Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award A New York Times Notable Book Winner of the Texas Book Award and the Oklahoma Book Award This New York Times bestseller and stunning historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West “is nothing short of a revelation…will leave dust and blood on your … control of the American West “is nothing short of a revelation…will leave dust and blood on your jeans” (The New York Times Book Review).
Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.
Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands.
The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne’s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroads, and the amazing story of Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quanah—a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being.
Hailed by critics, S. C. Gwynne’s account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all, thrillingly told. Empire of the Summer Moon announces him as a major new writer of American history.
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This was a re-read for me. I liked the book so much the first time I read it years ago, that I wanted to read it again. I learned a lot about how the Indians lived when they were wild and free, and about how the U.S. Government mistreated them.
Certainly in the top 10 books I have read in the past 20 years.
One of the very best books I’ve ever read. I recommend it to everyone who asks for suggestions for a compelling book.
This is a fabulous story about an American Indian who was an extraordinary leader and escape artist from cavalry trying to eliminate his tribe. I encourage everyone to read it; well written and an important piece of history.
One of the best books I’ve read in 30 yrs.
Compellingly written. Destroys so many misconceptions from popular stereotypes. Fascinating description of frontier life, its hardships, and the inevitable clash between modern and ancient ways of life.
Reads more like a Master’s thesis. The information is not well organized but it is informative.
This is an amazing and important book about parts of the American experience that have fallen off the map of the U.S. educational system.
Within 50 years of the Spanish introducing mustangs into the plains, tribes became the greatest mounted warriors on Earth. This is the story of what happened when those tribes ran afoul of a newly modernizing bureaucracy bringing state troops, federal troops, and finally post-civil war soldiers. Amazing, spell-binding, alarming, and a solid account of how the west was transformed by the newly unifying nation.
Superb book. Well written, quick read, let’s you know more about our past relationships with the Comanche tribe that really shows you how one sided it was .
Pretty good
“Informative” is the only word out of the choices you gave above for describing this book. “Educational” should have been a suggestion, too. It cleared up so many misconceptions about our Native Americans and was very interesting.
Very informative book about days gone by and a people that were mistreated. They were a fierce people and this is a very interesting read about them. Read it.
So much content was new and incredible about an end to a majestic and fierce dynasty of early North American Indians who challenged at every step European and early white Americans for hundreds of years until they were suddenly outmanned and outgunned following the American Civil War. Very well done.
Great characters.
Incredibly thorough. Often poetic in its narrative.
Had not realized the extent of the Comanche empire. They have not received the recognition they deserved.
A very good book, informative, very interesting historical account.
I read this book out of my interest in the Native Americans. I thought it was very interesting and I learned a lot about that time in history.
While there is a wealth of information concerning the Comanche nation and the impact of western expansion, it falls short as a biography of Quannah Parker.
Told me about the Comanches that I didn’t know before.