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 loved this book. It should be required reading for all high school US History students. The book Empire of the Moon examines the forty year battle on the western plains waged by the Comanche nation against the constant encroachment of pioneers from the young United States. The centerpiece of the story revolves around war Chief, Quanah and his mother, Cynthia Ann Parker. But the story begins long before that. The Comanche story actually begins with the access to horses, coming from runaway and wild Spanish steeds. The Apache, the Comanche, and others adapted to the new resource and began using the horses for mobility, hunting and warfare. The Comanche adopted the horse more than any other Indian group for combat, learning to shoot their arrows while riding. The Apache would ride to the point of combat, and then dismount, which was a detriment against the Comanche. This lesson was learned a few times against the military as well, but it took several decades for the tactic to sink in. These tactics and their ferocity gave Comanches control over a huge range of land. Often allied with Kiowa, the Comanche established a bastion of strength, referring to their territory as Comancheria.

They had fought off the Spanish, French, and Mexican invaders, rolled back the Apache Nation and did a pretty good job in forestalling the imminent American invasion. But the relentless push of westward settlement eventually won out. Half way through the book it was difficult to know exactly who to root for. Should the reader root for the settlers wanting to conquer the frontier, or root for the brutal Indian whose territory was being fenced off and parcelized? It is the attention to detail about the people that make this book unique. This is especially true in how he deals with the young Cynthia Parker, the white girl taken captive and raised as a Comanche. She disappeared after this but eventually adopted the Comanche way of life, married a chief and became the mother of Quanah Parker, the center for Gwynne's book. It is also interesting that the Comanche history was not more of a prominent discussion in college US History. It is quite sad that a thousand years of history was wiped out in our public school system. This book’s perspective is so revealing to America’s founding. The story of Cynthia Parker makes the reading of this book worthwhile by itself. But then the story of her son, Quanah will captivate you, take you over, and it won’t let you sleep for a few nights. Either the ways of the Indians will keep you up, or the “getting to the next chapter” will.

Mr. Gwynne has written a masterpiece. It is the story of a deadly land: Endless miles of grassland with no shelter and almost no water. People died from the heat, thirst, lightning strikes, and simply from getting lost and giving up hope in an enormous area, every acre so alike in appearance that it was like looking at the water of an ocean. The primary story is of the people who wanted this deadly land and who were willing to kill for it, the Spanish, the Mexicans, the Apaches, the Comanches, the Texans. All of these people were tough and stubborn. They believed in vengeance and they went after it. But Comancheria was the barrier that they could not crack. The final frontier to America was fencing off, buffalo killed, migration and settlement, along with European disease transformed the Great Planes into what it is today.

Mr. Gwynne does not take sides. He describes the ruthlessness and savagery of all involved, he tells what happened and allows the reader to make his own decisions and retroactively take whatever side he wants to. But Gwynne does more than tell of people's violence. He shows the same people at home, caring and fun loving. He shows the Comanche way of life as it is, hard but fair.

Chief Parker, Cynthia Parker, Ranger Hays, Colonel Mackenzie, and several others were fascinating people and Gwynne makes them real to our modern eyes. It is evident that he admires them all, for their toughness and their determination and their courage. After reading this excellent book, most of us will admire them all too.

Quanah perhaps killed more Americans than any other Indian. However, the closing years of his life, after he fought the good fight, he raised cattle, ran for the school board and attended the 1905 inauguration of Teddy Roosevelt as a personal guest of the President. At the event, his face was smeared with black war-paint, a full length headdress or war bonnet of eagle's feathers spread out as he rode his horse, he was naked to the waist, wearing simply leggings, moccasins and a breechclout, and a necklace of bear’s claws hung about his neck. It must have been a spectacular site for the audience. He was a formidable figure in his time, physically and politically.

This is not to mention the insightful political and geographic detail, plus the absorbing story of the Comanche's singular mastery of the mustang introduced into the high plains by the Spanish. What a fantastic book this is. Mr. Gwynne presents a period of history that has been glossed over, especially in movies and school history books. He brings the period of Texas expansion into Indian lands to life in a way that made me feel I was right there with both the settlers and the Comanche and provided many thought-provoking moments throughout the read. It is an eye-opening account of an often overlooked era of this country's history. If your teenager is in US History, this is a five-star required reading for them and for you. This has been one of my most favorite books that I have ever read.