S. C. Gwynne

Describes the actions of both whites and Comanches during a 40-year war over territory, in a story that begins with the kidnapping of a white girl, who grew up to marry a Comanche chief and have a son, Quanah, who became a great warrior.

Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

Empire of the Summer Moon

Wynn Netherland

A vivid history of Comancheria, its conquering of and collision with other cultures in what is now New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. Though disturbing and shocking in places, the story could not be told without acknowledging the brutality executed by and on the Comanche people.

Born in Southwestern Oklahoma and now living in North Texas, I felt a special connection to the people and landscape. My mother's family is from Comanche County, Oklahoma and farmed over three hundred acres of land once a part of that set aside as the last vestige of grassland once ruled by perhaps the most adept cavalry in the world.

Jeremy Anderberg

Native Americans occupy an interesting place in the American psyche. Because of the brutalizations of white people, and our national eagerness to claim ownership over a land that had never been owned before, we view Indians as a whole — all the various tribes and cultures — in a fairly romantic light. These "noble savages" were a serene people who lived peaceful lives on the plains, using every bit of the buffalo and never choosing war. That's what we learned in school, at least.

But Gwynne writes that for some of those societies, war and even torture were an integral part of their culture. Specifically in this book, he tackles the history of the Comanche tribe from the 1600s through their eventual demise at the tail end of the 1800s. Through that larger tale, he weaves in the fascinating subplot of Cynthia Ann Parker — the White Squaw — and her son Quanah, who was the last chief of the Comanches.

There are so many interesting threads in this book: the introduction of the horse to America; the Spanish invasion of Comanche lands and how the Indians permanently turned them back; the rise of the Texas Rangers; the kidnapping, torture, and occasional tribal integration of white people (like Cynthia Ann); how the Comanches eventually surrendered to America's military might. And more!

This is one of those gripping, can't-put-down books that makes you want to read its author's entire scope of work. For anyone with an interest in Native American history or the story of America's West, this is a must-read. As a bonus, it makes me appreciate Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove series even more.

Brandon Mueller

Kevin Stofan

Patrick Ruster

A. D. Knapp

Niklas Westren-Doll

Darcy Lambert

D VA

Jayme Cochrane

Michael Cowell

Erik Wallace

S.C. Gwynne

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. 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 is 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. Against this backdrop Gwynne presents the compelling drama of Cynthia Ann Parker, a nine-year-old girl who was kidnapped by Comanches 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 Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

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