#empireofthesummermoon

[havewemet81]

I started a new book last night. So far it’s a little savage like intense. And In Tents (Teepee) #empireofthesummermoon (at Square One Apartments) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHFFfq3HZG2/?igshid=1rsitbpntpsbo

[tedyism]

I just started Listening to the Audiobook #EmpireOfTheSummerMoon by #SCGwynne , now let’s get started. #books #Reading #Whatamireading #ABoxofBooks #quarintinereadingwithTedy #ReadingWithTedy #Comanche #NativeAmericam #History #QuanahParker https://www.instagram.com/p/CAIOGaagauy/?igshid=mgg067v630x7

[thesuperunknowns-blog]

Hooked after the first chapter #empireofthesummermoon #quanahparker #comanches #bestnonfiction #americanindian #nativeamerican

[pocokie]

Goot Saturday-morning-still-in-bed reads. Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne. #empireofthesummermoon #comanche #quanahparker

[thedistillerymarket]

Confessions of a Comanche History Addict

Our cousin, Emily, reads more than anyone we've ever met. When we caught up at a recent family gathering, we realized that we had both read Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne. Turns out, Emily's been on a Comanche kick for the better part of this year. She has some great Comanche history book recommendations, and agreed to share them with The Distillery's readers here.The following post was written by our cousin, Emily Smith. 

- Catelyn

A few months ago, a friend of mine convinced me to sample Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne. Even though I was not particularly interested in the history of Texas/Comanches/Quanah Parker, I took the book home with me and agreed to try a few pages that night. Several chapters and zero hours of sleep later, I had to admit it was a good read, and even followed up with a chaser: The Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier by Scott Zesch. But instead of satisfying my craving for another book on Comanches, Zesch's account of assimilated captives intensified my interest. (I feel like my wife has been captured by Comanches, my husband joked). Fortunately, Kindle recommended several other books on Comanches and captives.  I ordered them instantly, but only because I care about saving trees.

One month and six books into Kindle’s recommendations later, I realized  I needed something more pure, undiluted.  Primary sources, out of print texts. While discussing this problem with a co-worker (This is all you ever talk about, my husband told me), the co-worker revealed that his grandfather in Graham, Texas was similarly addicted to the history of American Indians.  So naturally, I emailed Leroy, a 92 year old man I have never met, to see if he could get me the good stuff (I think this may be getting weird, my husband warned).

   And Leroy didn’t disappoint.  He was my own Walter White, providing advice about additional reading materials, mapping potential field trips to Texas historical markers, and encouraging me to experiment with other media, like film (he likes The Searchers, an old John Wayne movie). So for anyone who has a fever and the prescription is more Comanche history, here are some book suggestions from Leroy and me (my husband recommends The Addicted Brain, by Michael J. Kuhar instead):

Gateway Drugs:

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

The Captured: A True Story of Abuduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier by Scott Zesch

The Son by Philip Myer (fictional account, but really good!)

For the More-Than-Recreational User:

Captives and Cousins: Slavery in the Southwest Borderlands by James F. Brooks

 A Fate Worse than Death by Gregory Michno

The Comanche Empire by Pekka Hämäläinen

The Comanche: Lord of the Southern Plains by Wallace and Hoebel

The Comanches: A History of a People by T.R. Fehrenbach

Addicts Only:

Captured by the Indians: 15 Firsthand Accounts, edited by Frederick Drimmer

In the Bosom of Comanches by T.A. Babb (by captive Dot Babb. His mother was murdered in front of him, and her female friend was captured and used as a sex slave, but Dot still assimilated into the tribe in time.)

Narrative of the Perilous Adventures, Miraculous Escapes, and Sufferings of Rev. James W. Parker (Most current reprints also include "The Narrative of Rachel Plummer Parker" within the same volume (warning: these narratives have some veins of racism running through, typical of the times.))

Other popular history books about the West:

Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore the Wild American Frontier by Stephen Ambrose

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond (this talks a little bit about pioneer expansion and the ultimate defeat of the Comanches).

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown

Blood and Thunder:An Epic of the American West by Hampton Sides

-Emily