West Like Lightning audiobook

Very good history read. Well written and researched. Entertaining and and nice enjoyable read. Very recommended

This new release follows the trail of the Pony Express, an easy (for the reader) and quite fun journey from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California and beyond. DeFelice makes stops at several stations along the way, introducing the reader to Old West characters, both legendary and unfamiliar. He attempts to sort out fact from fiction, as many tales originated larger than life and merely touched on the truth. But proof and disproof are next to impossible due to the murky history of the service. Many events and incidents not directly related to the service are touched on, including the Donner party, the California gold rush, and the empty presidency of James Buchanan. There are a handful of errors in this edition, and the author unnecessarily repeats himself a few times, but overall the writing is very enjoyable and relatable. Now, let me tell you about the time I rode for the Pony…

An interesting microhistory of the surprisingly short-lived Pony Express. Although I listened, I don't recommend the audio which had too many mispronunciations, too many proper names and place names mispronounced for my taste. The author uses an interesting frame on which to hang the story of the Pony Express's history: we follow the November 1860 message about Lincoln's election from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, in just 6 days. Along the way we learn how the Express got its start, the problems it encountered, and how it was made obsolete first by the telegraph and then by the transcontinental railroad. While it reigned supreme, the Pony Express was a wonder, and this lively account offers what details there are. Much of it is anecdotal with stories of the famous men of the west--Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody among them. There were dangers--weather, Indian wars, terrain--and all this makes for a fascinating tale. The Pony Express may only have lasted 18 months, but those were wild and adventurous times and from its prominence in our history and tales of the opening of the west, it's hard to believe its time was so short.

The Pony Express was a doomed idea from the start but some how this hair brained scheme connected the country from St. Joseph Missouri to Sacramento California in record time. In 1860 it could take six months or longer for a letter to make it from one coast to the other. The Pony Express riders rode a long day at top speed with minimal stops in any kind of weather to deliver not only personal and business mail but also national news. Jim DeFelice has done his homework and gives us a blow by blow account of the characters that rode for the express as well as the obstacles they faced. These young daring men risked bad weather, Indian attacks, bandits, angry Mormons and other dangers and as soon as they got off a horse and got a hot meal, they were off again. This is not only the history of the Pony Express but a frank account of some of the West's most colorful characters. The author shares the myth and over the top stories of Billy the Kid, Wild Bill Hickok and Kit Carson as well as the toned down version of what most likely happened. This is a fascinating look at the Wild West before it was tame. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

This highly readable popular history of the legendary Pony Express is a piece-together from many sources, both solid and, as DeFelice admits, dubious. Since the mail service lasted only a little over a year, it probably would be only a footnote in history had it not been popularized by the likes of such colorful characters as Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill. The "hook" onto which DeFelice hangs the book's overall theme is the news about Lincoln's election as President being carried from St. Joseph., Mo., to Sacramento, Calif. Fast! 10 days! Along the way are colorful characters, horse thieves, Indian raids, uninhabited desert. Intertwined are the financial gymnastics necessary to keep the "Pony" going, the massive infrastructure necessary to maintain the 160 or so stations, the vast number of horses needed, the mostly dedicated personnel. According to best estimates there were about 260 riders (names listed in appendix). Yes, the Pony Express was no small endeavor. I learned much.

