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The Comanche Empire

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The Comanche Empire

By: Pekka Hamalainen
Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer
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About this listen

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, a Native American empire rose to dominate the fiercely contested lands of the American Southwest, the southern Great Plains, and northern Mexico. This powerful empire, built by the Comanche Indians, eclipsed its various European rivals in military prowess, political prestige, economic power, commercial reach, and cultural influence. Yet, until now, the Comanche empire has gone unrecognized in American history.

This compelling and original book uncovers the lost story of the Comanches. It is a story that challenges the idea of indigenous peoples as victims of European expansion and offers a new model for the history of colonial expansion, colonial frontiers, and Native-European relations in North America and elsewhere. Pekka Hämäläinen shows in vivid detail how the Comanches built their unique empire and resisted European colonization, and why they fell to defeat in 1875. With extensive knowledge and deep insight, the author brings into clear relief the Comanches' remarkable impact on the trajectory of history.

©2008 Yale University (P)2016 Tantor
Indigenous Peoples Social Sciences United States American History Military Great Plains Old West Wild West
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Critic reviews

"A fascinatingly informative volume." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about The Comanche Empire

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The end is very insightful

I was amazed by this story and slowly understood the complexity of the Comanche way of life. Make sure you have the history of the Lakota tribe to follow up with

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Thorough and insightful

If you're looking for a ripping yarn about the Comanches that you can retell in the pub, this book mightn't be for you. Rather it is an academically minded account of the Comanches as a human society situated within an incredibly complex geo-political setting. At times it can be a bit dry and I would have liked some more anthropology looking at the religious beliefs of the Comanches which are mentioned only in passing and further insight into their sense of self and their day-to-day lives. The occasional glimpses we get into their individual personalities are fascinating but rare. That said, this is an amazing book, excellently read, that is probably a must for anyone seeking genuine information on the Comanches and the southern plains as opposed to the cliches and stereotypes which to be honest the author sets out to dispel. Overall, a great listen, this is my first book on native American history so I literally know nothing. Chapter one was a bit long-winded for me as a general reader and concerns the author's academic standpoint but the book starts proper in chapter two. Twenty hours well spent and not a ripped-out heart in sight!

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2 people found this helpful