The Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier

Average customer rating:

Outstanding balanced heartfelt story worth 10 stars!

A colorful Texas Hill Country history

A truely amazing achievement

interesting

Very Good Read

The Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier
Scott Zesch
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Native American | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312317891
Release Date: 2005-12-27

Book Description

On New Years Day 1870, ten-year-old Adolph Korn was kidnapped by Plains Indians. For three years, he thrived on their rough, nomadic existence, becoming a fierce warrior. Never readjusting to white society, he spent his last years in a cave, all but forgotten by his family. That is, until Scott Zesch stumbled over his great-great-great uncles grave. Determined to understand how a timid farm boy could have become so Indianized, Zesch traveled across the west, digging through archives, speaking with Comanche elders, and tracking eight other child captives with hauntingly similar experiences.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding balanced heartfelt story worth 10 stars!.......2007-07-29

I agree with the other reviewers that this book was a pleasant surprise. Moreso, I believe this book should be nominated for a Pulitzer and a Nobel - and I am certain this will become a blockbuster movie!

Hey, take a gander and read my other 100-plus reviews. For me, Bill Anderson, to be uttering such rave exclamations about a historical account, this must be a treasure! It is. Mr. Scott Zesch has provided a book that really gets into the souls of the abducted children and their captors. He somehow does so with balance and sensitivity and refrains from cliches.

I listened to the audio version twice (bought through audible.com, back-to-back, on my iPOD while driving between job sites in Egypt. The first hearing was problematic due to traffic conditions here.

Hey, dodging microbuses and women drivers here is a bit similar to evading arrows and bullets in the old west! Anyhow, I wanted to listen again so I could commit to my soul my new realization of something I think so many researchers have failed to grasp.

Stockholm Syndrome is perhaps only part of the issue. Just as stem cells seem to adopt the particulars of their surroundings, and just as many wild critters can be raised by other species (and occasionally will suffer a confusion as to their own species), so, too, do human beings adopt those existences (sorry for a bad choice of words here) and become as their custodians, captors, siblings or peers. I realize this seems a bit, "duh, no kidding" but the import goes beyond the obvious. Further, it would seem, that any particular species is apt to more fundamentally accept, or accomodate, that which is least hampered or complicated by rules or regulations. In other words, transitioning toward simplicity is more pleasant than is adjusting to more and more complex organizations or societies.

Precisely such a lesson may be of fundamental importance when establishing any system or organization. Perhaps too much regulation or too complex the controlling body makes routine operation (especially at the commencement) will lead to seeming chaos, disorder and thence lead to revolt and to eventual failure or destruction.

And, too abrupt a change before communication to and fro could shortcut any hopes or dreams of adjustment or transition from the simple state towards the complex state.

Although these observations result from a book about Indian captives, the observations, I submit, apply as well to Iraq, Egypt, (or politics in general) but, more important, to formations of clubs, associations and corporations.

General Motors and Ford seem now to be suffering, partly, from the complexities they created while transitioning from the Great Depression through the New Deal and into the Great Society. all the while, upstart, less complex carmakers in Japan challenged from a simpler standpoint using a simpler vehicle.

And, now that Toyota et al have evolved, they may well be in danger from Hyundai and others.

Anyway, back to Captured. This is probably the best book ever authored about life among Native Americans as lived by children taken by force but who adopted the lifestyle out of love for those with whom they lived. I experienced tears of empathy in listening to Scott's discussion of visiting the cave of his distant uncle or when hearing of the reunion one 'white Indian describe his memory of the demise of his adopted 'brother' brutally massacred by a Texas Ranger.

That, alone, is a significant achievement by Scott Zesch - Bill Anderson.

A colorful Texas Hill Country history.......2007-06-22

Texas Hill Country author Scott Zesch began writing "The Captured" after finding the lonely grave of one of his reclusive and little-known relatives. His great-great-great-Uncle Adolph Korn had been kidnapped as a youth by Indians, but Zesch knew little of the details surrounding this incident. His search for answers would prove to be truly enlightening.

It was not uncommon for Indians to integrate child captives into the tribe, and Adolph spent a number of years with the Comanches living his life as a full member of the Indian community. Eventually he was released and returned to his family, although his return to white society was anything but smooth. Adolph was never able to re-adapt to civilization and he ended up living in a cave in the Texas Hill Country, a willing recluse and outcast from the environment that he had been born into.

Zesch not only chronicles his ancestor's life, but also the lives of several other Indian abductees, all of whom had strikingly similar experiences.

The book is an amazing piece of work on several levels. Author Zesch does a tremendous job of researching his work, and his source material is first-rate. The book has excellent pictures that help to add depth and reinforce the stories told between the pages.

Be aware that there are some very graphic battle and abduction scenes depicted in the book. These are definitely not for the squeamish.

Overall, this is a wonderful Texas Hill Country history that will keep you entertained for hours. Zesch is careful to treat all of his subjects with humanity. He is neither an Indian apologist nor does he demonize them. He simply states the facts as told to him by his sources and then lets the reader come to their own conclusions and judgements about the events at hand.