.West Like Lightning : The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express • by Jim DeFelice (pub. 2018, about 368 pages)A historical account specifically on the 18 months the Pony Express was in operation. The author tries to distinguish between fact and legend, pointing out details that are unsupported by the historical record. The subtitle could also be: a history of the American West and politics in the 19th century. The author covers a lot of material that seems to side track, but eventually he gets around to relating it to the Pony Express or it's founding partners. Fort Kearny, Nebraska territory: The story opens with a rider in November of 1860 waiting for a telegraph message on the outcome of the presidential election. The winner may determine the country's course concerning slavery, Southern secession or Civil War. The message and mail is secured in the rider's mochila (backpack), a mailbag specially fitted to the saddle. On a fleet horse the Pony man races across the Wild West, (rough country, prairie, mountains, adverse weather, wild animals, thieves and hostile Indians), on toward the new states of Oregon and California. Arriving at Fort Churchill in the Nevada territory, the telegraph lines resume from here and the message carried by the Pony man will be transmitted on to California. The Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, aka the Pony Express, aka "the Pony" was already a legend in its own time. The Pony transported mail and Telegraph messages as fast as possible. Speed made it famous: those ten days. Ten days to connect Missouri to California. From New York or Washington to the West Coast only 12 days. This was over twice as fast as the competition, (stagecoach) and months shorter then boat travel through the canal.Telegraph lines connecting the East with the new states of California and Oregon wouldn't be completed until October of 1861, the same date that saw the demise of the Pony. By 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad would also be completed.Traveling west like lightning in only 10 days was unbelievably impressive and the Pony riders became stars, celebrities fawned over and well-paid. They were athletes, young men, slim and lightweight, but rugged enough to endure endless miles on horseback, facing severe weather and life-threatening situations. Based on these hardships some believed they were underpaid. They didn't ride at an all-out Gallup, but maintained an average speed of about 8 to 10 miles an hour: a canter or trot. As their first line of defense against trouble, highwayman, wild animals, etc, they relied on horses chosen for their speed and so outran, outdistanced the threats.The author covers a variety of people and subjects related to the time period: The 1860 POTUS election and slave state controversy is presented and a biography of Abe. "...a nation divided against itself could not stand."Of the 34 states at that time, 19 had outlawed slavery. Additional controversies concerned stopping the spread of slavery into the territories and the Fugitive Slave Act.The Pony was founded by three business partners who'd operated other businesses together for some time: William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell. They had success and failures in hauling freight by ox-drawn wagons, specifically for the US Army. With the outbreak of the Utah War (the Mormon Rebellion) they suffered a number of financially ruinous losses and the government refused to compensate them.Being overly ambitious one of the partners sought to monopolize the moving of people, goods and information and so offset their debts. If they could win the million-dollar mail delivery contract to California, they'd be set. Wells and Fargo's American Express company and Butterfield Stage were successful competitors.The 3 partners knew the Pony Express would be a boondoggle, a money loser, but were banking on it's unprecedented popularity to help them win the lucrative mail contract. It didn't work out. The cost of paying a couple hundred riders, station operators and caring for many hundreds of horses could not be paid for by postage. The average person couldn't afford to send letters priced at $5 per half ounce (that's close to $140 today). Later when the price was lowered to $1 it was still prohibitive for the hoi polloi. Then there's the completion of the telegraph system, a horse can not compete with the speed of electricity.Various Pony Express items and certain influential people included: the guns used by riders; a brief biography of Samuel Colt and the development of his iconic revolver; the Pony riders wore no uniforms, just durable frontier wear and bandanas over the face to ward off endless dust; the legacy and tales of "Wild Bill" Hickok (James Butler Hickok); the trip made by Samuel Clemens (later known as Mark Twain) to Carson City, gives his somewhat inaccurate comments on the Pony Riders. Buffalo Bill Cody wrote of his great exploits as a Pony rider, maybe the youngest ever, but they are more likely fanciful tales. He did promote the legacy of the Pony with his Wild West show reenactments. Even if he wasn't a rider, he too was a legend in his own time--talented and famous.There are many brief biographies, tales of lesser-knowns, politics, etc such as: Jack Slade, killer and scourge, William Campbell at first rejected as a rider for being too big, 6-feet tall and 140 lbs; Sir Richard Burton a cranky Brit explorer with delightfully caustic comments on the American West and its people; Ned Buntline the prodigious Western dime novelist; Joseph Smith and his Mormons; Elijah "Nick" Wilson the White Indian, a Mormon boy who ran away from home to join the Indians (supposedly something kids did back then) as a teen he joined the Pony.The author: gives a geography lesson on the Great Salt Lake and desert; tells of Kit Carson and the mapping of the West; the 1849 Comstock Lode a "silver rush"; the Paiute Indian War which temporarily halted the Pony Express; even briefly covering the Donner Party and trail through the Sierra Nevada pass. Snow and cold, just another hardship the riders faced.Wells Fargo & Company ended up with the US mail route and the remains of the Pony service. The story ends with details of what happened to some of the Pony riders, station superintendents and the three partners. Some went on to success and long lives, others faced tragedy or died young..The story is fabulous and enjoyable to read. The author uses time period letters and articles which adds an old west ambience. It seems like everything one might want to know about the 1860s, the decades preceding it and those after, can be found here in this telling. The money details and troubles of the three partners can get a bit dull, maybe too much detail. Mostly it's a compelling story.Loved it. ..

