by future Confederate general Albert Sidney Johnston, is to gain control of Salt Lake City so that Johnston and his troops are in position to take California when the South secedes. An important moment in antebellum history is effectively recreated through appealing characterizations and the judicious use of background detail. If the authors employ many cliches of the historical romance, they also shed light on a dramatic juncture in our nation's development.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Powderkeg (Thorndike Press Large Print Western Series)
Published by
Thorndike Pr (edition ), 1992
ISBN 10: 156054337X
ISBN 13: 9781560543374
Used
Hardcover
Seller: BooksRun, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fair. The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way. Seller Inventory # 156054337X-7-1
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Powderkeg
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 67716190-6