Highly recommeneded for anyone interested in Texana or Hill Country history.

A truely amazing achievement.......2007-06-13

Zesch's wonderful book manages to entertain & inform with equal excellence. For a history book I found it suprisingly heartbreaking.

interesting.......2007-05-14

This is a great read. I like the way the author opens up and tells his story along with the captives. He includes pictures (which is always nice). If you are interested in Native American history and/or Texas History you will like this book.

Very Good Read.......2007-01-14

Very interest information, well written. Highly recommended for the western history buff.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful Story fine for Ages 4+
Five Stars from a Texan
Happy Customer
This was my favorite story when...
A sad but inspiring and very beautiful story.

The Legend of the Bluebonnet
Tomie dePaola
Manufacturer: Putnam Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0698113594

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful Story fine for Ages 4+.......2007-01-01

Our family loves Tomie dePaola books, and this is one of his most beautiful. While I agree with one reviewer that it's not appropriate for two year olds, it really was fine for my 4 year old. As that same reviewer writes, the book's heroine, a child, sacrifices the last tangible memory of her family. However, this is shown as an heroic act of unselfish love--and her reward is that from that day on, the land is filled with tangible memories of her family's love in the form of the Bluebonnet flowers.

My four year old asked many questions as I read the story, and my answers--and of course the story itself--showed him how even a child can be heroic--and that heroism does not need to involve swords and muscle--it can simply take the form of an unselfish act.

Five Stars from a Texan.......2004-01-25

As a Texan, I had to have this book for my 4 month girl. Obviously, she is too young to understand the text, but as soon as she is old enough I will not hesitate to continue reading this book to her. It is so beautifully written and the illustrations are wonderful, as Tomie dePaola's illustrations always are. The lessons of selflessness and sacrifice are invaluable. And it gives a perfect opportunity to discuss such realities of life as being orphaned and loneliness in a non-threatening way if the proper discussion between parent and child accompanies the book.

Happy Customer.......2003-05-30

Wonderful prompt service. Couldn't be happier. Book was in wonderful condition!

This was my favorite story when..........2003-03-28

This was my favorite story when I was a child. I love how it tells of a young girl who chooses to give up something she loves for her family and people... I read this book whenever I could in school. Now that I teach pre school I get to share the beauty of this story with my class and they love it too...In Texas you see them everywhere in late March to early May. I use to think it was funny but now I have to wonder why, when you see a bluebonnet an Indian paintbrush isn't that far away?

A sad but inspiring and very beautiful story........2002-02-28

Every spring, throughout central Texas where I live, we are blessed with one of mother nature's great floral displays--Texas Wildflower Season. For three to four weeks in April and May the countryside--as far as one can see in all directions--is a rainbow of color as billions of wild flows bloom. Chief among these are the Bluebonnets, the Sate Flower of Texas.

The Legend of the Bluebonnet is the retelling of the old Indian legend of how this event came to occur. It relates the story of She-Who-is-Alone, an orphaned Indian girl being raised by her tribe during a time of extreme drought and famine. This young girl is the sole remaining member of her family--the others have all died in the famine.

The tribe calls upon the Shaman to commune with the Great Spirits to divine what it is the People must do to regain harmony with nature. The Shaman states that a "great sacrifice" needs to be made. How She-Who-is-Alone acts upon that message is how the Bluebonnets come to be ion Texas.

This is a very sad and hear-rending story in large part, though it is also incredibly heartwarming and inspiring as well.

This has always been one of my kid's favorite books--my wife's and mine as well. However, it is probably a book best left to a bit older child--say 8 and above. Once you start reading it though, you will never stop. You will read it many time to your children--and your grandchildren.

Book Description

Two boys, separated by the canyons of time and two vastly different cultures, face the challenges by which they become men.

Coyote Runs, an Apache boy, takes part in his first raid--the one that will usher him into manhood. He is to be a man for but a short time...

More than a hundred years later, while camping near Dog Canyon, fifteen-year-old Brennan Cole becomes obsessed with a skull that he finds, pierced by a bullet. He learns that it was the skull of an Apache boy executed by soldiers in 1864. A mystical link joins Brennan and Coyote Runs, and Brennan knows that neither boy will find any peace until Coyote Runs' skull is retumed to an ancient sacred place. In a grueling run through the canyon to retum the skull, Brennan faces the challenge of his life.

Customer Reviews:

cGnyons by Gary Paulsen.......2006-10-04

Written by Joey
Canyons by: Gary Paulsen
I liked this book because it is interesting and long.

An Apache boy named Coyote Runs, goes on a raid that will make him a man. But on that same raid his friend Magpie is killed. Will he be the next one killed by the soldiers? More than 100 years later while camping at Dog Canyon, a fifteen-year-old boy named Brennan finds that same Apache boy's skull. Brennan asks his friend Homesley for help and they go to Homesley's friend's work place. Tibbet's tells them later whose skull it is. The skull is returned to a sacred place. He hears Coyote Runs voice in his every step he takes. This will be the challenge of Brennan's life. by Joey

Canyons.......Cool!.......2006-09-22

This book is thrilling....but, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under 9;too much violence. A psychic link between two 15 year old boys; one, almost a man, one a school kid struggling through adolescence. A young indian boy's spirit guides the kid to the place of spirits to release his restless soul.

