The Undiscovered Country

Triumph, Tragedy, and the Shaping of the American West

By: Paul Andrew Hutton

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

From the author of The Apache Wars, the true story of the American West, revealing how American ambition clashed with the realities of violence and exploitation

The epic of the American West became a tale of progress, redemption, and glorious conquest that came to shape the identity of a new nation. Over time a darker story emerged—one of ghastly violence and environmental spoliation that stained this identity.

The Undiscovered Country strips away the layers of myth to reveal the true story of this first epoch of American history. From the forests of Pennsylvania and Kentucky to the snow-crested California Sierras, and from the harsh deserts of the Southwest to the buffalo range of the Great Plains, Paul Andrew Hutton masterfully chronicles a story that defined America and its people. From Braddock’s 1755 defeat to the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre, he unfolds a grand narrative steeped in romantic impulses and tragic consequences.

Hutton uses seven main protagonists—Daniel Boone, Red Eagle, Davy Crockett, Mangas Coloradas, Kit Carson, Sitting Bull, and William “Buffalo Bill” Cody—as the biographical threads by which to weave a tapestry across seven generations, revealing a story of heroic conquest and dark tragedy, of sacrifice and greed, and of man-made wonders and environmental ruin.

The American frontier movement has proven eternally fascinating around the world—the subject of countless books, paintings, poems, television shows, and films. The Undiscovered Country reveals the truth behind America’s great creation myth.



Courtesy of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming; Whitney Western Art Museum; Conquest of the Prairie by Irving R. Bacon; 14.64

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of maps from the book.

Fair minded characterization of difficult topics

Excellent telling of much American history I am surprised never to have heard. So many important persons that I had only heard of but didn’t know. I will relisten to much of this and share with others.

Entertaining and Enthralling

The Undiscovered Country is excellent. It is both entertaining and captivating. The performance is excellent: the best on Audible. The story is informative and exciting. I recommend to each and every person who loves listening to books on Audible. Paul Andrew Hutton and Jonathan Yen are commended. Thank you so much!

A so-so telling of yet another tale of European conquest.

Overall, this telling left me less than impressed. In reality, the story of the European conquest of the American frontier began no later than 1492. I am, for one, ready for a history of America that cuts clearly, concisely and deeply through the creation myth that is taught in American schools. At this point in our history, I am not convinced it can be done objectively by an American.