Pathfinder: John Charles Fremont and the Course of American Empire - Hardcover

Tom Chaffin, author of Fatal Glory: Narciso López and the First Clandestine U.S. War Against Cuba, teaches at Emory University. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Harper's, The Nation and other publications. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

“With this superb biography, the reader is soon convinced that Frémont’s life is well worth examining, not only for its dizzying ups and downs but also for its intersection with so many hugely important themes in the nation’s history . . . Chaffin’s masterful grasp of storytelling creates a deeply nuanced portrait of a man of many parts . . . There’s something here for every history buff: gripping accounts of Frémont’s expeditions to map the rugged terrain of the West; insightful portrayals of Frémont’s allies and adversaries that reveal the author’s deep understanding of how power is wielded in both political and nonpolitical settings; and suberb analysis of the philosophical underpinnings of American empire.”
-Publishers Weekly, September 23, 2002
"A comprehensive, lively study of one of America's greatest - and most controversial - explorers . . . of great interest to students of Western History."
-Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2002

"More than any other American, John C. Frémont became the pathfinder for a vast inland empire stretching from the Mississippi Valley to the Pacific Ocean. In a biography that, like its subject, never knows a dull moment, Tom Chaffin captures the spectacular successes as well as failures of this complex and colorful character."
-James McPherson, Princeton University

"Throughout the 19th century the most celebrated explorer in America was not Lewis or Clark or Pike or Powell. It was the extraordinary 'Pathfinder,' John Charles Frémont. In his mesmerizing biography, Tom Chaffin brings to life not only Frémont but the amazing personalities who populated his world, including William Clark, Kit Carson, Robert E. Lee, and Abraham Lincoln. Near the end of his life, Frémont's remarkable wife Jessie Benton Frémont, remarked to her husband that 'All your campfires have become cities.' Today the American empire we see throughout the West is the enduring legacy of Frémont's campfires."
-Landon Jones, former Managing Editor, People Magazine

"John Charles Frémont and the Course of American Empire is the most eloquent, understanding and yet very candid biography of Frémont that has appeared to date. As the first general mapper of the West he reinvented the West for Americans as a key to their 'rising empire.' Tom Chaffin's beautifully written, dramatic biography of Frémont is a welcome major contribution to American historical writing. "
-Howard R. Lamar, Yale University

"John Charles Fremont was a man--some would say *the* man-epitomizing mid-19th century America's driven, supremely confident spirit. Tom Chaffin has brought his remarkable character back into our midst, and by doing that he has shown us something of the heroism and blindnesses of that pivotal time in the nation's history."
-Elliott West, University of Arkansas

"A masterful story teller, Tom Chaffin vividly narrates the personal as well as private lives of Frémont and the other colorful figures of his generation who pushed America to the Pacific. Drawing from his own deep exploration of the sources, Chaffin judiciously explains rather than blames his controversial protagonist."
-David J. Weber, Southern Methodist University

"In clear and vivid language, Tom Chaffin's Pathfinder recreates the life of John C. Frémont, allowing us to see this extraordinary man warts and all. More, Chaffin shows us Frémont's importance to the great issues of his day. Explorer, soldier, businessman, politician, Frémont as much as any man, lived the ambitions of American empire and the ideals of the American republic."
-Elliott J. Gorn, Purdue University