Book 49
49 Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History S.C. Gwynne (USA, 2011)
This is a historical account of the war between the Comanches and the frontier settlers that ends with the reservation days and the death of Quanah Parker.
Empire of the Summer Moon is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist.
Epic is an appropriate adjective for this account of a period of American History that, despite the tragedies, has given birth to more myths and movies than perhaps any other. I am impressed by the author's ability to preserve the sense of fascination we have for the frontier days without allowing it to stand in the way of truth.
Thus, Gwynne tells the story of ruthless fighters, ignorant soldiers and more pragmatic ones, kidnapped settlers who slowly forget the society they were born in, and the overall extreme violence of those days. He always stays away from the stereotypes that pervade the media, such as the ubiquitous noble savage, which makes it a reliable book from beginning to end
4/5
This is a historical account of the war between the Comanches and the frontier settlers that ends with the reservation days and the death of Quanah Parker.
Empire of the Summer Moon is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist.
Epic is an appropriate adjective for this account of a period of American History that, despite the tragedies, has given birth to more myths and movies than perhaps any other. I am impressed by the author's ability to preserve the sense of fascination we have for the frontier days without allowing it to stand in the way of truth.
Thus, Gwynne tells the story of ruthless fighters, ignorant soldiers and more pragmatic ones, kidnapped settlers who slowly forget the society they were born in, and the overall extreme violence of those days. He always stays away from the stereotypes that pervade the media, such as the ubiquitous noble savage, which makes it a reliable book from beginning to end
4/5