Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History [Anglais] [Broché]

Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S. C. Gwynne is an eye opening account of an often overlooked era of this country's history. S. C. Gwynne is a consummate researcher and storyteller displaying the love of his topic.

Gwynne manages to tell this multilevel, multifaceted story in a riveting manner. Relating history is a difficult task to do well. Very few authors seem to have the ability to relate history is a manner that makes it interesting and then manages to hit all the high spots. The late Barbara Tuchman did it well as did Stephen Ambrose and David G. McCullough. High praise for Gwynne? Yes, and well deserved.

Empire of the Moon examines the forty year battle waged by the Comanche nation against the constant encroachment of pioneers from the young United States. They had fought off the Spanish, French, and Mexican invaders, rolled back the Apache Nation and did a pretty good job in forestalling the American invasion. But the relentless push of westward settlement eventually won out. It is the attention to details and the development of the principle characters that makes Gwynnes book unique. This is especially true in how he deals with the young Cynthia Parker, the white girl taken captive and raised as a Comanche. She disappeared after this but eventually adopted the Comanche way of life, married a chief and became the mother of Quanah Parker, the center for Gwynne's book. Gwynne must have had access to new resources since he presents new details to the reader (new to me, anyway). At the risk of being obvious, the story of Cynthia Parker makes the purchase and reading of this book worthwhile by itself. But then the story of her son, Quanah will captivate you.

Quanah perhaps killed more Americans than any other Native-American. However, the closing years of his life, after he fought the good fight, he raised cattle, ran for the school board and attended the 1905 inauguration of Teddy Roosevelt as a personal guest of the President. Astounding!

As an amateur historian, I've concentrated on other areas of American history, especially focusing on the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne as they relate to the Little Bighorn. Empire of the Summer Moon is a new area of interest and thanks to Gwynne I will continue to read.

I highly recommend Empire of the Summer Moon.

Peace always.

Mr Gwynne has written a masterpiece. It is the story, first, of a deadly land: Endless miles of grassland with no shelter and almost no water. People died from the heat, thirst, lightning strikes, and simply from getting lost and giving up hope in an enormous area, every acre so alike in appearance that it was like looking at the water of an ocean. The primary story is of the people who wanted this deadly land and who were willing to kill for it. The Spanish. The Mexicans. The Apaches. The Comanches. The Texans. All of these people were tough and stubborn. They believed in vengeance and they went after it.
Mr Gwynne does not take sides. He describes the ruthlessness and savagery of all involved, he tells what happened and allows the reader to make his own decisions and retroactively take whatever side he wants to. But Gwynne does more than tell of people's violence. He shows the same people at home, caring and fun loving.
Chief Parker, Cynthia Parker, Ranger Hays, Colonel Mackenzie, and several others were fascinating people and Gwynne makes them real to our modern eyes. It is evident that he admires them all, for their toughness and their determination and their courage. After reading this excellent book, most of us will admire them all, too.

Whatever Hollywood version of the winning of the Old West is in your head, read Empire of the Summer Moon for the real story. The human drama of the kidnapped white girl who grew up to be the wife of a Comanche chief and the mother of the last great chief is just the locus for the historical, geographical, and political perfect storm of the nineteenth century Great Plains. It's sad and amazing.