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Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

S. C. Gwynne (Author), David Drummond (Narrator), Simon & Schuster Audio (Publisher)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 20,031 ratings
#1 Best Seller in US State & Local History
See all formats and editions

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 listeners may be more familiar with the 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. 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

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  1. Listening Length
    15 hours and 9 minutes
  2. Author
    S. C. Gwynne
  3. Narrator
    David Drummond
  4. Audible release date
    September 20, 2016
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster Audio
  7. ASIN
    B01KBD4IOE
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 15 hours and 9 minutes
Author S. C. Gwynne
Narrator David Drummond
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date September 20, 2016
Publisher Simon & Schuster Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B01KBD4IOE
Best Sellers Rank #629 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#1 in US State & Local History
#1 in Native American Biographies
#2 in Indigenous Peoples in the Americas History

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
20,031 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book spellbinding, informative, and comprehensive. They appreciate the well-researched and solid factual information. Readers describe the content as well-written and fluid. They also find the story interesting, exciting, and powerful. Additionally, they appreciate the realistic views and vivid pictures at the end.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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ReadabilityHistory valueResearch qualityWritten contentEntertainment valueVisual qualityPacingBrutality
1,296 customers mention "Readability"1,263 positive33 negative

Customers find the book spellbinding, important, and a good addition to the home library. They say it reads like an adventure novel and portrays very realistic scenarios. Readers also mention it's interesting and all-consuming.

"...Well researched, well written- a real page turner, and as balanced as a Euro perspective can be...." Read more

"...This is a very good book to read and contemplate upon." Read more

"...I appreciated the book. I appreciated the writing...." Read more

"...Well written and throughly researched. I enjoyed it from start to finish. A part of American history that most be told" Read more

991 customers mention "History value"977 positive14 negative

Customers find the book has a good story with more details about Cynthia Ann Parker and Quanah Parker. They also describe it as a fascinating long-arc history that links South Plains warrior horse cultures. Readers say it's an incredible, well-written history that offers an inside view of life in central prairies. They mention the stories about individuals and families are compelling.

"...Gwynne is an exceptional writer and he tells their story well, detailing the formidable military power the Comanches were and how they achieved that..." Read more

"This is by far the most interesting and comprehensive account of life in central prairies of United States from the late 17 until late 19 centuries...." Read more

"...of the American West is to your interest - it's a wonderful story of the Comanche Nation, of its rise and fall and particularly about the saga of..." Read more

"...Great look into Comanche culture. Fascinating read." Read more

663 customers mention "Research quality"646 positive17 negative

Customers find the book well-researched, fascinating, and well-written. They say it provides solid factual information whenever possible. Readers appreciate the superb analysis of historical forces at work. They mention the book provides compelling evidence for Professor Jared Diamond's theories.

"...Well researched, well written- a real page turner, and as balanced as a Euro perspective can be...." Read more

"...Couple of things (other than the book is well written and very well researched) I would like to single out...." Read more

"This is history - well written, well researched and - if the History of the American West is to your interest - it's a wonderful story of the..." Read more

"This book was an amazing adventure. Well written and throughly researched. I enjoyed it from start to finish...." Read more

654 customers mention "Written content"578 positive76 negative

Customers find the book well-written, readable, and fluid. They say it reads like a novel, is rich in detail, and packed with human interest stories.

"...Well researched, well written- a real page turner, and as balanced as a Euro perspective can be...." Read more

"...The book is rich in detail and packed with human interest stories regarding all the major players and many minor ones as well...." Read more

"...Couple of things (other than the book is well written and very well researched) I would like to single out...." Read more

"...I appreciated the writing. And I can recommend it with a whole heart to all of you whether your grandfather came from Comanche country or not." Read more

279 customers mention "Entertainment value"271 positive8 negative

Customers find the book interesting, entertaining, and riveting. They describe it as an epic tale and adventure yarn.

