ZEBULON PIKE

General Pike is one of the forgotten men of early America. But the author implies that by the end of 1813 no bar room was complete without the 34 year old dead hero's portrait. He had racked up an astounding record as a soldier/explorer of the Western frontier of his day, had always shared the hardships of his men at a time when officers could remove themselves without blame during inclement weather, and had demonstrated competence as a battle field commander. Mr. Keating has arranged this biography in strict chronological order. He has played up the explorations Pike led and transliterated the journals into understandable English. Unfortunately, the major ironies and the institutionalized hypocrisy that dogged Pike's seemingly successful career are baldly, briefly stated rather than demonstrated with any force. Thus the book remains as a minor biography for minors about a minor figure and this might have been much more. Nevertheless it supplements Middle Western American history and studies of national expansion.