Description

I am asking each of you for a 500-750 word essay discussing the book which I have assigned you. As you are reading the assigned work, be aware of the things that you liked or disliked about the book. Use those observations to write about the strengths and weakness of the book as you perceive them. There is absolutely no right or wrong answer here. I am only interested in reading your thoughts about what it is that these authors are trying to do. Are they arguing a specific perspective and trying to convince you of something? If they are, are they persuasive? If the Author is simply trying to tell you a story, are they effective at that? What do you think of their primary sources? Do you find their work credible? These are all questions that you might ask or address in your precis. As I mention in the video, there are a few ways in which you might have points taken away from you. Your paper must include the bibliographic citation of the book. It must cite examples from the text in your arguments. Do not use “I” in your paper. Try to think of better ways to present your arguments. You must use the Turabian format to cite your book. (A quick guide to the Turabian citation format (Links to an external site.)) Please DO NOT GIVE ME A SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK. I do not need you tell me step by step what happens in the book. I am looking for your opinions, plain and simple. And last, but certainly not least, DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. If you Plagiarize, you will fail the assignment and possibly the clas. Again, as always, if you have questions, please email me or try to set up an appointment via zoom. I hope this finds all of you well and answers some questions you might have about the precis paper.

Ralph E Morales

HIST 1323 Z04

Dr. Ralph Morales

11/11/2020

Precis

Gwynne, S.C. Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, The Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History. New York, NY: Scribner, 2010

In writing Empire of the Summer Moon, author S.C. Gwynne has sought to tell the tale of the Comanche tribe, who Gwynne asserts are the most powerful native tribe in American history. In this book, Gwynne recounts the story of the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parker, a settler in 1830’s Texas and her integration into the Comanche tribe. He then recounts the rise of her son, Quanah, to the role of war chief in the nearly constant warfare between the settlers of Texas and the Comanche Tribe. Gwynne discusses the ways in which Mexican, Texan and finally, American governments sought to curtail the power of the Comanches in Texas and the ways in which this warfare fundamentally shaped the modern day state of Texas.

Gwynne masterfully succeeds in arguing his central thesis that the Comanche wars in Texas were undeniably the result of two equally aggressive and warlike people meeting in the same place and the same time. To prove this point, Gwynne makes extensive use of sources from both the American and Comanche sides (Gwynne 215). Of particular note are the many times that Gwynne cites Quanah Parker himself in this work. While the modern reader may not find Parker to be a particularly reliable narrator, nonetheless, the inclusion of his words in the discussion on the many aggressive raids launched by the Comanche during his time as a war chief give the work a weight it may not have had otherwise (Gwynne 102).

Where Gwynne is not so successful is his lack of a straightforward narrative. In portions of his work, Gwynne chooses to tackle the subject of Comanche raids thematically rather than chronologically (Gwynne 97, 112). This could confuse a reader not already knowledgeable about the sequence of events that led to events such as the Medicine Lodge Treaty, which occupies a good deal of Gwynne’s attention (283). This lack of a clear chronological structure makes the work difficult to follow at times, and is a distraction from an otherwise effective discussion on the Comanche people and their history.

In closing, Gwynne has created a masterful, yet flawed, work on the relations between the Americans settling Texas and the Comanche. Though the sections that highlight the Comanche are enlightening, they are nonetheless compromised by the author’s unconventional structure. When Gwynne does succeed in his narrative, his work is indeed riveting. Gwynne’s cinematic approach to the actions of his subjects and the numerous ways that the Americans and Comanche abandoned any chance for a lasting peace for momentary selfish gain is in turn heartbreaking and frustrating. This is a work that would interest any seeking to understand a more nuanced look at the Native wars fought in Texas.