The Undiscovered Country: Triumph, Tragedy, and the Shaping of the American West

by Paul Andrew Hutton

From the author of The Apache Wars, the true story of the American West, revealing how American ambition clashed with the realities of violence and exploitation

The epic of the American West became a tale of progress, redemption, and glorious conquest that came to shape the identity of a new nation. Over time a darker story emerged—one of ghastly violence and environmental spoliation that stained this identity.

In The Undiscovered Country, Paul Andrew Hutton strips away the layers of myth to reveal the true story of this first epoch of American history. From the forests of Pennsylvania and Kentucky to the snow-crested California Sierras, and from the harsh deserts of the Southwest to the buffalo range of the Great Plains, Hutton masterfully chronicles a story that defined America and its people. From Braddock’s 1755 defeat to the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre, Hutton unfolds a grand narrative steeped in romantic impulses and tragic consequences.

Hutton uses seven main protagonists—Daniel Boone, Red Eagle, Davy Crockett, Mangas Coloradas, Kit Carson, Sitting Bull, and William “Buffalo Bill” Cody—as the biographical threads by which to weave a tapestry across seven generations, revealing a story of heroic conquest and dark tragedy, of sacrifice and greed, and of man-made wonders and environmental spoliation on an epic scale.

The American frontier movement has proven eternally fascinating around the world—the subject of countless books, paintings, poems, television shows, and films. The Undiscovered Country reveals the truth behind America’s great creation myth.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Westerns, Nature, Native Americans, Biography

576 pages, Hardcover

First published August 5, 2025

Reviews

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of a country in four lives is the basic premise of The Undiscovered Country by Paul Andrew Hutton. I really enjoyed Hutton's previous book, The Apache Wars, so I had high hopes for this one. Like many great sequels, this one is bigger and also better.

Hutton looks at the expansion of the U.S. from before the revolution to the end of the Wild West. He uses four people as the lenses to look through for each time period. You may have heard of Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Caron, and Buffalo Bill before. I did have some worries that Hutton many end up too high-level by focusing on specific lives, but I was quite happy how fast paced the book felt without losing a tremendous amount of detail. Sure, the Apache Wars got their own book, but Hutton is able to pack a lot into a little.

This is a great book for someone who is not too well-versed in the people and time periods covered. It's just simply very good and worth a read.

(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by NetGalley and Dutton Books.)

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC

I’d like to thank Dutton and NetGalley for the opportunity to give “The Undiscovered Country” a read in return for an honest review.

I am one that absolutely loved the history of the American west. Westward expansion and frontier life is something that I grew up around, being in the area where the Comstock Lode occurred. With that, I’ve always had a desire to find out as much as I could about the west, and this book seemed to be one that was going to give me everything I wanted.

And, to some degree, it did. This book is meticulously researched, which is an impressive feat, knowing the scope of this book. This cover over a century of activity within the country, offering up detailed examinations of events that lead to the men covered within to go westward. It truly feels like a labor of love, since it feels like Hutton himself has a personal stake in this and did what he could to do it justice.

My biggest issue was that the book felt like it lacked a point of view. The events throughout are presented in a matter-of-fact way, reading more like a textbook than account of westward expansion. As interesting as the subject matter was, this book tended to drag, which left me wanting to read as quickly as I could so I could move on to another chapter. It was interesting to read about, but the way the information was distributed left me wanting more.

However, I didn’t hate this book by any means, and I know it’s going to be one that history buffs are going to eat up. I was surprised to get through it as quickly as I did, even if it wasn’t for the best of reasons. I still found this to be an interesting one, albeit one that was more drab than entertaining. Still, it’s a great read for anyone wanting to brush up on some American history, especially pre-Revolution, which I found to be some of the most interesting sections to read.

Be sure to check “The Undiscovered Country” by Paul Andrew Hutton when it is published on August 5, 2025.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read about the opening of the American West starting with the expansion beyond the Appalachian mountains. It is told through four main characters: Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson and Buffalo Bill Cody. While there are several more detailed biographies about each, the author does a very good job of weaving the timelines together to present overview of the development of the west and pulls no punches in the process. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the development of the United States through it’s westward expansion.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

[Peter Tillman]

High marks from the WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/book...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"In 1754, a 22-year-old newly promoted Lt. Col. George Washington led a ragtag band of militia through the wilds of western Pennsylvania on behalf of the British Crown. His assignment was to recruit Native American allies and search for French troops rumored to be lurking near the strategically vital Forks of the Ohio. Washington found the French, and in a skirmish he bested them and captured the ensign in command, who declared himself an emissary with a message for the British to abandon the contested country. Tanaghrisson, the leader of Washington’s Native American warriors, stepped forward. As a horrified Washington looked on, the chief sank his tomahawk into the ensign’s skull and then washed his hands in the man’s brains. “And thus,” writes Paul Andrew Hutton, “with a single tomahawk blow, did Tanaghrisson incite the Seven Years’ War between France and England, as well as the forty-year conflict between the Americans and the Native tribes for possession of the Ohio Country.” ...

