REVIEW - Book Report/Review Example

He chose a tough subject and the most difficult River in USA. It is an extraordinary account of the inhospitable and almost inaccessible river region from its exploration from the beginning to the end of the era of Depression. Plenty of literature is available on the Tennessee Valley from the early (pre-Jacksonian) accounts of the violent challenges between the White Settlers (both French and English) and the native Cherokee and Creek. Many books have seen the light of the day on the convenient and popular subjects like Civil War and Civil Right subjects.

Other famous States of the South attracted the historians and writes to write impressive books, but not the region of Tennessee. Donald Davidson is basically a poet and poets are invariably attracted to the beauty of nature. The area of Tennessee River is awesomely beautiful. He describes about the roughness and toughness and the raw beauty of the River thus: “No one can say what the source of the Tennessee is. It draws its waters from all points of the compass within an area extending over the southwestern end of the valley of Virginia and the lofty, impenetrable mountains of East Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and Northern Georgia.”(p.8) Being a poet and native of Tennessee, Donald Davidson is twice-blessed to write this book, as he is familiar with the local conditions and psyche of the native Indians.

His prose is excellent and it creates impact on the minds of the readers and he has not missed the small and big details related to the history and geography of the region. The main points of the books are description of the geography of the Tennessee River Region, the details of the ongoing efforts by the Settlers to take possession of the Tennessee land and exploit its natural resources, the tough resistance offered by the native Indians, and how ultimately the While race succeeded in subduing and capturing the territory and established permanent settlements.

A passing reference