Nez Perce Summer, 1877: The US Army and the Nee-Me-Poo Crisis [Paperback]

Jerome A. Greene (Author), Alvin M. Josephy (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0917298829 | ISBN-13: 978-0917298820 | Publication Date: October 1, 2001 | Edition: 1st

Nez Perce Summer, 1877 tells the story of a people's epic struggle to survive in the face of unrelenting military force. Written by a noted frontier military historian and reviewed by members of the Nez Perce tribe, this is the most definitive treatment of the Nez Perce War to date.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The war between the nontreaty Nez Perce and the United States in 1877 is one of the more dramatic in the history of such Western conflicts. The U.S. Army troops commanded by General Howard seemed hard-pressed to keep up with masterly campaigning by the Nez Perce, led by the highly capable Chief Joseph. The Nez Perce's conduct won admiration and sympathy from even the settlers in the region, although such sympathy did not help much when the Nez Perce inevitably lost and were sent to Oklahoma (then called Indian Territory). National Park historian Greene has spent many years working in the setting of the war and has written other well-received books on Indian wars, for example, Yellowstone Command: Colonel Nelson A. Miles and the Great Sioux War. Though many libraries will have Merrill D. Beal's well-known I Will Fight No More Forever or recent titles like Bruce Hampton's Children of Grace: The Nez Perce War of 1877 (LJ 1/94), Greene's book is a comprehensive, well-researched, and well-written study of the campaign and its aftermath. Highly recommended for libraries that need more than a basic title.DCharlie Cowling, Drake Memorial Lib., SUNY at Brockport
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The story of the [Nez Perces'] escapes, hardships and ultimate defeat makes an epic struggle any Hollywood scriptwriter would admire. In Nez Perce Summer, Jerome A. Greene . . . is precise, even brilliant, in detailing the Nez Perce trail and the military groups that hounded them for weeks."ÑDenver Post

"Jerome A. Greene . . . gives the Nez Perce saga the attention it deserves. . . . Greene's expert treatment is detailed, but his narrative is never boring."ÑWild West

"The flight of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perces across mountain and plain in a quest for Canadian sanctuary is a commanding saga. . . . Applying his exceptional powers of research in breadth and depth, Jerome A. Greene has crafted the most exhaustive history yet published of this story of courage, endurance, pathos, and tragedy. His contribution fills in a wealth of missing detail and immeasurably enriches the extensive literature."ÑRobert M. Utley, author of The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull

"Unlike recent treatments of the Nez Perce Indian War, Jerome A. Greene's study adds a great deal of new information, culled from an impressive array of primary sources. His book is now the standard, and it is hard to imagine that there will ever be a better one."ÑJohn D. McDermott, author of Forlorn Hope: A Study of the Battle of White Bird Canyon and the Beginning of the Nez Perce Indian War

"The great fighting retreat of the patriotic Nez Perces, struggling for their lives, lands, and freedom, outwitting and battling off one pursuing force after another, is one of the giant epics of the American West, and the literature about it is immense. But there is no volume like this monumental account of the war by Jerome A. Greene." ÑAlvin M. Josephy, Jr., author of The Patriot Chiefs: A Chronicle of American Indian Resistance

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Montana Historical Society Press; 1st edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0917298829
• ISBN-13: 978-0917298820
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #438,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of History, March 1, 2001

By 

John D. Mackintosh (LEXINGTON, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nez Perce Summer, 1877: The U.S. Army and Nee-Me-Poo Crisis (Hardcover)

One word adequately describes this book-Superb! I have read other accounts of the Nez Perce conflict but none with this degree of detail. For example, other authors have skimmed over some of the smaller engagements of the campaign (such as Canyon Creek) but Greene gives this as well as other episodes the full treatment they deserve. In his introduction, Greene clearly states that he mainly relied on primary source material, using secondary sources for background only. This decision clearly paid off.

Footnotes are used extensively to bring to the fore conflicting testimony as well as useful background information. All of this is augmented by excellent maps that illustrate the action. Greene avoids wasting the reader's time with moralizing sermons. He correctly portrays the military as simply trying to do the job thrust upon them by their civilian masters.

Truly, the best parts of this work are the final chapters detailing the culminating conflict at Bear Paw Mountain. At last, I feel like I am on the way towards understanding this battle. I walked away from this book with new respect and understanding for Greene, the Nez Perce and the much-maligned frontier army.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greene has done his homework, February 26, 2001

By 

LaLoren - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nez Perce Summer, 1877: The U.S. Army and Nee-Me-Poo Crisis (Hardcover)

Over the years I've read a lot on the subject of the Indian Wars. However, it seems that many recent publications are just a re-hash of materials, from secondary sources, presented as a new thesis or from a new perspective. Nez Perce Summer is a notable exception. Greene has used a wealth of primary sources, many never used before, in order to turn up new information and call old notions into question.

This is not a history of the Nez Perce, it is a military history of the campaign against them. While many these days prefer their Indian wars history from an Indian perspective, they should not be deterred from reading this work. This is a history of the military campaign, not a support of it. Indeed, one cannot come away from this without being amazed at how the Nez Perce continually stumped the most experienced Indian fighters of the time.

The narrative is well-written, and Greene holds our attention as well as any fiction writer could. I highly recommend !this book to anyone--scholar or casual reader--interested in the study of the Indian Wars.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vividly drawn and engaging presented storytelling, January 10, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nez Perce Summer, 1877: The U.S. Army and Nee-Me-Poo Crisis (Hardcover)

In Nez Perce Summer 1877: The U.S. Army and the Nee-Me-Poo Crisis, research historian Jerome Green provides an informative, superbly researched, and wonderfully written account of the Nez Perce conflict with the larger white culture as represented by the U.S. Army. Green is one of those rare historians able to combine meticulous scholarship with a genuine flair for vividly drawn and engaging presented storytelling. Nez Perce Summer 1877 is ardently recommended reading for students of American frontier history in general, and Native American studies in particular.