Good book....but teachers, beware of books on cassette!!!.......2006-06-27

Canyons was a good book, but I wouldn't say it was fantastic. The narration on the tape was very nice - not dull like many I've heard before. However, although the one I ordered was "unabridged," it did skip whole paragraphs in the book (my students followed along with the tape). This was confusing at times.

I suggest that any TEACHER using the tape to supplement their own classroom reading look for a CD version!!!!

A book With Interesting Legend to Tell.......2006-05-15

Brennan enjoys the wilderness of the canyons near Mexico. Only on one of his camping expiditions, his life changes forever. He discoved something that could change his fate, a skull. Now he reserches the legend of this skull and finds out he must do something. Brennan must return the skull. But will the police get in his way? Read the book to find out.

Skull Spirit.......2006-04-24

I think Canyons was an ok book. I mean that I have read more books by Gary Paulsen and they have been a lot better. But the thing is that I liked the book and it was ok. This book was about two boys and they get split up in the canyons. Then like 100 years later the one boy finds the other boys skull and it was lying by a rifle bullet. The boy knows that he won't find peace until he returns the skull to the ancient sacred place. The kid faces the challenge of his life. Then on the way something happens to the boy and you will have to read it to find out.
I liked this book because it was interesting once I got farther into it and understood it. I also read it because other students have read it and they also liked it. But it was a great book. What I never liked was it was kind of boring in some places and when the kid arrived at the sacred place it never worked because he was late so then he got shot. So after that it really wasn't that great because it left out the ending.
Other kids that like adventure or like the outdoors would probably like this book. It has guns in it and it you don't like blood then don't read this book.

Average customer rating:

A great little tale full of intrigue and local color
great characters
Intriguing, Involved Fast Paced Murder Mystery
Good Murder Mystery
Cajun Snuff will keep you guessing.

Cajun Snuff
W. Randy Haynes
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1413783570

Book Description

Loner. Free spirit. Rebel. Not words normally associated with an agent of the ultra-conservative FBI Counterterrorism Division. When the mutilated body of a black U.S. Congressman and Christian minister was found in the steamy bayous of southwestern Louisiana, Special Agent Adam Stephen had the perfect qualities needed to be the lead investigator. Adam discovers that the Congressman may have appeared respectable, but finds muddy surprises and vicious enemies instead. From a New Orleans Garden District widow to a bizarre Neo-Nazi group, the suspect list reads like a recipe for a spicy bowl of swamp snake gumbo, and Adam appears to be the next ingredient.

Customer Reviews:

A great little tale full of intrigue and local color.......2007-01-06

It took W. Randy Haynes five years to write his first mystery, but the effort was worth it. The first time "out of the gate," as he says, he garnered a selection as a finalist for the prestigious 2006 Lambda Literary Award. Haynes is a disabled Vietnam vet who found time on his hands during the long Lake Tahoe winters. But Haynes is originally a Texan, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a member of the Cherokees of California and started up
a Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Lake Tahoe. He is presently working
on a sequel to CAJUN SNUFF.

Special Agent Adam Stephen is inexplicably tapped by his somewhat boorish boss to investigate the mutilation murder of a U.S. Congressman who happens to be Black. On his way to New Orleans, Adam meets up with a woman named Adaline Fontenot, a widow from New Orleans, who not only opens doors for him during his investigation, but who will change his life forever:
"'Mr. Herndon? I'm Adam Stephen. I really appreciate your talking to me."

Adam handed over the letter of introduction.

'Come in.' The man unlocked the office door and turned on the lights. The office was unsophisticated but functional. Herndon took a seat behind the desk and motioned for Adam to sit in a chair. 'So, you're a friend of Ms. Fontenot, huh? How did you get so highly connected?'

'It was an accident. We met on a flight to New Orleans, and I've visited her home since. She's well-known in the state?'

'You could say that. Ada is the power behind the progressive politics here in Louisiana. She prefers to work behind the scenes and avoids publicity.'"

CAJUN SNUFF is an understated, yet passionate whodunit that is character-driven and examines the politics of the South and the attempt by right-wing zealots to take over our country. Adam Stephen is a dreamboat of a character who is both as spicy as New Orleans and, at the same time, is vulnerable and strong. When Adam meets up with Homer, a neurotic bloodhound with separation anxiety, Haynes injects just the right amount of humor to enliven and lighten the tale. But Adam and Homer bond, Adam saves the day, and Haynes sees fit to give us a reverse ending. CAJUN SNUFF is extremely well done and is a great little tale full of intrigue and local color.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

great characters .......2006-06-24

This is a new and exciting book with colorful characters! I hope this is the beginning of an adventure with Adam. Randy Haynes has the ability to bring the characters to life. This reader wants to have more!

Intriguing, Involved Fast Paced Murder Mystery.......2006-05-27

Having been raised on a bayou in Louisiana, gone to school in Lafayette and lived in New Orleans for 22 years I found Mr. Haynes book fascinating, imaginative and insightful of the darker side of Louisiana Politics, criminal aspects plus the goodness of Southern hospitality. The characters are from every aspect of life in Louisiana, from down home country people through the flamboyant Gallery owner to the bigots, criminals and every other group that populates the landscape.

This is a great murder mystery with many twists and turns. The descriptions of the locations are wonderful with great details. I am looking forward to the next book with Adam Stephens.

Good Murder Mystery.......2006-03-27

I can only hope that this is the first of many mysteries to be produced by Mr. Haynes. The lead character Adam Tyler Stephen is a fascinating blend of sleuth, hard-nose FBI agent, and a sexy single gay guy. He solves the mystery of the murder of a Congressman, and in the process upsets most of officialdom in Washington, at FBI headquarters, New Orleans, and the Louisana bayous. In the process, he befriends the doyen of New Orlean's Garden District, a sassy FBI secretary, an aged butler, and a college age gay kid who is allegedly a Neo-Nazi. Needless to say, the convoluted plot keeps the reader guessing until the very last few pages.

The character development of Adam is such that he could theoretically become a new gay super slueth if his creator decides to make him such. I can only hope that there are more stories for Adam in Mr. Haynes imagination.

Cajun Snuff will keep you guessing........2006-03-04

This is an excellent mystery that introduces a new hero, who I hope will appear in a series of books. The atmosphere will draw you in. I am looking forward to the next book.

A Fate Worse Than Death: Indian Captivities in the West 1830-1885

Average customer rating:

the west was wild
Opens a Window on a Lost Frontier

A Fate Worse Than Death: Indian Captivities in the West 1830-1885
Gregory Michno , and Susan Michno
Manufacturer: Caxton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0870044516

Customer Reviews:

the west was wild.......2007-09-30

A 5 star book. Great research and presentation.Now I know why the phrase Save the Last Bullet For yourself applied to Indian Captives. Buy it-read it and put it on the shelf next to Michnos other books.

Opens a Window on a Lost Frontier.......2007-09-18

The things which made us "American" were not legacies of Anglo-Saxon folk moots or the Gothic forests of Northern Europe according to the great historian, Frederick Jackson Turner. To understand America and its unique character, you had to first understand "the meeting place between savagery and civilization," the frontier.

Gregory and Susan Michno's excellent book, A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH: INDIAN CAPTIVITIES IN THE WEST, 1830-1885, resurrects the literature of that long forgotten frontier. And, it restores the dark edge generations of politically correct teachers and bland social scientists have obscured.

No abstract theories here. These are thoroughly researched accounts from real men, women and children who were captured by Indians. This is the flesh, blood and terror of the frontier experience. Get a copy while you still can.

Chief Bowles and Texas Cherokees (Civilization of the American Indian Series)

Average customer rating:

Chief Bowles and Texas Cherokees (Civilization of the American Indian Series)
Mary Whatley Clarke
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

The Texas Cherokees: A People Between Two Fires 1819-1840 (Civilization of the American Indian Series)

ASIN: 0806134364

Average customer rating:

GOOD ENTERTAINMENT AND WRITING
Nearly Mythical Tale With Great Characters
Among the best
Unnecessarily Vulgar
a compelling page-turner with well-drawn characters

The Borderland: A Novel of Texas
Edwin Shrake
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0786865792

Amazon.com

Everybody knows the story of the Alamo and the Texas victory over the Mexican army at San Jacinto, but the dramatic period that followed--the years when the Republic of Texas was not yet part of the United States--has largely been ignored. Edwin Shrake's novel makes up for that. The Borderland is set in 1839, three years after the Alamo fell. The fledgling Republic is down on its heels, desperate for money, short on organization, lacking structure and infrastructure, and still at war with Mexico. President Lamar, as much a poet as a politician, has a plan, though: by expanding the Republic to the Pacific, he can attract the frenzy--and cash--of land speculators. He begins by going up against his enemy, Sam Houston, and moving the capital of the Republic inland from Houston to a pristine river valley in central Texas--Comanche country--that gives birth to the new city of Austin. The repercussions are enormous. To begin with, it sets off the largest Comanche war party of all time.