In this new history of the unique and short-lived Pony Express, DeFelice strives to give a deeper context to the events surrounding "the Pony," and includes the sectional crisis, westward pioneers, 1849 Gold Rush, US elections, Mormon settlement and the Mormon War, Indian issues, and many of the colorful characters involved in and around the Pony. Lots of interesting stories, including tragedies and legends. For the most part, DeFelice fairly represents the interwoven history of the American West and gives us a glimpse of the bravery and resourcefulness of the Pony Express riders and station workers during one of the most interesting times in American history.

"The complications come when historians try to separate fact from fiction. Most of them end up twisted in knots."😂One of my reading goals for this year was to dig into some Western material (fiction too) to help cover a blindspot in my own understanding of American history and culture. I saw this on the library stacks and I'm glad I gave it a whirl. The casual, dryly-humored tone throughout makes the book highly readable and keeps things moving through what sometimes feels like too many names and details. Overall, a really well done and fascinating picture of the (surpisingly short-lived) Pony Express and the broader American story it transported. I learned something.

West Like Lightning is a fun, very entertaining look at the brief history of the Pony Express. While the Pony Express only ran for 18 months, it has lived on in myth and legend ever since it's first days. Jim DeFelice does a good job of presenting the story of the Pony Express, using the delivery of the news of Abraham Lincoln's election along the route of the Pony as the framework to talk about the people that built and operated the Pony Express, from the business men who thought up the idea, to the riders and station masters who staffed the route. I found using this method of presenting the history of the Pony Express to be quite interesting as most histories are presented in a chronological order. What DeFelice does is use a geographic order (east to west along the route) and mixes up the chronology as he goes, jumping forward and backward in time to suite the narrative. It took a little bit to get used to, but was an effective tool for talking about the Pony.In a few places I found that DeFelice went on a few longer tangents, straying from the main narrative about the Pony to talk about some of the more famous people associated with the Pony Express, or who provided contemporary (relatively) commentary about the men who rode the express. From Samuel Clemens, to Buffalo Bill Cody, and "Wild Bill" Hickok, DeFelice adds longish biographies that liven up the story, but seemed to ramble and stray at times from the focus of the narrative on the Pony Express. (That doesn't mean that I didn't find this information interesting or informative, I just wondered at times when we'd get back to talking about the Pony Express.)I did learn a lot about the Pony Express, and the period in 1860 and '61 when it was in operation. Learning that towns like St. Joseph, Missouri courted and provided incentives to the owners of the Pony Express to anchor the eastern terminus of the route - in the same way that cities today court large companies to build their factories or headquarters - was very interesting. Or how the Pony Express was never intended to ever be a money maker, or to last beyond the time it took to build the telegraph lines. That it had a planned obsolescence was quite interesting. Overall I recommend West Like Lightning. If you have any interest in American history, an interest in the Old West, or a look into how people dealt with the harsh conditions of moving across and settling the western part of the country, then you will enjoy Jim's look into the Pony Express.I listened to the audiobook version of this book, narrated by John Pruden. There were no problems with the audio production and Mr. Pruden does a great job of bringing the history and people of the Pony Express to life.

