A review by missyjohnson
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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book about the clash of the native Indian tribes and the white man's relentless movement into the west and their territory. I did get a bit frustrated with the repetition, in the first half of the book, that dealt with the horsemanship and marksmanship of the Comanche. It almost seemed as if each chapter was written as a stand alone bit of info that required a good bit of repeating. In the second half of the book, either I quite paying attention to that descriptor or it was not as prevalent. Could be that it was not as prevalent as the Indians were losing more and more territory by that time. I read a few folks reviews on this book before finishing (something that I try to avoid) and I am not certain that some of the folks even read the book. There were complaints that it was slanted to the white point of view. I completely disagree. The whites were ruthless and dismissive of their actions and were not glorifies. Another review mentioned the book had very little to do with Quanah Parker. I disagree there as well. Just because he was not a focal point until the last third of the book, the prior part of the book required the information to set the background for so much going forward. I will look at the great prairies of the US with different eyes going forward.