History book authors to discuss conquest of American frontier July 15
Iconic pioneer Daniel Boone’s integral role in opening the American frontier is the subject of a History Book Festival presentation set for 5 p.m., Thursday, July 15, via Zoom.
New York Times bestselling authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin will discuss “Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier,” and a question-and-answer session will follow.
The program is free, but preregistration is required. To reserve a spot, visit historybookfestival.org.
Through their painstaking research, Drury and Clavin document the brutal birth of the United States through the eyes of both the ordinary and larger-than-life men and women who witnessed it.
Boone – the Revolutionary War hero and explorer, not the coonskin cap-wearing caricature of popular culture – serves as the guide to the epic narrative.
Drawing from contemporary diaries and journals, newspaper reports, and eyewitness accounts, “Blood and Treasure” is a stirring chronicle of the conflict over America’s first frontier that places the reader at the center of this remarkable epoch with its gripping tales of courage and sacrifice.
The book also sheds new light on Boone, America’s first and arguably greatest pathfinder.
For example, the authors report that Boone “had always despised, and would for the rest of his life, his outsize reputation as an Indian fighter.” In fact, Boone respected and sought to emulate the Native Americans and lived for a time with the Shawnee.
Bob Drury, the recipient of several national journalism awards, is a three-time National Magazine Award finalist as well as a Pulitzer Prize nominee. He honed his investigative skills writing for New York City newspapers and a variety of national publications.
Tom Clavin has worked as a newspaper and website editor, magazine writer, TV and radio commentator, and reporter for the New York Times. He has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and the National Newspaper Association.
Among their many books, Drury and Clavin have collaborated on “The Heart of Everything That Is,” “Lucky 666,” “Halsey’s Typhoon,” “Last Men Out” and “The Last Stand of Fox Company.”
Copies of “Blood and Treasure” are available at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, the official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Biblion in Lewes also has copies of the book for sale. Books purchased at either shop come with a signed archival bookplate.
Presenting sponsors of the 2021 festival are Delaware Humanities and the Lee Ann Wilkinson Group of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Gallo Realty.
In addition to the Lewes Public Library, the festival’s virtual programs are supported by the Delaware Division of Libraries and Sussex County Libraries.
Now in its fifth year, the History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history.
