Book Review: Empire of the Summer Moon

I recently completed 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.  This isn't a new work, originally published back in 2011 by Scribner, but it was a new to me book. One of the great things about history is that if well done, they generally have a pretty good shelf life.

    And this one is well done. Gwynne is known to be one of the best popular or narrative history writers, and I enjoyed his treatment of the Commanche's and their conflicts with the European powers and the encroaching settlers immensely.  This is a compelling read that is fast moving, and sucks you in as well as any novel.

    The work covers the historic rise of the Comanche's, their origins, their move into buffalo country and adoption of a militaristic horse culture, as well as their conflicts with the Spanish and French. 

    The history of the Comanche's is fascinating, in fact. For example, the Comanche's adaptation of the horse to plains warfare was more extensive than other indigenous nations. In the east, many tribes fought only on foot, and we can think of the Mohawk as such example. The Mohawk were a proud and martial nation but did not employ horses in combat. Even other plains tribes often road horse up to battle and then jumped off and battled on foot. 

    The Comanche's were really the only nation to learn to fight while on horseback. Comanche warriors were capable of firing errors while riding at full speed and using the body of the horse as a shield while maneuvering.  In many ways, the description of the capabilities and skills of Comanche riders reminded me very much of descriptions of the Mongol calvary.  The biggest difference was that there were far fewer Comanche's living on the great plains of North America. 

    Other aspects of Commanche history that was quite interesting was in terms of their relationships and conflicts with other indigenous nations, including the fairly vicious and almost genocidal wars waged on their competitors. The Comanche were aggressive and assertive and pushed other tribes well out of their territories.     

  But the heart of Empire of the Summer Moon is the story of the conflict between the American settlers and the growing power of state and federal militaries. The narrative cleverly weaves the epic story of the Comanche's rise and fall with the personal saga of Cynthia Anne Parker, a girl of European ancestry who was kidnapped and then adopted by the Comanches, and her legendary son, Quanah Park, the last great Comanche chief. The book vividly portrays the brutality and savagery on both sides, highlighting the Comanches' unmatched horsemanship and military prowess that delayed westward expansion.

    And while Gwynne does not shy away from explaining the violence perpetrated by both the Commanche's and American settlers, the history is important to correct many of the half-truths that are often told about the life of the indigenous north Americans.

As far as awards go, Empire of the Summer Moon was

• Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award
• A New York Times Notable Book
• Winner of the Texas Book Award and the Oklahoma Book Award

    Am I keeping this one on my bookshelf?  Absolutely, this was a fantastic read that I am happy to keep in my collection.

Publication date: May 10, 2011     Publisher: Scribner     Page Count: 384 pages

 

Who is S. C. Gwynne

    S. C. Gwynne is an American writer and historian from Massachusetts. He was educated at Princeton and John Hopkins.  He has written many other books, including

• Selling Money, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1986;
• The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI, Random House, 1993;
• Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson. Scribner. 30 September 2014;
• The Perfect Pass: American Genius and the Reinvention of Football, Scribner, 2016;
• Hymns of the Republic: The Story of the Final Year of the American Civil War, Scribner, 2019;
• His Majesty's Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World's Largest Flying Machine, Scribner, 2023.

 

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