"This is by far the most interesting and comprehensive account of life in central prairies of United States from the late 17 until late 19 centuries...." Read more

"This book was an amazing adventure. Well written and throughly researched. I enjoyed it from start to finish...." Read more

"...Gwynne's prose is consistently eloquent and engaging...." Read more

"The author provides a very exciting and powerful account of the Comanche that literally ruled a large portion of Texas and parts of Oklahoma,..." Read more

210 customers mention "Visual quality"195 positive15 negative

Customers find the book's visual quality to be realistic, vivid, and detailed. They appreciate the pictures at the end and detailed descriptions of the landscape. Readers also mention the book is graphic and disturbing.

"Very good look at a segment of American history that you won't find in library text books...." Read more

"...It’s bloody, graphic, and disturbing but a definite must for anyone who wants to know more about our country’s history." Read more

"Good tread; lotsa detail." Read more

"...There are some great B/W picture too and much, much more about the Comanches and the settlers, Buffalo hunters, other tribes, and the US Army that..." Read more

107 customers mention "Pacing"75 positive32 negative

Customers find the book fast-paced, informative, and action-filled. They say it never fails to hold their interest and is a real page-turner. Readers also mention the book keeps them gripped looking forward.

"...Horses gave them speed, a major tactical advantage when battling Spanish or American troops who were forced to dismount before opening fire...." Read more

"...This was a fast read. Gwynne is a journalist and his writing reflects his ability to tell a story...." Read more

"If this book has one flaw it would be its tendency to jump around times, dates, and places. The book is not written in a chronological narrative...." Read more

"...He's a clever, high IQ, resourceful warrior, a courageous leader of his people...." Read more

117 customers mention "Brutality"45 positive72 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the brutality of the book. Some mention it's raw and takes them back to a brutal time in history, while others say the descriptions of Indian atrocities are excruciatingly graphic.

"...The descriptions of Indian atrocities are excruciatingly graphic, which, in all honesty, contributed to my inability to put this book down." Read more

"...It’s bloody, graphic, and disturbing but a definite must for anyone who wants to know more about our country’s history." Read more

"...They are violent. They torture, steal, rape, maim and take slaves. They do all of this to an extreme that is hard to stomach even 150 years later...." Read more

"...one take is that because this is written by a white man, the story seems lopsided to me...." Read more

Great book
5 out of 5 stars
Great book
Very good read. If you’re interested in Native American history and knowledge this is a book that covers all that and more.
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Top reviews from the United States

Maine FF/EMT
5.0 out of 5 stars A great history and an addictive page-turner
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2024
Verified Purchase
A most comprehensive treatment of the rise and fall of the Commanche Empire on the southern plains. Well researched, well written- a real page turner, and as balanced as a Euro perspective can be. No saccharine romanticism and a blunt reporting of the brutal clash between two diametrically opposed cultures.
5 people found this helpful
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Bruce Roeder
5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch history
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2013
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A few months ago I watched the prequel to the Lonesome Dove series. I would rate the three part series 3 out of 5 stars. It wasn't great, but it was good enough to watch all three episodes.

One of the things I look for in a series like that is how historical is it. Since much of the series dealt with the Texas Rangers, pre-Civil War, and their interactions with the Comanches (and Mexican bandits) I have to admit that I knew little.

So, I was surprised when the Comanche chief (played by Wes Studi and one of the most interesting of the characters in the series) Buffalo Hump gathered together a large Comanche force and attacked Austin, Texas! Since I'd never heard of this I did a little research to see if it really happened.

What I found was a reference to Empire of the Summer Moon-Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches the most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne. I bought it and frankly had a hard time putting it down.

Quanah Parker is the thread that the book revolves around but the book is about much more than that.

The backdrop is what the author refers to as Comancheria, an area encompassing modern Texas, Oklahoma, parts of New Mexico, parts of Old Mexico, southern Colorado and southern Kansas. At the height of Comancheria (1836) approximately 20,000 Comanches in five major bands roamed free in their empire victimizing their neighbors, the Apaches, the Utes, the Navahos and any other tribe within range (except the Kiowa who were in alliance with the Comanche) as well as the Mexicans and Texans.

Gwynne is an exceptional writer and he tells their story well, detailing the formidable military power the Comanches were and how they achieved that status. One US military observer rated the Comanche horse warriors as the finest light cavalry in the world and Gwynn gives the reader plenty of examples to make the case.

