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Northwest Passage |  | Author: Kenneth Roberts
Publisher: Down East Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $10.00
as of 3/18/2010 06:49 CDT details
You Save: $14.95 (60%)
New (6) Used (13) from $10.00
Seller: Robert John Durham
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 261534
Media: Paperback
Pages: 712
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.8
ISBN: 0892725427
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9780892725427
ASIN: 0892725427
Publication Date: October 25, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
This classic novel follows the career of Major Rogers, whose incredible exploits during the French and Indian Wars are told through Langdon Towne, an artist and Harvard student who flees trouble to join the army.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
 Northwest Passage Read It Before You Die. February 6, 2010
James B. Smith
This book was presented to me by my mother in 1949 to read and at age ten I was taken up with the adventure, and read the book many times in my younger years. It was always left at my mothers home for all the children and grand children to read until it was finally very ragged and torn. When my mother died the book was thrown out with other stuff in the house cleanup before sale and it was lost to me. Now i have a copy of the book that gave me so much pleasure in my youth. I am seventy one now and will pass this book on down the line when I leave this earth. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a good read. Capt. James B Smith merchant marine.
 A tale of two halves... October 14, 2009
Michael Breen (East Hartford CT USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I enjoyed Roberts' writing style immensely: the prose was rich and nuanced, it reminded me of Patrick O'Brian. However, the novel did not sit well with me: it's really two books in one. The first part deals with Robert Rogers' St. Francis raid- our fictional protagonist joins Roger's Rangers on the eve of their raid on St. Francis. This tale is briskly told, conveying the dangers and hardships of the mission, weaving historical figures into the narrative and accurately (as far as I can tell) portraying the details of the mission. In this first half (350 pages) of the novel, author Roberts deftly explores tensions between the British regulars and their Provincial counterparts; as well as portraying the ambivalent attitudes of both toward Native Americans. All in all, the first half of the novel is a brisk, rousing historical adventure. The book started to lose me in the second half, however. The life of our fictional protagonist, Langdon Towne, continues to revolve around that of his former Captain, Robert Rogers, as Rogers' life descends into a Dickensian drama. Rogers attempts to parlay his military prowess into fame, fortune, and a personal empire in Britain's newly acquired Western territories. Rogers is no match, however, for the politics and skullduggery of imperial management, as he deals with- and runs afoul of- people like Charles Townshend, Edmund Burke, Sir William Johnson, and Jeffrey Amherst. Constantly scorning authority, the alcoholic, womanizing Rogers winds up in debtor's prison in London before returning to America to raise another Ranger contingent to fight the upstart American rebels. This second part of the tale could have been told much more efficiently; it was hampered by a contrived, melodramatic romance and repetitive ruminations on the relationships between Indians and whites in the Western territories. I almost gave up on the second half of the book. If readers find themselves losing interest after the first 350 pages, I'd advise letting it go- enjoy the tale of the St. Francis raid, but you won't miss much by dropping the book after that.
Northwest Passage June 23, 2009
hoopguy (St. Helens, OR)
This is an excellent read! I usually don't go in for historical fiction, but this book is great! What's more, it was in brand new condition--from a Goodwill!
Northwest Passage June 13, 2007
Istvan Nemes (Newberry Springs, CA United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was fourteen years old when a family friend gifted me on my birthday with Rabble in Arms in Hungarian translation. It took no little trouble and risk to locate other works by Roberts in Communist controlled Hungary. Northwest Passage was the second book by Roberts I read and this as well as all other works in Roberts 'Chronicles of Arundel' series sold me on the US. Northwest Passage is the story of revenge within the framework of the French and Indian War, a fantastic account of courage, endurance and heroism. It is also the story of one man, Major Robert Rogers; one man's life at its zenith, as he relentlessly inspires his men to superhuman performance; also at its nadir, as he descendes into debauchery, debt, and succumbs to disease. The narrator, Langdon Towne, aspiring artist, only matters insofar as he is the one,(in first person, as many of Roberts' protagonists do,) who tells the story. His viewpoint is that of a participant, not an outside observer, and this makes the story come alive even more than it otherwise would have.
It is one of Roberts' masterful works. It lost nothing in translation although I consider myself fortunate to have many of Roberts' works in their first editions.
It is my uderstanding that Roberts' works had been translated into over 52 languages. If any of those translation are as well done as the Hungarian version Roberts should be a universally celebrated and rewarded author.
Northwest Passage is true classic. Even though the movie with Spencer Tracy now seems obsolete this deserves a remake that should closely follow the book. I wouldn't recommend changing anything just go by the book. I sure would go and see it. As it is I have the book and have enjoyed reading and rereading it over the many years.
How did I miss this for so long? January 5, 2006
George Cleveland
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I've spent a lot of time on the history surrounding the actual events of Rogers Rangers raid on the Abenaki village of Odanak in 1758. But here is a book that throws back the curtain and hurls us out the window into the midst of 18th Century America and Britain.
This is simply one of the finest historical novels out there; closely rivalling LeGrand Cannon's Look To the Mountain. Good historical escapist fun and drama.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
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