The Apaches - by James L Haley (Paperback)

About the Book

James L. Haley's dramatic saga of the Apaches' doomed guerrilla war against the whites, was a radical departure from the method followed by previous histories of white-native conflict.

Book Synopsis

Apaches: A History and Culture Portrait, James L. Haley's dramatic saga of the Apaches' doomed guerrilla war against the whites, marks a radical departure from the method followed by previous histories of white-Native conflict. Arguing that "you cannot understand the history unless you understand the culture," Haley first discusses the lifeway of the Apaches--their mythology and folklore, religious customs, everyday life, and social mores. Haley then explores the tumultuous decades of trade and treaties and of betrayal and bloodshed that preceded the Apaches' final military defeat in 1886. He emphasizes figures that played a decisive role in the conflict: Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, and Geronimo, on the one hand, and Royal Whitman, George Crook, and John Clum on the other. With a new preface that places the book in the context of contemporary scholarship, Apaches is a well-rounded overview of Apache history and culture.

From the Back Cover

Apaches: A History and Culture Portrait, James L. Haley's dramatic saga of the Apaches' doomed guerrilla war against the whites, was a radical departure from the method followed by previous histories of white-native conflict. Arguing that "you cannot understand the history unless you understand the culture", Haley first discusses the "life-way" of the Apaches - their mythology and folklore (including the famous Coyote series), religious customs, everyday life, and social mores. Haley then explores the tumultuous decades of trade and treaty and of betrayal and bloodshed that preceded the Apaches' final military defeat in 1886. He emphasizes figures who played a decisive role in the conflict; Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, and Geronimo on the one hand, and Royal Whitman, George Crook, and John Clum on the other. With a new preface that places the book in the context of contemporary scholarship, Apaches is a well-rounded one-volume overview of Apache history and culture.

Review Quotes

"Haley . . . claims not to be attempting to write history from the Apache viewpoint, noting that only Apaches can do that. Rather, the inclusion of sections on religion, folkways, social organization, and warfare, as told by Apaches, is aimed to blend history and ethnology, . . . to let the record speak for itself." Earl H. Elam, in American Indian Quarterly "Pathbreaking. . . . A book which must be examined thoroughly to be appreciated properly." Southwest Review "Haley's scholarship is sound, his handling of the Indian-white conflict is balanced. . . . Haley does quite as well at holding reader interest as . . . fictional portrayals of this warfare." Roy W. Meyer, in Annals of Iowa