Astoria and Empire

"We have long needed a new academic assessment of John Jacob Astor's venture on the Columbia. That enterprise had important potential for expanding American commercial trade throughout the Pacific Rim; yet it is often portrayed as little more than an ill-conceived and undercapitalized probe destined to fail. Ronda gives us the most complete analysis to date. He is one of the very best craftsmen writing in the field of western history today."-William R. Swagerty, University of Idaho.