“[A] truly eye-opening volume, which lays aside the traditional travels of so long ago, and neatly places each excursion within two major themes—that of place and landscape. … Milson has given us a new way to examine these travels and the Arkansas Travelers themselves.”
—Maylon Rice, Fort Smith Historical Society Journal, September 2019
“Andrew J. Milson reconceptualizes the Mississippi River Valley and the American South of the early American republic in his new work on travelers and explorers. Using the methodology of historical geography, Milson enhances our understanding of the region and its landscapes—both physical and cultural. In particular, he looks at the expeditions and travels of George Hunter and William Dunbar, Thomas Nuttall, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, and George William Featherstonhaugh. Arkansas Travelers: Geographies of Exploration and Perception, 1804–1834 covers the thirty years after the Louisiana Purchase and gives readers a new perspective on Arkansas’s transition from territory to statehood.”
—Joseph Key, Journal of Southern History, May 2021
“Anyone with an interest in the historical geography of territorial Arkansas will find this monograph indispensable. This work also is recommended for anyone curious about frontier travel and the life of American settlers west of the lower Mississippi River.”
—Steven L. Driever, Historical Geography, Volume 48, 2020