Astoria by Peter Stark

A gripping work of narrative history by Peter Stark chronicling John Jacob Astor’s ambitious attempt to build a fur-trading empire and establish the first American settlement on the Pacific Coast in the early nineteenth century.

In Astoria, Stark follows the perilous journeys of explorers, trappers, sailors, and traders who crossed unmapped wilderness, dangerous rivers, and the Pacific Ocean in pursuit of wealth, expansion, and national influence. Blending survival story, frontier history, and adventure narrative, the book vividly captures the brutality, uncertainty, and immense scale of the American West before modern settlement.

Richly researched and fast-paced, Astoria is an immersive read for anyone interested in exploration, early American history, the Pacific Northwest, survival, and the dramatic realities of westward expansion.