Weaving together a marvelous cast of characters, some real, some wholly created, Shrake renders a strong, often eerie portrait of life on the frontier and the horrors of frontier warfare. As Texas Ranger Captain Matthew Caldwell, known as "Old Paint" because of his spotted beard, leads a desperate, ragtag force against the Comanche warriors on the plains south of Austin, Romulus Swift, a half-Cherokee physician descended from Jonathan Swift, falls in love with Caldwell's young German Jewish immigrant bride. Swift is a mystical character--he's on a quest to find a mysterious, otherworldly-wise creature said to live in a cave full of Spanish gold; Caldwell is more a straight-ahead force of nature. When the two men, suspicious of each other from the get-go, must journey together into Comancheria, the palpable tension has as much to do with whether they'll kill each other as it does with whether they'll be able to make a truce with 2,000 Comanche warriors ready to wipe Austin out. Add to the mix Swift's sister, anxious to return to her Native American past after a society life in New York, and Henry Longfellow, a powerful, misogynistic, slave-holding politician who may be Texas's first serial killer, and The Borderland has the makings of a truly tall tale. Massive in scope, captivating in detail, and meticulous in its resurrection of history, Shrake's novel exhumes a forgotten era of Texas's past. --Roland Gregory

Book Description

In this epic novel, veteran writer Edwin Shrake explores the feuds and alliances among Americans, Mexicans, and Indians, the political treachery, and the tales of fortune-hungry settlers that combine to tell the story of how Texas was born. Set in the blossoming frontier town of Austin, The Borderland focuses on the lives of Romulus and Cullasaja Swift, the half-Cherokee offspring of two forward-thinking parents who have come to Texas from New York; of Henry Longfellow, a rapacious lawyer and of Captain Matthew Caldwell, a Texas Ranger whose eccentric ways are matched only by his fierce bravery.

Customer Reviews:

GOOD ENTERTAINMENT AND WRITING.......2007-09-04

THE BORDERLAND is a kind of modern-day dime Western with exaggerated characters and predictable conflicts. This keeps it from being a 'serious" work for me but doesn't keep me from giving it four stars for entertainment and good writing. Mr Shrake provides the reader with plenty of action involving Mexican cavalry, Commanches and Texas Rangers. The story centers around Austin, Texas, at one time Commanche and Mexican land, and the Anglo immigrants who moved into the area after the Texas War of Independence against Mexico and built the capitol of the Republic of Texas. THE BORDERLANDS has love of both the lusty and romantic kind as well as evil land speculators, New York dandies, and historical characters Sam Houston and Mirabeau Lamar. Mr Shrake's book has been compared to McMurtry's LONESOME DOVE series. That comparison has merit and while the LONESOME DOVE novels have the same type of comic book bad guys, there is somehow more sand to McMurty's books. Still, a good read.

Nearly Mythical Tale With Great Characters.......2004-05-18

Edwin Shrake's "The Borderland" is an entertaining blend of myth and historical fiction. Set in the early days of the Republic of Texas, "Borderland" tells a complex story of love, heroism, mysticism, political intrigue, and the Texan version of Manifest Destiny.

Its grand scope is well-suited to Shrake's grand characters. We meet the grizzled Texas Ranger Matt Caldwell, famous for his courage under fire and his drinking ability, Doc Romulus Swift, a Renaissance Man if there ever was one, Doc's sister, Callusaja, a New York-educated woman who desires nothing more than to return to her Native American roots, and a cast of other characters. Some are real historic figures (the bellicose general Sam Houston, who unfortunately disappears from the action early on), and others are figments of Shrake's vivid imagination (Henry Longfellow, a sinister maniac stalking the West like a demented scarecrow). Virtually all are characters you can sink your teeth into -- you'll never forget Herr Gruber, the burly German with an ax-blade permanently stuck in his skull!

With remarkable sensitivity, Shrake also portrays the struggles and triumphs of several women in the young Republic. In addition to the beautiful Callusaja, Hannah Dahlman arrives in Texas from Germany betrothed to Matt Caldwell and finds herself in a romantic world beyond her imagining. And Dora Kerr, who has left the theater of New York City to experience the real excitement of the frontier, is a woman of daring and spice who could have been the focus of her own novel.

Shrake does not merely focus on the Texans. One of the book's true accomplishments is the humanity Shrake brings to the Comanches and Cherokees in his story. Shunning the safe fall-back position of showing the greedy Texans swiping land from noble Native Americans, Shrake gives us a cast of Cherokee and Comanche characters who are fully realized, given over to love, cruelty, honor, wisdom, and foolishness just as the Texans are.

In breathing life into both sides of the Texan-Native American conflict, Shrake gives us a world as fully realized as any in a "clash-of-cultures" story since James Clavell wrote "Shogun." That Shrake does not give as thorough a treatment to the third major force in the story, the Mexicans, is an indication that Shrake kept a tight control on the scope of the novel -- had he thrown many more storylines in, "Borderland" could have easily spun out of control.

As it is, Shrake's plot brings a certain element of myth into the story of the evolution of the Republic of Texas. Doc Swift has journeyed to Texas in large part due to the mysterious calling of a man-ape who stalks the Texas Hill Country and lives in caves filled with gold. The Dark Man, the Comanche who survived a lightning strike in his younger years, is given over to prophecy. Caldwell, known as "Old Paint," rides the crest of his own legend as an Indian fighter, Ranger, and veteran of the war against Santa Anna. And Sam Houston occupies his world like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill rolled into one.

