Empire of the Summer Moon
Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches
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Empire of the Summer Moon
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Narrated by:
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David Drummond
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By:
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S. C. Gwynne
About this listen
In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the 40-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all.
Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second is the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.
Although listeners may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined just how and when the American West opened up.
Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana.
White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands.
Against this backdrop Gwynne presents the compelling drama of Cynthia Ann Parker, a nine-year-old girl who was kidnapped by Comanches in 1836. She grew to love her captors and became infamous as the "White Squaw" who refused to return until her tragic capture by Texas Rangers in 1860.
More famous still was her son Quanah, a warrior who was never defeated and whose guerrilla wars in the Texas Panhandle made him a legend.
S. C. Gwynne's account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative and, above all, thrillingly told.
©2010 S.C. Gwynne (P)2020 W F HowesListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Empire of the Summer Moon
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. T. J. Wilkinson
- 14-05-23
Very good understanding American Indian History
Growing up in Britain you do not learn this about American History. Indian wars are what you saw from Hollywood films growing up. John Wayne In the Searchers is a classic film as are some of his other Indian Westerns but what this book gives is an understanding that the films do not. The savagery often hinted at or just a shadowy scene in a film is layed bare. Before you thought the film portrayal maybe have been poetic license or a justification for the actions against the Indians. The whole episode of how American Indians were treated is real stain on American History though the Indians actions are often beyond the barbaric.
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- charles rissbrook
- 28-01-24
wonderful story, well told
Would make a fantastic Netflix series, Compelling narrative and well narrated. The Swan song of a native people, warts and all
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- Scott Lee Smith
- 30-03-21
A truly fascinating tale!
I’ll keep this short and sweet and sum this books story up in one word... Brilliant!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chris N.
- 01-01-22
Magnificent ..But Cruel. ..And....?
Is this "telling-it-as-it-was" or Racist?
Phrases about "Higher-Western-moral-codes" deny the truth of Black Slavery!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- MikeyB
- 02-11-21
Fascinating, even for a newbie
Prior to this I knew very little of American history and in particular that of the Native Americans. This is a well written story which does well to avoid judgment or taking sides, pointing out both the strengths and flaws of both the Native Americans and those who sought to displace them. This book has left me keen to learn more about the period and about Quanah Parker, who seems to have been quite the leader.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rhys Brindley
- 12-07-22
Fantastic book on little known history (in the UK anyway)
The only stuff I knew of the Comanche was from western films and books, after hearing of SC Gwynn on the Art of manliness and JRE podcasts, I gave this book a listen.
Highly recommended, as impartial an account as you can get through modern eyes, the history of the Comanche and their rivals in the west was beautifully written, feeling like a novel, bringing history from both sides eyewitnesses. Measured and clever, I highly recommend this book to learn about a little known history, that doesn’t paint the Native Americans as either savage or completely innocent, and the same with the white settlers. Impartial and well written
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Cian Tomas
- 18-11-22
Great insight into what took place in these times
This book was very interesting and gave me as a reader a really detailed insight into how the tribe operated and was able to evade capture for so long. The book was a long one but listening to it as I went about jobs on the farm that I work at was easy and allowed me to pass the days easily and the book flew by
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-04-22
The genuine old west
Amazing book, informative and engaging.
Proof that fact can be more entertaining than fiction.
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- Thomas Savoury
- 09-04-24
Amazing detail and story telling.
Fantastically well told, simplifying a complex period of history in a compelling and entertaining yet easy to digest way.
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- Terry Lane
- 04-07-24
The truth behind the cowboy & Indian myths.
This was a in depth look at the Cheyenne being the largest and most successful of all indigenous tribes,of their rise and ultimately the fall of all nations. Don’t expect tales of Custer and the little big horn,we have all heard the stories and seen the movies. We learn of the Cheyenne as a warrior nation for whom violence and war were key to their existence. In many ways the white man,Mexicans etc whose beliefs were not founded in violence were far worse than the Cheyenne being that their beliefs were founded on Christianity of loving one’s neighbours adherence to the Ten Commandments etc.
Lots of facts such as the success of the early Texas rangers who were fearless in their fight against the Cheyenne particularly in the early to mid 1840s ,the decade that saw the invention of the sidearm as invented by SamuelColt ,originally a five cylinder revolver and later after consultation with the Rangers became a six shooter. Colts invention was to alter the balance held by the Cheyenne who could accurately shoot a dozen lethal arrows a minute while riding a horse.
We learn of how the nations were doomed from the moment the English Pilgrims stepped ashore in the 1700s to their demise less than two centuries later.
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