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.