At 10:40 AM 20/07/98 -0400, you wrote:
>
>Gee.......I feel silly.  I completely goofed on the name of the author......
>I have a series of books by this mysterious author....but Ive lent them
out.  I
>believe its Allen Eckert (SP?).  He has written a very good series of
>books......however, I hear conflicting statemements as to the historical
>accuracy.  The local historian in Cherry Valley says hes about 95 percent
>accurate....and he did a good job with the other 5 percent.
>He started out with a book that centered around the Ohio river......and
the life
>of Tecumsah......then from there he did a book on Pontiac.....I skipped
ahead to
>the last book called Wilderness War.....and this book had a lot to do with
the
>revolution and NY State.  You dont have to read the books in
order.......but to a
>degree, it helps.
>The books are filled with references, and footnotes.....and they do a good
job of
>giving both sides of the story.....
>
Regarding Alan Eckert:

I believe Eckert's work is usually classified under historical fiction, not
due to any lack of research, but rather for his technique of inventing
dialogue for historical characters. "Wilderness Empire" and "Wilderness
War" focus on the events in NYS for the French and Indian/Seven Years War
and the American Revolution, respectively. As an overview to the critical
events in NY during these periods, they are terrific. I have seen debate,
however, as to the overall accuracy of his writings, particularly the
Tecumsah book.

regards,
Greg


Greg Ketcham
webmaster,
"Drums Along The Mohawk: the American Revolution on the New York Frontier"
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/4171