A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh [Hardcover]

Allan W Eckert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1992

A biography of the famous Shawnee describes Tecumseh's plan to amalgamate all North American tribes into one people, his role as statesman and military strategist, and his death in the Battle of Thames. 35,500 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though there are many biographies of the great Shawnee chief Tecumseh (1768-1813), this effort by historical novelist Eckert ( The Frontiersman ) may spark new interest--and controversy--with its "hidden dialogue" technique. After more than 25 years of research, the author felt free to recreate Tecumseh's conversations and thoughts in what proves to be an entertaining blend of fact and fiction. The orator and organizer's life was shaped by his tribe's tragic confrontation with westward-moving whites, who encroached on Native American lands along the Ohio River valley. His long struggle against this dispossession led Tecumseh to create a historic confederacy of tribes, but this crowning achievement was destroyed by his own brother at Tippecanoe in 1811. Eckert's dialogue is clunky, yet his colorful evocation of this seminal American figure will be more broadly accessible than are drier, more factual accounts.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A spirited but misdirected stab at a definitive biography of the great Shawnee warrior, from prolific historian and novelist Eckert, whose six-volume nonfiction The Winning of America series (Twilight of Empire, Gateway to Empire, etc.) paved the way for this epic. Employing what he terms ``narrative biography'' as a touchstone (and as an apparent euphemism for poetic license), Eckert embarks on a quest for the real Tecumseh, seeking a life buried beneath countless legends and tales. The result is a mammoth account of a remarkable American from the spectacular moment of his birth--concurrent with the appearance of a brilliant shooting star- -to his sudden death in the Battle of Thames in 1813, an event described in more than 40 different ways by ``eyewitnesses.'' Along with the portrait of a man of keen insight and ability--a natural leader who eschewed the role of chief but who sought tirelessly to unite all tribes in a pan-Indian movement--emerges a rich tapestry of Native American society in the Ohio region during Tecumseh's time. The Indian leader and his family, especially his brother, the prophet Tenskwatawa, figured dramatically in the growing violence along the frontier as white settlers swarmed across the Appalachians onto Indian lands. By emphasizing the greatness of Tecumseh, however, Eckert minimizes the significance of tribal unification as a wider phenomenon and the role of spiritual leaders in firing that movement, to the extent that, for instance, Tenskwatawa is depicted as a sniveling conniver achieving renown largely through his brother's generosity. A biography that succeeds better as fiction. Astoundingly detailed but ambitious to a fault, in its interpretative zeal it strays from, or at least embellishes, the historical record to the point of being suspect. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 862 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Books (February 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553080237
• ISBN-13: 978-0553080230
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #558,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( T ) > Tecumseh

More About the Author

Allan W. Eckert, seven-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, has written 39 books, including his award-winning Incident at Hawk's Hill and The Frontiersman, plus numerous other historical narratives, novels and non-fiction works, as well as books for young adults and children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Eckert's Best, September 26, 2001

By 

Matthew S. Schweitzer "zohoe" (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh (Paperback)

"A Sorrow In Our Heart" is definately one of Eckert's best historical novels, right next to "The Frontiersmen" and "Dark and Bloody River". It, of course, tells the story of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh, who has been hailed by many as the greatest Indian leader of all time. Tecumseh came closer than any other before or after him to saving his people from total destruction by the whites on the eastern frontier in the early 19th century. In the end, Tecumseh's death is not just a loss in the Indians' long struggle against the Americans, it signals the death knell for their way of life, as their defeat in the War of 1812 sealed their fate on the North American continent. A great and a wonderfully entertaining book, history has never been so hard to put down.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of Algonquin Historical Writing, November 20, 2001

By 

Evan Pritchard (Woodstock, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh (Hardcover)

Eckert's A Sorrow in Our Hearts is nothing short of a masterpiece, and will assuredly stand the test of time, perhaps as no other "Native American" history book before it. I have read many hundreds of books on Algonquin history, and nothing I have seen comes close to A Sorrow In Our Hearts in being fair to the individuals involved. Eckert's portrayal of Tunskwatawa as a misguided opportunist may irritate some, but it holds together as the most credible explanation of how things turned out. I turn to this volume over and over again and it never ceases to amaze me the amount of useful information that it contains. It maintains a high level of historical accuracy without losing the mystical feeling of standing in Tecumseh's presence, seeing the world through his eyes, and the bracing sense of strength, courage and upliftment that those around him must have felt. If there were a sixth star to award this book, I would not hesitate to add it to my review.
I have stood by that battlefield where he died and heard the accounts of his demise and burial from a descendant of those who were there and I sense the greatness of the man, and somehow Eckert has managed to do him justice through a medium that is not always compatible with the Algonquin way, and it makes me feel that sorrow to which he refers. We all must die sooner or later, but Tecumseh was still a young man (younger than I am now) when he died at the battle of the Thames. When I am buried, let them lay me to rest with only a well worn copy of Eckert's A Sorrow In Our Hearts in my hands.
Evan Pritchard
Professor of Native American History, Marist College
author of Native New Yorkers, The Remarkable Legacy of the Algonquin People of New York;
No Word For Time, the Way of the Algonquin People, etc.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ALLAN ECKERT MAKES FICTIONAL HISTORY A JOY TO READ!!!!!, February 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh (Hardcover)

GROWING UP ON THE BANKS OF THE OHIO, I'VE HEARD EVERY LEGEND THERE IS CONCERNING TECUMSEH. I USED TO WALK TO THE SHAWNEE BURIAL MOUNDS WHICH ARE AN ARROW SHOT FROM MY PARENT'S HOME IN SILOAM, KY. I OFTEN TRIED TO IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE TO LIVE BACK THEN. WHILE NO HISTORIAN WILL EVER BE ABLE TO DECIFER WHAT IS TRUTH AND WHAT IS FOLKLORE. ALLAN W. ECKERT IS ABLE TO SEND YOU BACK IN TIME AND PLACE YOU AMONGST THESE HISTORICAL FIGURES. AND WHILE THIS WORK IS FICTIONAL IT IS ALSO BASED ON REAL CHARACTERS. ALLAN W. ECKERT IS TRULY AN ARTIST. WITH THE PAGE AS HIS CANVAS AND FACTS, MYTHS, AND LEGENDS, AS HIS INKS. HE PAINTS AN EXCELLENT PORTRAIT OF THIS LEGENDARY SHAWNEE'S LIFE.EXCELLENTLY WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED.