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
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
an engrossing albeit problematic history of the Comanches. Gwynne provides a great sense of how the Spanish and later the Texans failed to treat the Comanches with any respect (be it social or military). Great cultural data and some enlightening (to me, anyway) information about the politics of tribes in the southwest.
My problems arise with some of Gwynne’s language choices, where his failure to signal an ironic stance causes some confusion. For instance, when using the term “uncivilized,” Gwynne demeans the Comanche and other tribes but it’s hard to know if this is meant to be harsh or is simply that Gwynne doesn’t see a problem using “uncivilized” when he means “nomadic tribes” or “non-European peoples”. Basically, civilized equates to “having a fixed architecture, written language” etc. I can see the need for a word that differentiates the oral-tradition + nomadic culture of the Comanches, but falling back on the binary of civilized/un-civilized privileges the European/Texan/American peoples. Similar issues arise with the use of the word “savage” that is apparently meant to be ironic yet lacks a clear signal of said irony (putting savage in quotation marks or using phrases “The warriors whom the Spanish believed to be savage and unskilled ended up decimating....”)
Definitely worth reading if one has an interest in the topic, but be ready for some of these frustrating moments.
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