Empire of the summer moon
by S. C. Gwynne · first published 2010
71% recommend29% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Gripping, narrative history of the Comanche's rise and fall, covering their horsemanship, warfare, and why the Plains stayed unsettled for so long. More readable than academic histories; suits general history readers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Describes the actions of both whites and Comanches during a 40-year war over territory, in a story that begins with the kidnapping of a white girl, who grew up to marry a Comanche chief and have a son, Quanah, who became a great warrior.
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I highly recommend "Empire of the Summer Moon"[1], a fascinating account of the final decades of the Comanche tribe. 1 - https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer-Moon-Comanches-Powerful...
on “That Dothraki Horde, Part III: Horse Fiddles” ↗The purpose was to force them onto the reservation, not exterminate them. See "Empire of the Summer Moon". https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer-Moon-Comanches-Powerful... An excellent read for anyone curious about the history of this.
on “Hippo Meat Nearly Became an American Food Staple” ↗…the notion that somehow Europeans were uniquely interested in brutal empire building. I can only infer that such notions stem from never having read history books about other cultures. For example, "Empire of the Summer Moon", by Gwynne https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer-Moon-Comanches-Powerful...
on “Jared Diamond: A Reply to His Critics” ↗"Empire of the Summer Moon" https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer-Moon-Comanches-Powerful... This would make an epic miniseries!
on “Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?” ↗The bison were deliberately shot in order to force the Comanche onto reservations. "Empire of the Summer Moon" https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer-Moon-Comanches-Powerful...
on “Close to 2k Environmental Activists Killed over Last Decade” ↗Empire of the Summer Moon (S.C. Gwynne) It's the story of the rise + fall of the Comanches in the late 1800s. So far, it's an unbelievable story, and if you're generally interested in the post Civil War era as the U.S. expanded…
May I suggest reading actual history books? The stories in them can be very good. See "Empire of the Summer Moon" by Gwynne. https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer-Moon-Comanches-Powerful... Why anyone hasn't made this into a miniseries is baffling. It's quite an epic. Not only that, it really happened. No worries…
on “They don't make readers like they used to” ↗The accounts of how the Commanche lived nearly all come from accounts written by white people who lived among them (often taken as slaves by the Commanche). See "Empire of the Summer Moon", by Gwynne. A truly fantastic epic. I'm amazed nobody has made this into a miniseries yet. https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer-Moon-Comanches-Powerful...
…them. The Inca empire was only recently formed before the Spanish arrived. In North America, the Commanche carved out an empire in the south at the expense of the tribes that had been living there. See "Empire of the Summer Moon": https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer-Moon-Comanches-Powerful...
on “How the Mayans were able to accurately predict solar eclipses for centuries” ↗…histories of the tribes is pretty murky. For example, most of what is known about the Commanches comes from letters and diaries of white people who were in contact with them, or were enslaved by them. See "Empire of the Summer Moon" by Gwynne. https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer-Moon-Comanches-Powerful... It's a fantastic account, and I'm amazed nobody has made an epic miniseries about it.
on “Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School and Found Hidden Ancient Roman Ruins” ↗…modern life has disconnected us from a lot of what humans find meaningful, and given that it's not surprising that rates of depression and anxiety have skyrocketed. Yeah. See Yvain's excellent review of "Empire of the Summer Moon": All of the white people who joined Indian tribes loved it and refused to go back to white civilization. All the Indians who joined white civilization hated it and did everything they could to go back…
on “Mental Wealth” ↗…exactly one Chief who was the final arbiter)"" AFAIK absolutely false. It is also a gross generalization about a diverse group of people with differing sociopolitical structures. I would suggest reading "Empire of the Summer Moon" for an example of a famous and incredibly egalitarian American construct, or just read about Iroquois political structures via Googling, for two examples. http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=939760...…
on “Why I'll be a solo founder next time” ↗…human societies in time. It further enables every human on earth confront themselves. Two books I would recommend to stir a fascination with these early cultures: Thundersticks by David Silverman, and Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynn. These contain accessible descriptions of life before the 19th century Plains Indian Wars, which dominates a lot of people’s ideas about the indigenous Americans. In fact, European contact…
on “Blue beads could be the oldest evidence of European goods in North America” ↗…to read actual accounts of criminals, rather than fictional accounts? I.e. make it a documentary? I bet many documentaries would make far more compelling cinema than any made up story. For example, "Empire of the Summer Moon". What a great epic that story is. And it really happened.
on “Be critical or be corrupted” ↗I actually read "Empire of the Summer Moon" first. It's a nice intro to the same topic, and far more readable (weaves a couple of stories together, rather than being an academic work). If you are interested in the topic at all, it's a worthy read.
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