Originally published over 100 years ago, The Making of the Great West is Samuel Adams Drake’s incredible description of the history of the settling of the land west of the Mississippi river. Although designed for young people, Drake makes his story attractive for adults as well who are looking for a compact intelligent view of the history of the making of the great west. Broken down into three groups; three rival civilizations (Spaniards, English and French), Birth of the American Idea and Gold in California and What it Led to. Each area has its own descriptive notes, maps, plans and pictorial illustrations.