The only thing that keeps me from giving this novel five stars is that the ending feels a bit truncated. Perhaps limited by actual historic events, Shrake does not give us the truly cataclysmic ending that his novel's scope demands. The villain deserves a greater comeuppance, and the conflict between Caldwell and Swift is resolved a bit too neatly.

Still, this is a minor gripe -- this is a heck of a book!

Among the best.......2002-07-25

Other readers' reviews (well, most of them) have accurately acounted for the attributes of The Borderland. I will address several very specific points.

From the opening paragraphs of the Prologue, an account of two massive storms that collided in 1839, the reader knows that he is in good hands. Here is that rare bird in Western fiction: a theme that promises to be grand in scope, announced in metaphorical terms. This is the story of many such collisions. Just like the two storms, each adversary has telling impact on his own, and when two of them meet, there is real drama.

An interesting and unusual element of the book is that it has two protagonists. Each is a powerful and deeply interesting figure. Each is a man of uncommon attributes, and the reader finds himself drawn to each of them; yet neither is without his human failings and contradictions. It is one of Shrake's more noteworthy achievements that he shows us how their flaws derive from the same experiences and personalities that have made each character so imposing. As with the story, Shrake allows his characters to develop because of who they are, and this is the heart of dramatic action. As the two protagonists come closer and closer to conflict, one is reminded of the great storm of the Prologue. These are extraordinary examples of their kind, and no small amount of the tension in the book develops from speculation about what will happen when Old Paint and Romulus Swift have their accounting.

There are also carefully drawn and believable female characters in this book, two of them as strong and as organically developed as their male counterparts. It is as easy to see how these two men could love these women as it is to see how the women could love the men. And there is a loathsome villain, but--to me, at least--he seems altogether believable, if disgustingly so. He is simply another rarity: a character of fathomless evil. It is impossible to guess how much of the power of this book would have been lost without these characters, but I'm sure that the book would have fallen into the ranks of the ordinary. And the book almost teems with believably, carefully drawn supporting characters. I can't think of one that is not developed with the same honesty and art as the main characters.

The Borderland is, predictably, not without its faults. I found there to be a bit too much coincidence, almost in the mold of Thomas Hardy, for my liking, but Shrake is so meticulous about everything else, I doubt if he would agree. In the face of so much that is admirable, this is a quibble at best.

Finally, the book is written with a firm, masterful, and often graceful and memorable style. I am not prudish, but I am sensitive to gratuitous filth. I find none of it, as one reader has, in this book. Shrake does use some shocking language when he reveals the mind of his villain, and it only adds to his incomprehensible evil.

I've read enough Western historical fiction to know the conventions and weaknesses of the genre. Lonesome Dove is grand, and The Snowblind Moon is simply one of the most haunting books I know. The Borderland ranks with them: they are the three best novels of the time and place that I have read.

Unnecessarily Vulgar.......2001-07-22

Shrake's story is interesting, but to compare this to Lonesome Dove is a serious mistake. While I think his portrayal of a a brutal time in a dangerous land is probably right on, his narration of the events sounds like something out of a Penthouse Forum. I don't mind the characters speaking in a vulgar way, but for the narrator to choose words that are clearly unneeded to develop the story is really too bad. I was disgusted for the last time within 100 pages of starting it and proceeded to do something I have never done - threw the book in the airport trashcan. Stick with Lonesome Dove - or Gates of the Alamo.

a compelling page-turner with well-drawn characters.......2001-07-11

The Borderland is a compelling work of historical fiction which works well because of its plotting, richly drawn characters and historical accuracy. Its 400+ pages move briskly along, following several interrelated story-lines which lead to an ultimate showdown. The story has a cliff-hanger feel to it, setting up a confrontation in chapter 1, which does not come to a head until several chapters later and recurs throughout the book.

The characters are richly drawn both from the conventional myth of Texas and truly unique characters. Texas ranger Matthew Caldwell exemplifies the strong, silent Texan of myth. He has the courage to assert the "Ranger's perogative" to defer arresting a wrongly accused man in defiance of orders from the President of the Republic of Texas as well as the ruthlessness to leave his enemies to their death. There is also a pack of Texas scoundrels, such as Henry Longfellow, a psychotic land speculator and hanger-on to President Mirabeau Lamar and lawyer Ridgewood Bone, whose name takes on an irony after an encounter with the Commanches. Lawrence Kerr is a more likeable, but still conventional character, as the foppish New Yorker who goes native and returns home with tales to tell. However, the story draws much of its depth from its unconventional and unlikely characters. Central to the plot are Doc Swift and his sister Cullasaja. They are the product of a marriage between a Cherokee woman and a Scottish ship captain, living their lives in both worlds. Doc Swift is a medical doctor educated at the University of Edinburg whose command of the English language is far superior to that of the American colonists he encounters. He uses both his European and native American medical training to save countless lives and earn the respect of many who would otherwise reject him. His sister Cullasaja is a similarly educated and erudite young woman who seeks a native American version of the American dream--to live in peace with her people in the land promised to them by former President Sam Houston. Hannah Dahlman is another central character. She is a German mail order bride who comes to Texas seeking to escape the political repression of her native land and bring her family with her. There is just one catch--she is Jewish, a detail which matters only to the Catholic church. The wooing of Hannah Dahl between Ranger Caldwell and Doc Swift forms one of the central conflicts of the book. The portraits of the Commanche warriors and mystics are compelling as well. Edwin Shrake creates them to be worthy adversaries rather than two dimensional villains to be gunned down by the heroic Texians.

