"Vestal takes the Big Muddy as the central character in an intriguing story...It is always readable, always informative." - "Los Angeles Times". "One of the best of the writings of the Missouri River...A captivating book." - "Frontier Times". In his review of "The Missouri", Allan Nevins noted its theme of tremendous scope: "The Missouri was the river of Lewis and Clark, of Manuel Lisa, General Ashley, and other organizers of the fur trade; of such noted travelers as George Catlin, Henry R. Schoolcraft, and Prince Maximilian; of a host of adventurous steamboat captains; of explorers like Jedediah Smith, Kit Carson, and Fremont; of doughty hunters and trappers like Hugh Glass, Jim Bridger, and John Colter." "A study that anyone remotely interested in the American West will read." - "New York Times". Stanley Vestal's other books include "The Old Santa Fe Trail", also available as a Bison Book. Dayton Duncan, author of "Miles from Nowhere: In Search of the American Frontier", is a scriptwriter for the filmmaker Ken Burns.