A Yankee in Creole Country: The Unfinished Vision of Justus Post in Frontier St. Louis
These evocative letters penned by Justus Post between 1807 and 1821 open a window into mid-America’s storied frontier past. They reveal the personal ambitions and private thoughts of their author, a classically educated Yankee promoter who arrived in St. Louis in 1815 with a wad of cash and a belief that the American heartland was destined to become the center of the greatest empire in the world. In telling Post’s story and making these documents available to a wider audience, Elizabeth Sayad has performed a valuable service. Anyone interested in Missouri’s early days will find much to savor in this fine publication.
