Tecumseh - by John Sugden (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"A richly detailed, utterly scrupulous account that is as poignant as it is informative."
--The New York Times Book Review

If Sitting Bull is the most famous Native American, Tecumseh is the most revered. This is the first reliable biography of the shadowy figure who created a loose confederacy of diverse Indian tribes that extended from the Ohio territory northeast to New York, south into the Florida peninsula, westward to Nebraska, and north into Canada.

A warrior as well as a diplomat, the great Shawnee chief was a man of passionate ambitions. Spurred by commitment and served by a formidable battery of personal qualities that made him the principal organizer and the driving force of confederacy, Tecumseh kept the embers of resistance alive against a federal government that talked cooperation but practiced genocide following the Revolutionary War.

Tecumseh does not stand for one tribe or nation, but for all Native Americans. Despite his failed attempt at solidarity, he remains the ultimate symbol of courage, unity, and fraternity.

Review Quotes

"A richly detailed, utterly scrupulous account that is as poignant as it is informative."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Sugden has mined previously ignored British regimental histories that are scattered all over the English countryside--an approach that indicates the breadth of his scholarship and the thoroughness of his analysis. . . . Intricate . . . Insightful."
--The Washington Post Book World

"This intelligent study of Tecumseh's life relates a great deal as well about the history of the Shawnee, especially in the Ohio region, and the wider context of Tecumseh's attempt to create a Pan Indian resistance, including a history of earlier such attempts. A very competent addition to the literature on this remarkable man."
--Library Journal

About the Author

Dr. John Sugden is already acknowledged as the leading authority on Tecumseh and the Shawnee. His previous books include Tecumseh's Last Stand and the critically acclaimed Sir Francis Drake. In 1988 Dr. Sugden was a Ford Foundation Fellow.