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.

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.