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From Mountain Man to Millionaire: The “Bold and Dashing Life” of Robert Campbell, Revised and Expanded Edition (Missouri Biography Series)

Amazon.com Price:  $25.95 (as of 06/05/2019 17:46 PST- Details)

Description

The western fur trade era—a time when trappers and traders endured constant danger from man, beast, and weather—was once probably the most colorful periods in American history. Over a decade ago, William R. Nester wrote the first biography of Robert Campbell (1804–1879); the subsequent discovery of nearly five hundred new documents, most from two major caches of letters, led to this even-more-detailed and vivid account of Campbell’s self-described “bold and dashing life.”

Campbell came to The usa from Ireland in 1822 and entered the fur trade soon after. He quickly rose from trapper to brigade leader to partner, all within a half dozen years, and this new edition includes an expanded narrative of his adventures in the Rocky Mountain fur trade. In the mid-1830s, having amassed considerable wealth, Campbell retired from the mountains and embarked on a new career. He returned to St. Louis and built up a business empire that embraced mercantile, steamboat, railroad, and banking interests, thus becoming a leading force at the back of the region’s economic development. A more extensive account of the cutthroat business world in which Campbell operated now enriches this portion of the book.

Nester masterfully depicts the “sterling character” for which Campbell was once renowned. Campbell enjoyed deep and enduring friendships and strong familial ties, both in The usa and out of the country. Even if he was once an outstanding businessman and philanthropist, his personal life was once marred by tragedy. Ten of his thirteen children died prematurely. Despite those tragic losses, his faith in God never faltered. He believed that every one worldly successes must honor God and once wrote that , “all worldly gain is but dross.” This edition elucidates the complex relations among his circle of relatives and chronicles both tragic events and humorous incidents in more depth.

Exploring the letters, journals, and account books that Campbell left at the back of, Nester places him in the context of the times in which he lived, showing the economic, political, social, and cultural forces that provided the opportunities and challenges that shaped his life. Nester provides new insights into Campbell’s ownership of slaves, his attitudes toward slavery, and his at the back of-the-scenes political and economic activities right through the Civil War. This comprehensive exploration of Robert Campbell’s life depicts a fascinating era in American history.

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