{"product_id":"the-amazing-life-of-jeffrey-greg-olson-9780826223494","title":"The Amazing Life of Jeffrey Deroine: Enslaved Trader, Prairie Diplomat, and Missouri Settler","description":"Born into slavery in St. Louis in 1806, Jeffrey Deroine (de-rō-NAY) worked and lived in the heart of a rapidly changing nation. Forced to work in the fur trade on the Missouri River, he experienced Missouri's rapid transformation from territory to statehood. As a trader, he helped his hometown grow from a small trading center into a large river town. Later, he participated in the founding of the frontier city of St. Joseph, Missouri. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Though scraps of his life are still present in the historical record, specifics have proven elusive. Still, it is important to tell Deroine's life story, as it gives us a look both into the life of an enslaved man and the struggles of a free person of color in pre-Civil War Missouri. His life spanned a critical point in the history of the state, and he seems to have spent most of it at the very heart of the action. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Though not well known, the story of Jeffrey Deroine is significant because it illustrates the nuanced intersectionality of lives on the American frontier. Deroine was a man of both French and African descent who lived much of his life among Indigenous people. Born into slavery, he became a free person of color who was a businessman, owned property, and enslaved others. His life defied expectations and stereotypes, and a consideration of it allows us to better understand the history of Missouri and the West. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Greg Olson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0826223494\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780826223494\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Missouri Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/30\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 178\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Greg Olson","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48114073501951,"sku":"9780826223494","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_992d319c-eb77-484e-ab66-bfe02ec345d3.jpg?v=1769618941","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-amazing-life-of-jeffrey-greg-olson-9780826223494","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}