With “The Undiscovered Country,” Mr. Hutton has produced the definitive popular history of the American West."

Looking forward to reading this one!

[Dr. Alan Albarran · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Undiscovered Country is a nice addition to the vast literature that attempts to portray the founding of the American West. Author Paul Andrew Hutton takes on this challenge by focusing on 7 protagonists crucial to American Western History: Daniel Boone, Red Eagle, Davy Crockett, Mangas Coloradas, Kit Carson, Sitting Bull, and William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Many readers will recognize names like Boone, Crockett, and Carson; the addition of the other four opens up areas of history that many of us have likely not read much about.

The research is first-rate; the writing crisp and engaging. The author takes history and nonfiction and turns it into compelling reading. If you are a fan of history, and want to learn more about how the West was founded, this is a must read for you.

I give the book 5 stars.

My thanks to the author, Penguin Publishing Group (Dutton), and NetGalley for an opportunity to review an ARC of this new book. I attest my review is my own unbiased work.

[Len Boselovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sweeping version of the American creation myth has it all: larger-than-life "heroes" who were a jumble of contradictions; rapacious adventurists; relentless free enterprise; bigotry and self-righteousness; scheming colonial powers; violence of epic proportions; and a misunderstood people who had their land stolen from them. In short, it's America history, no matter what the revisionists attempting to rewrite history might say. There's just as much to be ashamed of here as there is to be proud about.

[Marshall Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book! A very readable, but authoritative, history of the opening of the American frontier. The chapters on Kit Carson were especially eye opening. He also discusses one of my favorite Americans, Daniel Morgan, a teamster for the Braddock campaign, a commander of riflemen at Quebec and Saratoga, and a tactical genius at the Battle of the Cowpens.

[Kim Johnson]

This comprehensive history of the American West piqued my interest has I have deep roots in the Southwest. The author approaches the subject chronologically and geographically. Seven protagonists are introduced and followed including Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill Cody and their presence humanizes the stories. The author presented a balanced picture of the conflicting interests and philosophies of the various parties who come into contact with each other including Native American tribes, explorers, pioneers, gold rush followers and Civil War combatants. The book develops a very vivid and broad picture of the evolution of the American West. I wish there had been a smarter resolution to this clash of cultures.

[Richard Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars easily. Designed for anyone who has an interest in American history and wants a single volume to give a broad but yet detailed telling of how the US expanded from the Atlantic to the Pacific from the time of the French and Indian war to the death of Buffalo Bill Cody. You get a pretty detailed account of the lives of some notables including Washington, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson and finally Buffalo Bill Cody. The text is well written and the section of notes at the end that provide the story line is extensive. If you desire a single volume accounting, you couldn't do much better than this. I definitely have to read the Apache Wars in the future.

[Brandon Gryder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite non fiction book of the year so far. The author does a fantastic job of telling the history of the west with an unvarnished eye and without revising history to placate any side , political or otherwise. The book follows an unbroken cast of historical figures West, from George Washington to Kit Carson. He does this with one degree of separation between each person. Amazing and highly recommended.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular. I do not have much useful to say about the content, but this is the sort of book that makes you appreciate the deep richness of history that you have heard about (Bowie, Carson and Cody, mostly for me) but that you absolutely failed to fully appreciate, both for its own sake and for how it is so interwoven in the larger story of the American west and America in general.

I simply could not put it down.

[Michael Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Undiscovered Country by Paul Andrew Hutton is a really interesting look at the American West. It tells the stories of famous people like Davy Crockett, Sitting Bull, and Buffalo Bill, showing both the exciting and the dark sides of westward expansion. Hutton does a good job of making history easy to follow, and it really makes you think about how complicated that time was.

[Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hutton does an excellent job in detailing the life and times of the main characters that were part of the move West and all of its implications from the mid 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century.
Solid read on the history of the American West and sharing all of the tragedies that were part of the story.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW! What a read about the shaping of the American West.

I won an ARC from Goodreads.

[Lou Chodosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweeping account of the American west , told objectively and clearly. A must read for anyone interested in the development of America .

[Ann Hriciga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly researched. Would have liked more discussion from an Indigenous people's viewpoint, but rounded up from 4.5 due to the references used.

[GagaMr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great concept and... a matching great read. Despite the long subtitle, it's pacing is not an issue.