Rating: 
Summary: Comanches
Review: I've read other books about American Indians and have seen how it can be done well. This is the worst book on any group of American Indians that I have ever seen. The auther starts out with 100 or more pages of anthropological speculation that he unqualified and unfit to enter into. If you make it through this first grueling hundred pages or so you find a book that is hamstrung by the authors bias. Don't waste your money on this book.
Rating: 
Summary: An Impressive History of An Impressive People
Review: If it's possible to write five hundred pages of historical non-fiction without bias, Fehrenbach has done it in Comanches. The book is devoid of rhetoric, overstatement, or preaching. He is a man absolutely committed to fact. What he presents in Comanches is a sweeping tome on the origins and ultimate destruction of a fascinating culture.Vast in scope, Comanches begins with an anthropological study of the warring tribe's development and domination of rival Indians. They were nomadic people, living in harmony with the plains, sustained by the seemingly-infinite buffalo herds. More than anyone else, the Comanches are responsible for America's English-from-the-East-coast heritage rather than what would have been domination by the Spaniards coming north out of Mexico. The Comanches' fierce resistance delayed European domination of the West by several centuries. Fehrenbach's treatment of the Comanche's adoption of the horse, introduced to North America by the Spaniards, is brilliant. Anyone who has ever ridden a horse bareback knows how difficult it is to stay aboard, and can't help but be in awe of the "horse people's" ability to ride at full gallop and accurately shoot arrows or, later, rifles. The book finishes with the sad destruction of the Comanche culture by the relentless and overwhelming advance of European "civilization" from the East. In a word, Fehrenbach's scholar-level book leaves you with a deep respect for the Comanches. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.
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Summary: More Than a History
Review: Perhaps no author does better than Fehrenbach when it comes to writing a history that gives the reader an insight into the very souls of the people involved. This is the story of a tragedy, one that has been left largely untold by the movies, western fiction or the history books found in our schools. It is certainly not a romanticized version written from the Indian perspective, but it cannot help but leave one with serious questions regarding our treatment of the Comanches, Kiowas and other tribes. At the same time, the author objectively describes the forces behind the white's usurpation of the domain of the Plains Indians. Highly recommended if you are prepared to read a history that will make you think.
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Summary: Excellent combination of history and anthropology.
Review: T.R. Fehrenbach's The Comanches is a wonderful, unflinching look at a powerful yet tragic tribe of Indians. The thing that separates Fehrenbach from other history writers is his use of anthropology.He explains why these and other Indians did not evolve beyond the Stone Age. For teachers like myself it helps to know why geography and culture(not race) influence different peoples' actions.
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Summary: Early Texans at their very best.
Review: This book describes the history and destruction of the Commanche people in a manner that makes the book hard to put down. More importantly the story of the interactions of the Commanche people, the Spaniards, Mexicans, Texans, and Americans are portrayed in the fairest manner possible. There are no good guys, no bad guys, just people doing what they had to do to survive. Fehrenbach's insight into the Commanche ethos allows one to understand why European based cultures had to fear them, hate them, and at the same time respect them and actually feel proud that such a people existed. At the same time I have become more proud of my Texan ancestors whether they be White, Indian, or Mexican. I now understand why the Commanche people and the American or Texan peoples could not have coexisted. Tragically, one had to be exterminated.
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Summary: Comanches - Destruction of a People
Review: Well researched, interestingly written. I could not put this book down. Mr. Fehrenbach provides a balanced perspective many books do not.
Rating:
Summary: Comanches - Destruction of a People
Review: Well researched, interestingly written. I could not put this book down. Mr. Fehrenbach provides a balanced perspective many books do not.
Rating:
Summary: A must for students of Texas history
Review: You can't know all you need to know about Texas without having a good knowledge of the Comanches. They are as important to the development of the state as any other group and yet they are often overlooked in surveys of Texas history.
Rating:
Summary: A must for students of Texas history
Review: You can't know all you need to know about Texas without having a good knowledge of the Comanches. They are as important to the development of the state as any other group and yet they are often overlooked in surveys of Texas history.
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