The Heart of Everything That Is:
The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend
(Native American History)
by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
This book is due to be released Tuesday, November 5th. The Publisher's description is very detailed, and would seem to make for a compelling and well-researched read about a great Sioux warrior, whose vital place in Native American History has been sorely overlooked for far too long.
From the Publisher:
The great Sioux warrior-statesman Red Cloud was the only American Indian
in history to defeat the United States Army in a war, forcing the
government to sue for peace on his terms. At the peak of Red Cloud’s
powers the Sioux could claim control of one-fifth of the contiguous
United States and the loyalty of thousands of fierce fighters. But the
fog of history has left Red Cloud strangely obscured. Now, thanks to the
rediscovery of a lost autobiography, and painstaking research by two
award-winning authors, the story of our nation’s most powerful and
successful Indian warrior can finally be told.
Born in 1821 near
the Platte River in modern-day Nebraska, Red Cloud lived an epic life
of courage, wisdom, and fortitude in the face of a relentless enemy—the
soldiers and settlers who represented the “manifest destiny” of an
expanding America. He grew up an orphan and had to overcome numerous
social disadvantages to advance in Sioux culture. Red Cloud did that by
being the best fighter, strategist, and leader of his fellow warriors.
As the white man pushed farther and farther west, they stole the
Indians’ land, slaughtered the venerated buffalo, and murdered with
impunity anyone who resisted their intrusions. The final straw for Red
Cloud and his warriors was the U.S. government’s frenzied spate of fort
building throughout the pristine Powder River Country that abutted the
Sioux’s sacred Black Hills—Paha Sapa to the Sioux, or “The Heart of
Everything That Is.”
The result was a gathering of angry tribes
under one powerful leader. “The white man lies and steals,” Red Cloud
told his thousands of braves at council fire. “My lodges were many, now
they are few. The white man wants all. They must fight for it.” What
came to be known as Red Cloud’s War (1866–1868) culminated in a massacre
of American cavalry troops that presaged the Little Bighorn and served
warning to Washington that the Plains Indians would fight, and die, for
their land and traditions. But many more American soldiers would die
first.
In The Heart of Everything That Is, Bob Drury and Tom Clavin, the New York Times bestselling authors of Halsey’s Typhoon and The Last Stand of Fox Company,
restore Red Cloud to his rightful place in American history in a
sweeping and dramatic narrative based on years of primary research. As
they trace the events leading to Red Cloud’s War they provide intimate
portraits of the many and various men and women whose lives Red Cloud
touched—mountain men such as the larger-than-life Jim Bridger; U.S.
generals like William Tecumseh Sherman who were charged with
annihilating the Sioux; fearless explorers such as the dashing John
Bozeman; and the warriors whom Red Cloud groomed, the legendary Crazy
Horse in particular. And residing at the heart of the story is Red
Cloud, fighting for the very existence of the Indian way of life.
This
fiery narrative, fueled by contemporary diaries and journals, newspaper
reports, eyewitness accounts, and meticulous firsthand sourcing, is a
stirring chronicle of the conflict between an expanding white
civilization and the Plains Indians who stood in its way. The Heart of Everything That Is
not only places the reader at the center of this remarkable epoch, but
finally gives Red Cloud the modern-day recognition he deserves.
If any of you happen to read this book, we would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