The attention to historical detail is refreshing as well. Shrake captures the feel of frontier Austin, established San Antonio and swampy Houston with great accuracy. This is neither an uncritical telling of the Texas myth nor a PC screed against the evil Anglos. Instead, the story tells the grim dance of death between the Anglos, the Mexicans and the Commanches. Each takes a turn as executioner of the others and each receives a dose of death as well. None of the parties escapes being a giver and recipient of bloodlust, although it is often the innocent within each group who suffer. The violence is contrasted with the ordinary day to day lives of the Texans and the Commanches. The violence and grittiness of much of the story is contrasted with the ending, which is a counterpoint to Edwin Shrake's earlier novel, Blessed McGill, which was pretty darn depressing.

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Remember these Native Texans!

Somewhat dated, esp. on use of language, but still full of good information

Euro Bias

A Much Needed Native American History

Provides an overview of the cultural aspects of the tribes

The Indians of Texas from Prehistoric to Modern Times
William Wilmon Newcomb
Manufacturer: Univ of Texas Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0292732716

Book Description

"Newcomb's book is likely to remain the best general work on Texas Indians for a long time."

—American Antiquity

" The Indians of Texas, by W. W. Newcomb, Jr., is an excellent and long-needed survey of the ethnography of the Indian tribes who resided within the present limits of Texas since the beginning of the historic period.... The book is the most comprehensive. scholarly, and authoritative account covering all the Indians of Texas, and is an invaluable and indispensable reference for students of Texas history, for anthropologists, and for lovers of Indian lore."

—Ethnohistory

"Dr. Newcomb writes persuasively and with economy, and he has used his material very well indeed.... his presentation makes good reading of what might have been a book only for the specialists."

—Saturday Review

Customer Reviews:

Remember these Native Texans!.......2006-04-26

W.W. Newcomb, Jr.'s book "The Indians of Texas" (10th printing in 1993) brings and responsible and informed voice to Native American studies. This University of Texas printing provides 13-pages of photos, several drawing (including a figure about arrowheads/spearheads entitled "projectile points"), and a thorough 12-page bibliography.

Even with 404-pages (paperback) one feels Newcomb's frustration with the scant facts and sources available for the Indians of Texas. His research and presentation take the reader from prehistoric times (about 5,000 BC) to the period he entitles "the era of extermination" (of the late 1890s). With precision, and an eye to detail, he explains native tribal life through the centuries. By dividing geographically Texas' Indian populations he categorizes each native group and tribal confederation.

One learns language groups persisted, through the centuries, among the various tribal groups (i.e. Mexican Coahuiltecans spoke similarly to the Texas coastal Karankawas and Tonkawas while the northern Athapaskan shared their language with the west and central Texas Apaches and the western and central Texas Comanche were linguistic relatives of the western Utes). Newcomb suggests that much of the pre European arrival warfare and confederations among the tribes were based in language groups.

Newcomb carefully delineates tribal alliances as he speaks to ancient Texas Indian warfare. He explains that with the 16th century European encroachment the tribal way of life became only more difficult. The French (aided with the Comanche, Utes and Wichita/Pawnee) fought the Spanish (who were allies with the Apache, Jicarilla, Lipan, and Kiowa) for control of Texas and northern New Spain. Spain ultimately won and many Texas Indians died in land hungry Europeans' wars. Even Spanish abolishment of slavery in Louisiana in 1769 did not shield the natives from disastrous futures.

Newcomb also speaks to native life. He informs about tribal societal expectations, religions, farming techniques, male and female power positions, family and marriage requirements, and management of individuals' age advancement. He offers an entire chapter on the Caddo Confederacy (many tribes including the Caddo, Nacona, Anadarko, Neches and Nacogdoches, and the distantly related linguistically Pawnee) suggesting to one's mind that these well established tribes were likely Texas' greatest, and most advanced, Native American culture.

Newcomb closes his book by tracing each trail that tribes took into the history of Texas. Some (like the Apache, Comanche, and Ute) were exterminated by warfare. Others (the Wichita) were relocated to distant "reservations". Still others (like most of the Caddo) simply disappeared (perhaps being absorbed into the European society around them).

It seems certain that this book will assist in positioning the various tribes of Texas into history's permanent memory. General and specialty readers will find it interesting. "The Indians of Texas" is recommended to Native American students, students of the southwest, tribal studiers, and Texas history buffs.

Somewhat dated, esp. on use of language, but still full of good information.......2006-01-22

Newcomb does, it is true, use the words "savage" and "barbaric." However, in his forward, he explicitly says that these words refer to levels of technological development only and are not a moral assessment.