We tend to think that the Texans and Mexicans would have had an advantage with their gun powder weapons over the Comanches with their bows and arrows. Prior to the advent of repeating rifles, post-Civil War this simply was not true.

Pre-Civil War weapons were single-shot muzzle loading weapons that took time to reload, a difficult thing to do mounted in the middle of a battle. It was so difficult that the Texans who fought the Comanches probably the most often, fought dismounted, a serious mistake against Comanches who were excellent horse archers and could get off five arrows to a Texan's single shot.

After giving the reader the fascinating background of the Comanche, Gwynne begins to weave the story of the Parkers into the bigger story of the Comanche Empire of the Summer Moon. (Summer Moon refers to the Comanche habit of raiding in the summer by the light of the moon. The term "Comanche Moon" is still used in Texas to describe a bright summer moon.)

Back in 1836, shortly after the famous Battle of the Alamo during the Texas War of Independence against Mexico, the Parker family moved to the frontier fringes of civilization. They built a family fort in Comancheria which was a direct challenge to the warlike Comanches.

The fort was certainly a good idea because it negated the Comanches mobility and Comanches would rarely attack a fixed position held by determined men whose long range rifles had the advantage.

Well, on May 19th, 1836, ten of the sixteen men of the Parker clan were out in the cornfields. Eight women and nine children were inside the fort, but the armored gate was left wide-open. The remaining men were unarmed. Clearly, the Parkers, despite the fact they built a fort perceived little danger. They were horribly wrong despite the fact that the Comanches were known to be raiding near-by.

On the morning of the 19th a large band of Comanches rode up to the fort. Rachel Parker, age seventeen, guessed they were "friendlies" another bad mistake, common enough though since telling one Indian from another must have been a challenge. It was probably safer to pray for the best but arm yourself for the worst until you knew for certain what you were up against.

The raiding party consisted of Comanches and Kiowas and into this large group of fierce warriors walked Ben Parker, one of the six men in the fort. Ben was certainly brave, but also foolhardy.

The raiders said they wanted a cow to slaughter and directions to a water hole even though their mounts were dripping wet clearly indicating the Indians knew exactly where they were. Ben said no to the cow offering instead other food. Remarkably, Ben went back into the fort and spoke to his brother Silas about how ridiculous the Comanches demands were regarding the water hole. Even more remarkably Ben gathered up some supplies and went back out to give them to the raiders even though Silas warned against it!

Silas was on to something and some of the Parker clan but not all tried to make a get-a-way while the remaining men (not all) decided to make a stand although not a not a one was armed at the time.

Ben Parker meanwhile was surrounded by the Comanches and horribly killed probably scalped while still alive. Silas would die too as would others in the ensuing chaos.

This was only the beginning of the horrors inflicted on the Parkers.

Gwynne does not pull any punches when he describes what happens to victims of the Comanches nor what the Texans did to Comanches once the tide of war began to turn. To say that frontier warfare was brutal is to understate just how brutal.

The Comanche culture dictated brutality to captives (most of horse tribes were the same but Comanches were among the worse of the worst). They tortured the captive men to death, killed babies that cried too much and gang-raped captive women, sometimes to death, although they frequently made women and older children captive. They had been doing this for years and their targets more often than not were other Indians, notably the Lipan Apaches who they nearly exterminated. What happened to the Parkers was par for the course and as barbaric as what the Comanches practiced on fellow Indians (and they on them when they had the chance).

Cynthia Ann Parker was a nine-year-old girl who was taken captive at the raid. She witnessed all that happened to her family. Cynthia Ann would spend the next twenty-four years as a Comanche eventually becoming a wife of a Comanche war chief. She would give birth to three children, one of whom was Quanah Parker, a half-breed who would rank along with Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, Crazy Horse and Geronimo as one the Indians who gave the US Army the hardest time in the 1870's.

Cynthia was "rescued" in 1860 as the tide began to turn against the Comanches. But the fact is, by then, she did not want to be rescued and her story became a double-tragedy as she is forced to live among the whites and the culture she had long forgot.

