In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all.

S.C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.

Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined just how and when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. So effective were the Comanches that they forced the creation of the Texas Rangers and account for the advent of the new weapon specifically designed to fight them: the six-gun.

The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne’s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroads—a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being.

Against this backdrop Gwynne presents the compelling drama of Cynthia Ann Parker, a lovely nine-year-old girl with cornflower-blue eyes who was kidnapped by Comanches from the far Texas frontier in 1836. She grew to love her captors and became infamous as the "White Squaw" who refused to return until her tragic capture by Texas Rangers in 1860. More famous still was her son Quanah, a warrior who was never defeated and whose guerrilla wars in the Texas Panhandle made him a legend.

S. C. Gwynne’s account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all, thrillingly told. Empire of the Summer Moon announces him as a major new writer of American history.

Length: 396 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Product details

File Size: 5075 KB
Print Length: 396 pages
Publisher: Scribner (May 5, 2010)
Publication Date: May 25, 2010
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B003KN3MDG
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,508 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #4 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Americas > United States > State & Local > Southwest
- #8 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Native American & Aboriginal
- #9 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Americas > Native American

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Matt's Mom

My best friend growing up was the great-granddaughter of Chief Quannah ...

December 3, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

We live in Oklahoma - the middle of modern day Comanche County. My best friend growing up was the great-granddaughter of Chief Quannah Parker. She was even named after Cynthia Ann Parker. She has been my friend for over 60+ years. Therefore, I knew some of the history of the Comanche way of life, but from their side. I still cherish those memories of the stories told to me by her Grandmother (which was really her great-aunt, but called Grandmother by Comanche culture). She told of how afraid of the soldiers they were as children on the reservation near Fort Sill. I was a child hearing these stories, not really understanding... My family (white settlers) had settled in Oklahoma Territory from the Llano, Texas area before the turn of the century. They had lived thru the battles and loss of lives. Some went on to Arizona, but that's another story.
EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON really awakened some of those memories - but from both sides. It was a horrible time for the settlers and the Indians! I have read many books on the subject, but this was the BEST, most accurate account, from both sides. It gives true documentation of events as they happened. We have given this book to so many family members and friends. A few weeks ago, we gave it to a Comanche friend. He said he learned so much about his people from this book. We HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone wanting to know the true history of the west from both sides.

187 people found this helpful

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motley reader

Culture Clashes

March 1, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

My only complaint about this book is redundancy. That said, I couldn't put this down. It invaded my thoughts and dreams. There is such a deep sadness about this chapter if American History and this book just crystallized the impossible situation.

I live in the area of Texas and Oklahoma covered in the book. I have family papers used by relatives three generations ago to establish Indian connections for the purpose of personal gain. I have visited the forts and parks, missions, and roadside historical signs related to this time period. This book helped me put the pieces together.

If you think one group is all bad and the other all good, you will hate this book. If you want to take a hard look at what happens when cultures clash, this book tackles the subject in a compelling and interesting way.

56 people found this helpful

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50s LabRat

A "must read" for anyone interested in American expansion into the west or in American indian history

September 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

I normally get all books from the library, which is where I first got this one. In the past 15 years I have actually bought to keep in my small "library" 2 books--Carl Sagan's "The Demon Haunted World," & this one. Published in 2010, it is the only book I've ever found that tells the history of American expansion into the west without a strong bias toward whites, and with phenomenal documentation (nearly a quarter of the volume is a listing of citations).
The fact that for over 40 years I've lived in the middle of the area primarily concerned makes it more personal to me, as well as that one of my grandmothers was born in "Indian Territory" (as Oklahoma was called at first), & my mother told of some of her childhood memories of meeting Indians in her home town as a young girl, all add to my own interest. But the main attraction is the unbiased telling of the story, "no punches pulled." The author doesn't shy away from the details of the brutallity on both sides, so it can be disturbing at times; but it also shows the admirable aspects of both sides.
There is no question that Quanah was a truly great leader, but you'll have to read the whole story to understand just how great.

52 people found this helpful

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Popeye Doyle

Epical, unflinching

November 26, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

After finishing this book, by sheer coincidence I came across Dances with Wolves as I was cruising channels. When you put the movie (about the Sioux) next to the this book - about the Comanches - you begin to realize how good it truly is and how substance it has. You might expect any story about Indians clashing with whites to leave you rooting hopelessly for the natives, but this account doesn't have that effect. The author wants you to admire the "Lords of the Plains", but he makes clear how brutal and ruthless they could be to whites and Indians alike.

The Comanches were a ferocious and highly skilled band of warriors that were only defeated because of the better guns the whites had. I never imagined a tribe of 40,000 could have so thoroughly dominated such a large swath of land for hundreds of years. There was no "trail of tears" for these guys. So unflinching is the book that at times I could feel the terror I'm sure existed in the heart of every white that dared to settle near Comancheria. You're left wondering why anyone would choose to risk life and scalp - your own and your children's - to live on the barren plains of northwest Texas. That's an important question that the book leaves unanswered.

If you want to learn about cowboys and Indians this book is essential. I read Blood and Thunder and this book tells a very different story. Both are excellent but if you read only about the Navajos you don't come close to getting a full picture of this, our own Hundred Years' War.

51 people found this helpful

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Adap

One of my favorite books this year and an interesting account of an ...

November 1, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

One of my favorite books this year and an interesting account of an often forgotten person. I read the novel just before my trip to Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Canyon, Texas. History came alive as I relived the battles while hiking along the canyon and visiting the highly acclaimed Panhandle-Plains Museum in Canyon, Texas. Quanah Parker is an interesting, complex historical figure whose journey from feared Comanche warrior to respected politician is very well presented here.

20 people found this helpful

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Most recent customer reviews

Throwbacks Collector

Great Historical Novel

Really enjoyed this book. Outstanding historical novel about the decades-long battle in the southwest between the Apaches & Texas/ USA. I learned an awful lot from it.Read more

Published 4 days ago

CER

Phenomenal.

I have read many books on the settling of the west and the various "Indian Wars" but this one is an absolute classic.Read more

Published 6 days ago

Amazon Customer

A Gripping Tale of Cultural Clash

The clash of civilizations was portrayed with remarkable clarity in this gripping tale off the extinction of the Indian villages during the migration of the eastern farmers and...Read more

Published 7 days ago

Martha

Amazing Book

This is a great read so far and I can't wait until I have time to pick it up and read some more. Captivating read.

Published 10 days ago

Steve

Great book

This is great book about the Indian wars in Texas in the mid 1800s. I found my wife's 4th great grandfather in it.

Published 11 days ago

bcain

Here in Texas, the Comanches ruled this land well into the latter part of the 1870’s.

This book is extremely informative. It gives a lot of insight into the lives of the Comanches as they dealt with the other tribes such as the Apaches, Kiowa, and the Cheyenne as...Read more

Published 11 days ago

Great Read

I learned so much about the Comanche.

Published 19 days ago

Amazon Customer

Buy buy buy if you love reading a good book!

S.C. Gwynne opened my eyes concerning
America’s relationship with the Native Americans.
This book is a riveting tale that will open your
eyes and mind to the early...Read more

Published 20 days ago

Bill J

Native Americans - Protectors of Nature

By far the best read I've had in many a moon. It gives me great joy to know what I am reading is true, and,in this case, the author lists the sources for what he is sharing.Read more

Published 21 days ago

Amazon Customer

It contains information about places I know in Texas

Loved it

Published 21 days ago

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