Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Great Literature, Not Great History, January 30, 2001
This review is from: Blue Jacket: War Chief of the Shawnees (Paperback)
Allan Eckert is unquestionably a fine writer. However, he is not a great historian. Eckert chooses to ignore certain source material and emphasize dubious or even discredited sources in order to mold the story of Blue Jacket into his own chosen image of Blue Jacket. As one prior review has stated, recent DNA evidence indicates that Blue Jacket and the Swearingens were not related. While this DNA evidence was unvailable at the time of publication of this book, there is other evidence which refutes Eckert's claims. If Eckert would have taken advantage of available source materials, he would have discovered that the real Blue Jacket was much older than the white boy who allegedly became the chief. In addition, no one who ever met the chief and wrote about him ever mentioned his whiteness. In the case of other Indians who were racially white, this fact is constantly mentioned by white observers. In sum, Eckert is a fine writer of literature based on (some) historical evidence, but his historical accuracy is, at best, questionable.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent account of a truly amazing individual's life., June 28, 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Blue Jacket: War Chief of the Shawnees (Paperback)
This outstanding piece of literature gives the reader a true feeling of understanding for one of our nation's most amazing, yet forgotten, individuals.
Eckert's work turns the facts of Marmaduke VanSwearingen's (Blue Jacket) life into a panoramic view of a different time and place. He realizes that in order to truly appreciate Blue Jacket, one must first understand the times in which he lived. Eckert expertly sets the stage and tells the tale of a young nation whose expanding borders cannot contain two cultures, and of a complex man who fights for what he believes in. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the Ohio Valley or the Shawnee Culture.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book about my great,great,great,great,grandfather!, August 15, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Blue Jacket: War Chief of the Shawnees (Paperback)
Yes, it's true this book is about my great,great,great,great grandfather! His granddaughter married a Bingham & that's how I became to be down the line! But, if you want to read a book about a brave boy who became one of the greatest war chiefs in Shawnee history this is the book for you! Mr. Eckert did a wonderful job telling the story about Blue Jacket's life. This is a treasured book in my family! And I hope that it becomes one of yours! Please read & enjoy! :-)
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