Quanah was twelve when his mother was "rescued" and father killed. His rise to war chief among the Comanches was remarkable for the fact he was a half-breed and after his father was killed a no-body among his band, the Quahadi Comanches (the word Comanche means "people").

Quanah was whatever else one might say about him was courageous, had a mind for strategy and tactics and as it turns out in the story a pretty savvy pragmatist and successful business man once the Comanches were forced to the reservation in present day Oklahoma.

To say any more about this book would only serve as a spoiler and I don't want to do that.

I thought I knew something about the Indian Wars but Empire of the Summer Moon opened my eyes to much. The book is rich in detail and packed with human interest stories regarding all the major players and many minor ones as well. The amount of research the author did was massive as the bibliography illustrates.

As for Buffalo Hump and the raid on Austin, it never happened.

What did happen is that Buffalo Hump a chief among the Comanches did mange to assemble a rather large "army" of Comanches. The raid that Buffalo Hump led is known in Texas as the Great Linville Raid and it took place in 1840.

Buffalo Hump had a vision of driving the Texans into the sea. He led a force of 1,000 Comanches south of San Antonio killing and looting along the river lines that led to the Gulf of Mexico. The river part is in the TV series. In the TV series the town being destroyed by the rampaging Comanches is Austin, but historically it's probably Victoria and/or Linville.

The Comanches rode through the surprised town of Victoria first, killed at least a dozen people before being driven off by rifle fire. Instead of closing in for the kill immediately which they could have done, the Comanches settled for looting concentrating on the horses and mules, the criteria for wealth among the Comanches. The Comanches did attack again but the delay had given the residents time to build barricades turning the town into a fort and thus discouraging the Comanches from getting to close to the long rifles of the Texans.

The Comanches departed with two thousand horses and a young black girl who presumably became part of the tribe like Cynthia Ann had four years earlier.

The Comanches continued their ride of terror, following Buffalo Hump's vision all the way to the sea and small town of Linville on the coast.

The town's residents panicked (rightly so) and fled to boats in the harbor but not all got away. The usual was the killing of all the men and the gang-raping of all captive women.

While the residents fled the Comanches discovered the town's warehouses and that's when the real looting took place. They took all they could carry of the white man's goods and then burned the town as the sea-borne residents watched helplessly. The town would never be rebuilt.

Buffalo Hump then lost control of his "army." The fact of the matter is the Comanches were always, in those days, more interested in raiding and loot, than driving the Texans into the sea. It wasn't until much later than some of the Comanches realized they were in a fight for survival and a fight to keep to the old ways.

So, at this point, the Comanches decided to pack it in a return to their sanctuaries and cash in on the loot something they always had done primarily with the Comancheros of New Mexico.

They were dogged all the way back by the aroused Texas militia fighting the Battle of Plum Creek along the way. Among the pursuers were some Texas Rangers and after a war chief was killed the mounted Texans actually charged the Comanches rather than fight in the old dismounted fashion. This began a shift in the tactics of fighting of Comanches. The advent of the Colt revolver by the time of the Mexican War (1846-48) that the Texas Rangers would purchase in quantity (the US Army would not, rather shortsightedly) would eventually shift the balance of military power into the hands of the Texans. The repeating rifle (the Henry and Spencer would seal the deal by 1866).

The raid was however, from the Comanche point-of-view a success. Only a few hundred head of horses were recovered.

Comanche raids would continue until 1874, many led in the later years by Quanah Parker. Quanah was eventually beaten by Ranald S. Mackenzie, a contemporary of George Armstrong Custer. Ironically, Custer would become famous for losing the biggest disaster on the plains and Mackenize would be forgotten for being the most successful of the Generals who fought the plains tribes.

This book is history how it's meant to be written.

