Comanches: The Destruction of a People - Softcover

Fehrenbach, T. R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0306805863 ISBN 13: 9780306805868

Publisher: Da Capo Press Inc, 1994

Synopsis

Absolutely authoritative and immediate, this is the story of the most powerful of American Indian tribes, the Comanches (they called themselves the "true human beings"), who rode into modern history in a headlong collision with western civilization. T. R. Fehrenbach here recreates their rise to power, from their first harsh struggles for survival in the Eastern Rockies through uncounted generations who desperately resisted privation and suffering until they encountered and mastered the horse (first introduced by Spanish settlers). This is how, on horseback, the Comanches conquered and controlled the plains for more than a hundred years: destroying the ancient dreams of Spanish empire in North America, blocking the French advance into the Southwest, and becoming for more than sixty years the single greatest obstacle to Anglo-American expansion. Fehrenbach's history also tells how, at last, the Comanches themselves were conquered, falling before the Texas Rangers and the U.S. Army in the great raids and battles of the mid-nineteenth century--until, after the Civil War, only random clumps of tipis stood where once encampments had stretched for miles.

About this title

Review:

"For a complete history of the Comanches, this book probably has no equal" (Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee)

"Fehrenbach is a highly interpretive and original writer, whose work rests on solid scholarship. His book ranges grandly across the disciplines from folklore to anthropology to history" (Southwestern Historical Quarterly)

"Marvellous" (New York Times)

"A compelling account...Vivid, poignant and authoritative" (The Herald)

"This is a very good book. Like virtually all good books about the American Indian, it tells a tragic story, but unlike many of them, it tells it well. The author has mastered an extensive and complex subject: he is flexible, well-organized, and sensitive" (Larry McMurtry)

Book Description:

The definitive history of a remarkable people, from their prehistoric origins to their destruction in the mid-19th century

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press Inc
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0306805863
• ISBN 13: 9780306805868
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 596