In 1809, ruthless businessman John Jacob Astor schemes to send an overland expedition to the mouth of the Columbia River. Destination Astoria reveals the remarkable odyssey of one young fur trapper, Dutch Blackwell, who joins that enterprise.From Boston, Dutch travels cross-country with his dog and two horses to meet up with Astor’s brigade in St. Louis. Along the trail, he encounters Mountain Jack, a seasoned frontiersman. The two men form an alliance, forsaking the Astorians, and cross the continent together. During their tormented passage, the men face death from starvation, dehydration, searing heat and Indians both hateful and helpful. Crossing the uncharted wilderness becomes the ultimate test of their tenacity.Destination Astoria, an enthralling story steeped in history, moves across the unforgiving heartland with the fury of a prairie storm. With vivid descriptions, thoughtful characters and brutal twists, it portrays a lost breed of adventurous frontiersman who helped blaze the Oregon Trail.If you enjoyed the classic novel ‘The Last of the Mohicans,’ you will love Destination Astoria. 'Destination Astoria brings alive the little-known, troubled period after the American Revolution, but just before the War of 1812. The author's descriptions, whether of a waterfront dive in Boston, a U.S. Army stockade in the Louisiana Territory, or a flatboat on the Ohio River all ring true. Brian Ratty shows us the unusual mix of people one found west of the Appalachians in those days, from an Amish family to treacherous "river pirates" to frontiersmen. He demonstrates how each Indian tribe had its own unique culture. He also shows us both the good in people - how Jack, the mountain man, is willing to help Dutch - and the bad - Jack's disparagement of Indians and African-Americans. All in all, Brian D. Ratty is a master storyteller, and he makes the West of that long-ago era come alive.' Reviewed by Raanan Geberer for Readers' Favorite : Five Stars Why I write I write what I like to read, historical fiction rich with bold characters and powerful story lines. I shy away from gratuitous violence and descriptive sex; instead my stories portray adventure with vivid descriptions and believable plots. My goal is to whisk my reader away to another time, another place and another frame of mind... the results being a suspenseful and brisk read. Readers Wanted! Brian D. Ratty, a retired media executive and graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography, also holds an honorary Master of Science degree. He and his wife, Tess, live on the north Oregon Coast, where he writes and photographs that rugged and majestic region. Over the past thirty years, he has traveled the vast wilderness of the Pacific Coast in search of images and stories that reflect the spirit and splendor of those spectacular lands. Brian is an award-winning historical fiction novelist, and has written numerous magazine articles about the Pacific Northwest.