The Earth is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West

by Peter Cozzens Narrated by John Pruden

Overview

With the end of the Civil War, the nation recommenced its expansion onto traditional Indian tribal lands, setting off a wide-ranging conflict that would last more than three decades. In an exploration of the wars and negotiations that destroyed tribal ways of life even as they made possible the emergence of the modern United States, Peter Cozzens gives us both sides in comprehensive and singularly intimate detail. He illuminates the encroachment experienced by the tribes and the tribal conflicts over whether to fight or make peace, and explores the squalid lives of soldiers posted to the frontier and the ethical quandaries faced by generals who often sympathized with their native enemies. As the action moves from Kansas and Nebraska to the Southwestern desert to the Dakotas and the Pacific Northwest, we encounter a pageant of fascinating characters including Custer, Sherman, Grant, and a host of other military and political figures, as well as great native leaders such as Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Geronimo, and Red Cloud. For the first time The Earth Is Weeping brings them all together in the fullest account to date of how the West was won.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal - Audio

★ 01/01/2017
Renowned Civil War historian and author Cozzens (Shenandoah 1862: Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign) provides a marvelous work sure to enlighten scholars and novices alike. Here he takes the listener on a journey of post-Civil War civilian and military aggression as it moves westward in America. Well-known names such as Custer, Sherman, Grant, Crazy Horse, Geronimo, and Sitting Bull are all covered in great detail. Cozzens strives to remain neutral and nonjudgmental as he lays out the actions of both Indian and non-Indian peoples. Some listeners may be surprised to learn that signed treaties by the government were continually disregarded. Narrator John Pruden effortlessly pulls the listener along on the voyage with perfect pronunciation of names of the various tribes, chiefs, generals, and locations. VERDICT Fans of the author's previous works, the American Civil War, the American West of the mid- to late 1800s, and plight of the Indians as they struggled to survive against military forces will be fully engaged. ["Highly recommended for the intertwined history of Native Americans and the post-Civil War frontier U.S. Army": LJ 8/16 review of the Knopf hc.]—Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

DECEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

Narrator John Pruden does what he can while reading this mostly dry history of the Indian Wars west of the Mississippi. But the prose itself only rarely comes to life—in a few of the battle scenes. The audiobook aims to present a rare balanced view of one of the most unpleasant eras in U.S. history, and succeeds in that. However, getting the facts across is not enough for a nonfiction audiobook. Pruden keeps listeners engaged through the exposition and rewards us when the action heats up. Those who follow him to the end will gain an understanding of American expansion into the Great Plains, and a counterweight to the story told in BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170128754
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	10/25/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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