I'm going to round up and give this book four stars on Goodreads, but three and a half would be my final verdict.What I like the most about West Like Lightning is how the author covered a lot history around the short lived Pony Express to help give context. This information clarified what was happening in America around that time and the background of key people associated with this mail service. Keep in mind that Jim DeFelice went a mile wide but only a couple of inches deep in the topics that he discussed. The tangential details that stuck out to me the most was the brief overview of Mormon history up to the 1860's.The information presented was arranged geographically starting in the east at St. Joseph, Missouri and ending in San Francisco, California as the book follows the delivery of the news that Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election. Overall this structure worked well given the topic at hand, though peripheral subject matters could be a bit confusing since they weren't in chronological order. The author would jump around in the timeline to explain things as the location of the various points of interests showed up in his journey westward along the trail.There were only two things that bothered me during the course of this book. The first was the authors use of fictional style of writing to set up what the Pony Express rider in St. Joseph, Missouri might have been doing when waiting for the election results to be delivered. Writing what you imagine could have happened in a narrative style doesn't belong in a history book. If there isn't documented information, don't write as if it could have happened. Luckily, this style wasn't prominent and the 'tale' of the rider was only used to transition from one section to another.The other irksome aspect of this book was the author's propensity to use everyday speaking vernacular throughout the text. I love history books that take you on an enthralling (but factual) journey and are comprehensible. The rejoinders peppered throughout the pages detracted from the overall flow and felt sophomoric to me.To end on a positive note, Jim DeFelice did a good job reiterating that the history surrounding the Pony Express is full of tall tales and that information passed down needs to be taken with a grain, if not at times a boulder, of salt.

The history of the American West seems made up of equal parts fact and legend. The country’s westward expansion became shorthand for a fundamental definition of “American-ness” which still reverberates into the present day. This was a time of rugged individualism, of striving against heavy odds, advancement and overcoming nature herself. Of course, this was also a time of religious and racial conflict, of violence and vigilantism, of a casual imperialism justified by Manifest Destiny. We must own both sides of our collective psyche. In this world of rapid advancement and easy violence, the Pony Express looms large. The stories (real and legendary) of lone riders setting off against harsh deserts and mountain ranges, hostile natives, lawless bandits, and unpredictable weather exemplify the best aspects of our views on the Wild West. This book is a history of the Pony Express. But by necessity it is also a book about myth, and legend, and place. The thread of the narrative wanders through time and geography like a rider picking his way over rough terrain. We follow a series of riders as they deliver a single missive from Missouri to California: Abraham Lincoln has won the 1860 presidential election. Westerns (with some notable exceptions) have fallen a bit out of favor in recent decades as we grapple with the less savory aspects of America’s westward push. But it remains an utterly fascinating, and tragic, part of our history. Jim DeFelice shows us the history. And the legends. He shows us how they weave together and how to tease them apart. He presents us with both a fascinating history and a compelling story. History buffs, or anyone who’s interest had been piqued by shows like WestWorld or Deadwood should definitely give this book a go.An advanced copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

Born April 3, 1860, died Oct. 24, 1861: The Central Overland and Pikes Peak Express Company, aka "The Pony Express." For a mere 18 months, during which the United States lurched toward dissolution, intrepid young men on fast horses riding between relay stations about 10 miles apart kept the west coast connected with the midwest and eastern states, transporting messages from the end of the telegraph at St. Joseph MO to Sacramento CA in 10 days across plains, deserts, and mountains. To tell the story of the Pony, author DeFelice traces the route of mail pouch carrying the news of Abraham Lincoln's surprising election in November, 1860. He describes the riders, the horses, the stations, the perils of marauding Native Americans, blizzards, bandits and horse thieves. He describes each of the Pony's districts and recounts the tales of the legendary characters such as Jim Bridger, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickock. We learn about Samuel Colt, inventor of the revolver, Samuel Morse and the telegraph, and Joseph Smith and the Mormon pioneers. A major emphasis is on the Pony's doomed business plan and shaky financing and how it eventually led to Wells Fargo and the extension of express service and later the railroads throughout the west. De Felice includes a wealth of supporting material, maps, rosters of riders, and photographs, many taken when he himself traced the route of the Pony, as well as an analysis of how the legends of the Pony Express influenced the genre of western fiction from writers such as Ned Buntline, theater (Buffalo Bill) and film. Throughout he carefully differentiates fact from fiction and legends from actual history in an easily readable style.

