S. C. Gwynne's Empire of the Summer Moon is a historical account of the Comanche tribe in the American West. From the rise to power, dominating the west, to their systematic elimination by the U.S. government, the Comanche demonstrate fighting prowess and dedication. Gwynne traces the virtue of their military training as well as their fearsome battle tactics, instructions which were drilled into the braves from a young age. They prevented the settling of the west for decades, until the government stopped playing fair. Under orders, white settlers and soldiers began systematically killing the buffalo, the Comanche's primary food source. This caused migration, which, suffered also from the expansion of the railroads out west. Eventually the westward push is too much for the dwindling tribe to resist, but not before they become legends in Texas under the leadership of Quanah, son of white woman named Cynthia Ann Parker.
Gwynne's account, rife with juicy historical details, really draws readers into the setting. He describes the Comanche as an intimidating, stern people who valued tribal cooperation and loyalty. When Parker is kidnapped, she grows to love the Comanche. She becomes a respected member of the tribe, giving birth to the fearsome warrior, Quanah. Amid the increasing threats against their way of life, Gwynne hones in on the dignity of the tribe. These people were warriors by nature, merely responding to the threats of westward expansion in kind, yet they were systematically eliminated by the United States.
The involvement of the U.S. Government in the crisis out west is presented as necessary but unusually desperate. In light of the deaths of vast populations of frontier families, the military becomes involved, but they cannot defeat the Comanche, even with their guns. They begin to employ more detestable, inhumane tactics -- such as massacring the buffalo to starve their enemies. Understanding the inevitably hostile relationship between the two parties -- military and tribe, -- the Comanche nation engages in a final blaze of glory. What must that final generation felt, knowing they were probably the last of their people?
