The Last Comanche Chief: The Life and Times of Quanah Parker [Hardcover]

Bill Neeley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 2009

Critical acclaim for The Last Comanche Chief

"Truly distinguished. Neeley re-creates the character and achievements of this most significant of all Comanche leaders." -- Robert M. Utley author of The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull

"A vivid, eyewitness account of life for settlers and Native Americans in those violent and difficult times." -- Christian Science Monitor

"The special merits of Neeley's work include its reliance on primary sources and illuminating descriptions of interactions among Southern Plains people, Native and white." -- Library Journal

"He has given us a fuller and clearer portrait of this extraordinary Lord of the South Plains than we've ever had before." -- The Dallas Morning News

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Quanah Parker (1850-1911) was among the last of the free-ranging Comanche warriors who once terrorized the high plains. Parker ascended to the rank of war chief through brave acts in almost constant warfare (Comanche is a Ute word that means "wants to fight me all the time") with Anglos and other Indian nations alike. But Parker was more than a warrior, Neeley observes. A great political leader, he negotiated a peace treaty with the United States that spared his people the indignities heaped on other nations that fought back. Parker and others among Neeley's cast of characters will be familiar to fans of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. Among them are such important figures as legendary rancher Charles Goodnight and Texas Ranger Sul Ross, once Parker's enemies, later his good friends. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In 1875, Quanah Parker surrendered his people to the U.S. Army at Fort Sill, Okla.; thereafter, he would lead them on the "white man's road." Son of a Comanche chief and a white woman, he had led war parties through north Texas for 12 years. Neeley, a freelance writer, traces his life from youth to warrior chief to respected cattleman. He describes the last wars between the Comanches and settlers, the peyote ritual and pressures on Native Americans to conform to white society. Parker was a realist; when he saw that opening the reservation to settlement was inevitable, he yielded. Neeley gives a detailed account for the legal battles that culminated in the Oklahoma land rush. This is a fine portrait of the legendary chief and an illuminating glimpse into the history of the American West.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Castle Books; Second edition edition (September 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785822593
• ISBN-13: 978-0785822592
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #240,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Native American

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for everyone, December 26, 2000

By 

John Baucum (Lubbock, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Comanche Chief: The Life and Times of Quanah Parker (Hardcover)

Bill Neeley's Book- The Last Comanche Chief, The Life and Times of Quanah Parker is the most comprehensive account of the greatest Comanche chief ever to roam the plains. His book chronicles Quanah's entire life, beggining with the capture of his white mother at Parker's fort. This book details Quanah's storied war accomplishments, and also of his acclaimed rise to favor in the white man's world. Quanah befriended the nation's most powerful men, and his people benefitted from his amazing influence with the white man. It includes a section of rare photos that are just as marvelous as the rest of the book. If you have a passion for books about Native Americans, or just like to read about great leaders, Bill Neeley's book is for you.

52 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quanah Parker, American Hero, October 22, 2001

By 

R.L. McAdoo (Jakarta, Indonesia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Comanche Chief: The Life and Times of Quanah Parker (Paperback)

Bill Neeley is to be commended for a fine and well documented historical work which reads as good as a Larry McMurtry novel. No finer cast of characters could be invented than those very real people who populated Quanah Parker's world of the Texas Panhandle at the end of the 19th century. Definitely a book for those who prefer there history as it really happened. Not glossed over or compared only to the way it fits into someone's idea of what constitutes the historical "big picture". Must reading for those interested in the history of the plains Indians and real life cowboys, frontiers-folk and Texas lore. Sired by the great Commanche war chief Nocona on Cynthia Ann Parker, a young Texan captive taken in a raid on her father's ranch, Quanah Parker was the last and probably the finest example of a Commanche warrior. Although they never numbered more than 3,000 to 5,000 warriors, the Commanche stood astride the southern gateway to the west and single handedly stopped the southwestern expansion of America for 100 years. The reason Lewis and Clark were sent north to find a route to the west coast around them. So hated by the Texans that the Texas Rangers were created with the sole purpose of annihilating them. The Commanches preyed on Texan settlers along the frontier for both livelihood and sport. Quanah Parker was the last man standing. The last of the plains Indians to surrender to the US Cavalry. Never defeated in battle. Quanah led a tired band of warriors to Ft. Sill Oklahoma, gave up the fight and became a legend in his own time. Neely tells the story well, no unnecessary sentiment, no moral judgement. Just a man and his times as recounted by him in old age, his friends, his enemies and the newspapers of the day. Great fodder for a movie, the life of Quanah Parker. A genuine American hero, although I am not sure he would consider that a complement.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Balanced and Accurate, February 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Comanche Chief: The Life and Times of Quanah Parker (Hardcover)

Neeley's saga depicts the life of the man who led the last free Comanche tribe from the Texas plains into the modern world. In one lifetime Quanah successfully bridged centuries and cultures. A chasm so vast that Quanah is the only native American Chief that truly made the transition. Son of a captive girl, Cynthia Ann Parker, and son of a Chief, Peta Nocona, Quanah is a man who is truly unique in every way. Neeley's account of this man is fantastic.