["The Conquerors"] is a fascinating, albeit sometimes bloodthirsty and violent [tale]. If anything, the use of "hidden dialogue" enhances the story and one puts the book down feeling that this concession to the novel has not hurt the story one whit. In fact, history might have a wider audience if others would take Eckert's license without, of course, losing sight of [Francis] Parkman's call for "faithfulness to the truth of history." That's the rub, however, for few modern writers have been able to do what Eckert does so ably.

James Nelson Goodsell, "In Living History: How the Wilderness Was Won," in The Christian Science Monitor (reprinted by permission from The Christian Science Monitor; © 1971 The Christian Science Publishing Society; all rights reserved), May 13, 1971, p. 11.