The first half is a carefully researched, day-by-day recreation of the raid by Rogers' Rangers on the Indian village at Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec (or Saint Francis, to the Americans troops), a settlement of the Abenakis, an American Indian tribe. The second half of the novel covers Rogers' later life in London, England and Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan. Roberts' decision to cover the novel's material in two distinct halves followed the actual trajectory of Rogers' life.

    

    

    For each of the 366 days of the year (including February 29th), several substantial essays explore significant events through their anniversaries or through the birthdays of the individuals involved. Religious and secular holidays are included, but this book goes far beyond recording the well-known history of celebrations and festivals. Here the reader will find in-depth treatments of a wide variety of events of military, scientific, ethnic, political, or cultural significance. This completely updated and revised Fourth Edition of The American Book of Days expands the coverage of American history by substantially increasing the number of articles that were published in the 1978 Third Edition. The new essays serve a dual purpose: They keep the reader informed of the most important events in American history during the past years, and they apprise the student or researcher of significant developments that occurred prior to 1978 but were not included in the Third Edition, such as the life of Malcolm X.