Travel writer Horwitz (Blue Latitudes, etc.) combed through 18,000 biographies of "men and women who have contributed to the shaping of America" from the American National Biography to select 50 for this captivating survey of some of America's most colorful (and in some cases, forgotten) characters. Arranged chronologically from 1490–1939, these portraits convey "a sense of the narrative sweep of adventure in America." Highlights include the story of Hannah Duston, who was taken hostage after her child was murdered during an Indian attack in Massachusetts in 1697. She later escaped by scalping nine of her captors and became a New England legend, as "a symbol of feminine strength and assertiveness... [and] of the destructive power that Puritans believed was behind the feminine mask." Daredevil Samuel Patch could be considered the founder of extreme sports for his death-defying jumps, in the 1820s, off of Niagara Falls and into various other "swirling torrent[s]." Idealistic and eccentric Albert Pike embodied what Horwitz found so fascinating about many of his choices: "the conflicting impulses of the American character... twinned within the same [person]." Pike, a gifted writer and lawyer, became an ardent defender of Indian rights, winning multimillion-dollar settlements for local tribes, yet he may also "have written the ritual of the Ku Klux Klan." Horwitz has taken pains to include many women, minorities and non–native-born Americans, and the book is richer for it. Carefully selected, these brief but cogent portraits are written with humor, grace and a deep appreciation for the contributions of these largely unknown individuals. Photos, illus. (Oct.)
