Fiction, United States History - 18th Century - General & Miscellaneous

Conquerors

Name: Conquerors
Author: Allan W. Eckert
ISBN: 9781931672061

by Allan W. Eckert

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Overview

They had defeated the French and now the English possessed the vast North American Empire. Soldiers, traders, settlers—all began the trek across the wilderness to claim the land and its riches. Against this relentless tide Indian warriors rose up in bitter fury exploded in the bloody battle for the conquest of the Northwest territory.

'Reading Eckert is like listening to a master storyteller: he presents his material in vivid detail, using the novelist's technique to enhance dramatic events.'— Publishers Weekly

The epic tale of a towering Native American hero by the award-winning author of The Frontiersmen. Published to rave reviews, this extraordinary book tells the story of Shawnee leader Tecumseh, a military genius whose vision was to unite the North American tribes into one powerful Indian nation, capable of forcing back the encroaching white settlers.

Synopsis

'Reading Eckert is like listening to a master storyteller: he presents his material in vivid detail, using the novelist's technique to enhance dramatic events.'— Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly

The Ohio River, a principal route for pioneers pushing westward along its 981-mile course from Pennsylvania through Kentucky and Indiana to Illinois, was the scene of fierce battles among warring Indian tribes-Shawnee, Miami, Cherokee, Iroquois, etc.-and between Native Americans and white settlers. Tapping journals, letters, diaries and government memoranda from 1768 to 1799, and fleshing out his panoramic chronicle with reconstructed dialogue adapted from primary sources, historian-novelist Eckert has fashioned an epic narrative history of the struggle for dominance of the Ohio River Valley that makes compelling reading. The lives of notable pioneer families (Zanes, Bradys, Wetzels), incursions of traders, explorers, colonists, adventurers and the historic exploits of George Washington, Daniel Boone, George Rogers Clark and others intersect. A biographer of Shawnee chief Tecumseh (A Sorrow in Our Heart), Eckert emphasizes the sudden, overwhelming movement of whites into Native American lands and the Indians' initial restraint and tolerance, followed by furious raids, wars and expulsions. Maps. (Nov.)

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Library Journal

Eckert (A Sorrow in Our Heart, LJ 2/15/92) stands on an uncommon ground between academic and popular writers. His use of the "hidden dialog" as a means of writing history had been termed "documentary fiction." Here, he takes on the long and varied history of the Ohio River valley, engendered by indigenous Americans and settlers from European powers-French, Dutch, English, and Spanish. Eckert introduces a considerable number of Indians into the Ohio environment, utilizing a variety of fascinating primary resources to tell the history of the region and its people from 1768 to 1795. The final product, readable and rich in history, nevertheless will create problems for the historian and concern for the general reader. Those looking for a thorough history of the valley will be disappointed, and book selectors need to be aware of the type of history this book represents.-Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., Ala.

Jay Freeman

In the middle of the eighteenth century, English colonists began drifting into the trans-Allegheny valley of the Ohio River, the first spasmodic thrust of the westward movement. They inserted themselves into a volatile milieu; Frenchmen and a seemingly endless variety of Native American tribes traded, competed, and frequently warred with one another. To paraphrase Trotsky, those looking for tranquillity picked the wrong place and time to be born. Eckert's gift for connecting the lives of scores of obscure characters with a broader context provides the same masterful mix that made Evan Connell's "Son of the Morning Star" a delight for both the scholar and the general reader. Although the famous (e.g., Mad Anthony Wayne) and the near famous (e.g., Arthur St. Clair) are given their due, Eckert is at his best in chronicling the lives and fates of ordinary people who ferociously struggled with nature and with one another to hold their piece of ground. An eloquent and often heartrending portrayal of a fascinating and pivotal epoch in American history.

From Barnes & Noble

A fiery orator, a brilliant diplomat, a revolutionary thinker, a political & military genius--the man named Tecumseh became a legend among Native Americans & whites. He stood as a messiah to his people during one of the most crucial periods of their history, as the whites began to explore & expand to the west of the British colonies. In this meticulously researched biography, 5-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Allan W. Eckert fleshes out the details of a fascinating life & corrects the mistakes of previous accounts. Eckert tells the compelling story of the great Shawnee warrior, born under the augury of a shooting star, who drew together an enormous Indian alliance & led it to the greatest Indian victory in history over American military force.