The author attempts to document an unvarnished history of the American expansion , drawing on a treasure chest of documents and personal accounts. Limerick views the American West as a place rather than as a process. In land area it covers more than half of today’s United States. It is an important meeting ground where Indian America, Latin America, Anglo-America and Asia intersected. Its languages and cultures were more diverse than the Northeast and Southern United States.

The West is often portrayed as a combination of good guys and bad guys, but Limerick points out that the truth is much more complex. From the beginning of the westward expansion to the present day, the American West is full of competing interests. Throughout history the Federal Government has played a significant role, frequently at odds with the dream of freedom by people who are living in wide open spaces.