That said, this book provides a great overview of all the Indian tribes of a large and diverse state, not just headline grabbing Comanches or Apaches. Relatively peaceful Caddoans and Wichitans are here, as are bloodthirsty Karankawa.

The other way this book is dated is simply the passage of 40-plus years. A number of archaeological studies, plus linguistic analysis, have provided new information on Texas Indians since this was written.

But, especially used, this is still a great buy.

Euro Bias.......2001-01-16

While presenting an impressive collection of information about Texas natives, Newcomb's work is flawed by an air of cultural superiority. The author seems to accept the notion that Indian culture in times past was less advanced than that of the European conquorers. Thus, Indian houses were hovels, Indian religions superstition, and Indian diets barbarian. Such bias calls into question the accuracy of Newcomb's observations, not to mention his conclusions.

A Much Needed Native American History.......1999-10-15

This book is a long-needed survey of the ethnography of the Indian tribes who lived in Texas since the beginning of recorded history. Newcomb's work is a scholarly and authoritative account covering all the tribes in Texas and is an invaluable reference for students of Texas history, cultures, and Indian lore. Newcomb is a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas and former director of the Texas Memorial Museum.

Provides an overview of the cultural aspects of the tribes.......1998-01-18

Using the basic cultural aspects of each tribe, Newcomb provides the definitive reference on the Indians of Texas. Each chapter uses parallel structure providing ease of use...food, clothing, housing, warfare, social structure, religion, education, transportation---, and the information is dependable. This book should be considered a standard purchase for every school in Texas, 7 up,or a must for any Native American collection!

Heist: Superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, His Republican Allies, and the Buying of Washington

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Great Story! Respectable Storytelling.
The most comprehensive account of the Abramoff scandal yet written

Heist: Superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, His Republican Allies, and the Buying of Washington
Peter H. Stone
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0374299315
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Book Description

The Indian-casino scandal has torn the veil off the Republican Party’s conservative power base, revealing parts of the Washington lobbying community and GOP establishment where greed, arrogance, and corruption seem to have run amok.

At the center of this drama is the larger-than-life super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, onetime B-movie producer, with deep ties to Republican heavyweights like the embattled Republican power broker Tom DeLay, Congressman Bob Ney, former head of the Christian Coalition Ralph Reed, influential anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, and others with links to the Bush administration. Abramoff, working with public relations whiz Michael Scanlon, a former DeLay aid, bilked several Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars in fees and bought influence in Congress. The federal corruption probe into Abramoff's lobbying has already produced indictments and seperate guilty pleas by Abramoff and Scanlon to charges that they conspired to bribe public officials and defrauded four Indian tribes. More charges are expected to follow in a scandal that has tarred many powerful Washington insiders, and which the New York Times has called "potentially one of the most explosive in Congressional history."

The scandal is front-page news and will continue to be as the midterm election campaigns of 2006 heat up. But Stone digs behind the headlines to capture fully a riveting tale of our time: an inside-Washington drama driven by outsized personalities and the toxic mix of money and power.

Customer Reviews:

Great Story! Respectable Storytelling........2007-08-11

What a story! A classic tale of corruption in Washington, DC. I was both entertained and educated by the author's summary of this complicated series of events. He introduces the characters, the situation, and describes the "action" in a respectable narrative style.

Sometimes I pay almost no attention to the Federal Government. The unveiling of Abramoff, DeLay, Ralph Reed, and the other villains is this drama passed me by. This book has filled me in admirably. Stone's choice of level of detail seemed just right.

I take off one star for the few places where one wishes the editor had made the author clean up unnecessary repetition, and for the general lack of color. The style is that of a journalist, not a novelist.

A fine job of reducing a complicated story to a brisk, informative read.

The most comprehensive account of the Abramoff scandal yet written.......2007-04-05

This was a highly entertaining and readable account of the Abramoff scandal. Before I started reading it, I had a pretty vague understanding of the whole affair. I had obviously followed the story in the newspapers but tended to get lost in all the details of the intricate plot. Stone does a good job of explaining Abramoff's activities in a clear way that renders the affair understandable even to those with no prior knowledge. For the most part, Stone's voice is fairly unbiased. He presents the facts and lets them speak for themselves. He mostly refrains from making moral judgments of Abramoff and his collaborators until the last chapter, in which he situates the scandal within the larger topic of corruption in Washington. If I had to make a criticism, it might be that the author is sometimes repetitive, as he had a habit of citing certain facts and making certain arguments multiple times. Overall, however, I would recommend this book to anybody looking to gain a better understanding of the Abramoff affair. It makes for a pretty entertaining read at points, mainly just because the affair itself is so interesting and populated by such a colorful cast of characters. As far as I know, this is the only book-length treatment of the Abramoff scandal.

Standing in the Gap: Army Outposts, Picket Stations, and the Pacification of the Texas Frontier 1866-1886

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Standing in the Gap: Army Outposts, Picket Stations, and the Pacification of the Texas Frontier 1866-1886
Loyd Uglow
Manufacturer: Texas Christian University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0875652468

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