DeFelice is a fine writer of non-fiction and a tour-de-force historical researcher. The better writers have a nifty habit of associating relative events, personas, and places. Jim is no exception. The story of the Pony Express is, itself, quite interesting, but due to the short-lived nature of the service it's really all the associated drama of the era that gives this book its substance. There were maybe a few paragraphs toward the end of the story that became somewhat repetitive, but generally speaking Mr. DeFelice ties the accounts together nicely. It was a good read and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the Pony Express, or the years immediately preceding the Civil War. Or hell, even those interested in western geography and trails of the Old West frontier... the birth, settlement[s], and early days of Mormonism... some Native American accounts... etc. Like I said, DeFelice covers a lot of background information in fleshing out the book.

I visited a Pony Express marker on the Pony Express Trail in Utah. It's near a recreated Pony Express Station by Simpson Springs where wild Mustang herds still water. I wondered what tales that old trail could tell from 1860 to 1861 when the Pony was in operation. West Like Lightning by Jim DeFelice told me a lot: the business ventures, the lawlessness, the Indian Wars, the United States on the brink of Civil War, the election of Abraham Lincoln, but most of all, the Pony Express Riders--young, fearless, honorable--embody the spirit of America. As Mr. DeFelice put it, "The Pony is the perfect transport vehicle for the things we still value in America, and for the realities we, as a nation, continue to face: speed, courage, individualism..."

An interesting account of the short, happy and eventually demise of a truly American legend of the Pony Express.The young men who rode across the untamed west from St. Joseph Missouri to San Francisco, California and made it in spite of weather, dead end trails and of course Indian's ( not much though as the westerns of fiction, movies and television would later protray).The stories of the riders, the wannabe's and the businessmen are all depicted, whether they spun the tales of riding or not. Buffalo Bill Cody, himself might have done some work for the Pony, but his claim to fame was to bring back the stories into his Wild West Show in late 19th and early 20th centuries, to spur the imagination that still lives with American's today.Highly recommended.

Right away, one of the most amazing facts about the legendary Pony Express is that it lasted a mere 18 or so months. And another of the most amazing facts is that it was intended to exist only a short time.The Pony Express ran mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. But it was only a demonstration for the men who started it. They really wanted a normal mail contract from the U.S. government, and the Pony, as it was called, was a way to show that they could deliver the mail.The cliché of only single young riders was just that, something added after the Pony was over, as was most of the legend. For example, the one man who did more than anyone to burn the Pony Express into the consciousness of the nation, Buffalo Bill Cody, likely never rode it. But his Wild West show helped turn it into a Western legend.The author uses the device of the 1860 presidential election to tell his story with aplomb and humor. He recounts the stories, legends and tall tales as we follow the news that Lincoln had won all the way from the East to the West just a few days later, which was a revelation.Just months after opening, the telegraphs came along – and there was a telegraph station that the Pony delivered to, in fact. As the Pony wrapped up, the telegraph took over, and the men who started the Pony had their hand in the transcontinental railroad, too.This is a fun, fast-moving story and a must if you’re interested in the stories of the Wild West.Recommended.This book was won from Library Thing.For more of my reviews, go to Ralphsbooks.

I won a copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways.I learned so much from this book, even though a lot of it is basically saying "Hey, I found this information somewhere and there's almost no way to prove or disprove it." The Pony Express has taken on such a life of its own in popular culture that it's nearly impossible to even remember where you learned most of the things you think you know about it. This book is well written, interesting, quick to read, and gives a whole new perspective on the Pony.