I have read several David Roberts books and this one did not disappoint; he is a master of relaying the results of in-depth research to the unaware reader. The connections between Kit Carson and John C. Fremont were many, complicated, interesting and sometimes frustrating, i.e, what was it in Fremont's persona that drew the illiterate, but exceptional explorer Carson to him and his irrational goals. In this book Mr. Roberts follows their explorations to claim the West for the United States and it becomes easy to like one and totally dislike the other. ( )

I imagine A Newer World to be the precursor of Hampton Sides' riveting Blood & Thunder, which wouldn't be published for another decade. Both explore a similar subject but with many dissimilar focus points. David Robert's account is much more Frémont-focused even though Frémont's biography is historically associated with his more famous friend, the fabled mountain man and military scout Kit Carson.

Frémont had a storied life before and after his renowned expeditions with Carson. A Newer World recounts Frémont's younger life in Georgia, and of how he fell in love and eloped with Jesse Benton, the daughter of Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton. And in 1850 he was one of the first two senators from the new state of California. Frémont was also the Republican party's first presidential nominee in 1856. Apart from his expeditions, which earned him the nickname "The Pathfinder," Frémont's life intersected with many notable American events of the 19th century, including the statehood of California, the Gold Rush and the Civil War. A Newer World revisits these events in the context of his explorer days with Carson. A full account of John C. Frémont's life can be found in his various biographies. ( )