Empire of the Summer Moon
Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History
By S.C. Gwynne (Scribner, 2010)

Twenty-two chapters, 371 pages including notes, bibliography and index
179 people found this helpful
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Grettir Strong
5.0 out of 5 stars Comanches: unpleasant reality and government corruption.
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2011
Verified Purchase
This is by far the most interesting and comprehensive account of life in central prairies of United States from the late 17 until late 19 centuries. What is now much of Texas and parts of surrounding states was referred to as Comancheria back then. It was populated by extremely war-like peoples whose fates were intertwined in myriads of ways with populations of two growing empires, Spanish and Anglo-American. War chief of Comanche, Quanah, personified it more than anybody else - his father was famous leader of his tribe and his mother was a Texan captive, who refused to go back to her folks even when she had clear opportunity to do so.

Couple of things (other than the book is well written and very well researched) I would like to single out.

1. Because of Hollywood movies with John Wayne (and for those who is from former Warsaw pact areas, German movies with Goiko Mitic) life of Indians from American West seem somehow romantic and even glamorous. Author does a very good job bringing back to reality anybody who still holds such views. There was nothing romantic or glamorous to live as Comanche in those days. It was very hard and unpredictable life or Stone Age hunter-gatherers who put heavy focus on military abilities of their members and were almost in constant state of war with its neighbours. Life expectancy was very short, especially for males, and dependence on buffalo herds and horse stocks was paramount. Rules of war were very different and tortures were widespread. Although life of Comanche and other prairie tribes was, as classic put it, nasty, brutish and short, it does not make it less interesting. Not romantic but extremely interesting I would say and reader can find many remarkable details of Comanche lifestyle. Some of them may be repulsive (like tendency to catch lice and crack it with teeth), some weird (like taboo for throwing a shadow over pot with cooking meat), some blood-chilling (like all those tortures) and all of them universe away from what we accustomed to nowadays. Reading descriptions of Comanches is like looking at the very dawn of humanity with all its features brightly unfolded.

2. While reading, one inevitably will pose a question - did they ever had a chance to survive and adopt? I mean, yes, technically speaking some Comanches did survive and they even have the country in Oklahoma (see Wikipedia for more) but looking broader one can't help noticing that this is not exactly survival Comanches might want. Yes, it is almost impossible to imagine peaceful coexistence of Anglo-American settlements and Comanche war culture. But after I have read the book I think such chance was there. When US president of the time established agency for dealing with Indians, where food and other stuff was supposed to be distributed and all disputes were supposed to be resolved, actual chance for making real long lasting peace with full inclusion of Comanches into American mainstream was there. It did not work though and the reason for that was powerfully banal - corruption. It may sound strange but Comanches were victims of corruption in that government agency almost as much as of notorious buffalo hunters who killed off their means of subsistence and of famous six-shooter that all Indian fighters were ultimately armed with.

This is a very good book to read and contemplate upon.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Julian
5.0 out of 5 stars This should essential reading in any history class about North American history.
Reviewed in Canada on October 3, 2024
Verified Purchase
A remarkable story and a well written book. I couldn't put it down.
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sergio
5.0 out of 5 stars Increíble libro de historia norteamericana
Reviewed in Mexico on December 31, 2022
Verified Purchase
Una maravilla de libro.
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Ibrizida
5.0 out of 5 stars Muita informação e pouco juízo de valor. Grande livro.
Reviewed in Brazil on March 12, 2022
Verified Purchase
Nunca imaginei a realidade da vida de todos envolvidos nas guerras indígenas dos EUA. Ao ler esse livro fui impactado pela crueza e brutalidade com que povos que ainda viviam na pré-história entraram em conflilto com a "civilização". Uma das coisas que me surpreendeu, foi que uma quantidade relativamente pequena de índios vivia e controlava uma enorme quantidade de território e isso acontece aqui no Brasil também, com a diferença que aqui é na selva é impenetrável, mas lá era uma planície boa para pecuária. Grande livro com muita informação e poucos juízos de valor.
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Petra Zellinger
5.0 out of 5 stars Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches
Reviewed in Germany on August 31, 2024
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Sehr guter Zustand, schnelle, verlässliche Lieferung. Top interessantes Buch
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Citizen D
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in Italy on September 22, 2022
Verified Purchase
The author is a master writer and instills the historical narrative with it's natural drama. But he doesn't neglect the broad historical context either. So I was both entertained and very well informed.
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