Book Review: Empire of the Summer Moon

One of the bigger gaps in my knowledge is inside the Old West here in the US.  I have a vague knowledge of many of the bigger events, but its superficial at best.  When on a podcast then about a month ago they had the author on of a book detailing the Comanche People's interactions in the West, I thought this was a place to start filling in.  SC Gwynne weaves an incredible amount of information into a very easy to read novel that covers much of the recorded history of the Comanche Nation in Empire of the Summer Moon: Qanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches.

The book begins with the brutal raid at a frontier homestead, a story that would play out over and over again as folks from the Eastern United States streamed West into the vast plains of Texas and Oklahoma.  There, Cynthia Ann Parker and several memebers of her family that survived were captured by the Comanches and taken for years.  Cynthia Anne would eventually integrate into Comanche life, with her son to play a larger role for the tribe in its waning years.  This story serves as a driver to the history Gwynne details thouroughly thotughout the book.  It is also I think the weakest part of the book, largely because outside a few sightings and then a chapter that describes her dreadful forced reintegration into her past culture, Cynthia Anne plays no role.

 But the history getting between her capture and eventual "release" is one of two clashing empires.  The COmanche had become the most powerful Plains tribe by virtue of the unmatched horesmanship and a penchant for fighting war's to the hilt.  Originally driven into Wyoming by other tribes, the Comanche essentially had disappeared before somehow obtaining some wayward ponies from the failing Spanish empire.  From there, they became the finest horsemen with nearly unmatched skill.  With these horses, they conquered and controlled lands from Wyoming to Mexico and as far East as Kansas and Oklahoma.  The book details how the Comanche essentially blunted the Spanish move into the US hinterland, and also kept the nation of Mexico from succeeding as well.  Their ability to travel vast distances (over 400 miles for a raid) was at the forefront of their power.  The book does an excellent job of detailing the back and forth battles that the Comanche fought with the US, and does a good job not to moralize either side.  It walks a fine line of describing a true battle of Empires, and the reasons why a peace could not be found between the adversaries.  

The later portion of the book follows Qanah Parker, Cynthia Anne's son.  He had escaped fromt he cavalry group that returned Cynthia to the US territory, and so continued his life as a COmanche.  He grew to be an esteemed war leader, and eventually after being defeated became an instrumental leader for the Tribe living on the reservation. 

Overall this is an enjoyable book with a lot of history packed in.  It paints a vivid picture of frontier life and life for the Comanche in throughout the 19th century, and all the changes that occurred.  The book can drag in a few spots, but overall it reads easily.  I woudl recommend it if you are interested at all in the frontier West.