This detailed biography of Boone places great emphasis on the woodsman's role in the early settlement of Kentucky. Several chapters describe Boone's often solo exploration of the land, his work cutting a trail and leading the first groups of settlers into the state, and his leadership at Boonesborough, the first settlement in Kentucky. The book also chronicles Boone's later life, when he was stripped of the lands he surveyed and dwelt in comfortable obscurity in Missouri. While Hartley sometimes embroiders Boone's life to make history sound more romantic and exciting, this book is accompanied by numerous illustrations such as Daniel Boone's initiation as a member of a Shawnee community. This volume also includes a copy of John Filson's first biography of Boone.
