Tecumseh: A Life by John Sugden Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Tecumseh: A Life
Book Review: Tecumseh: A Life...Better the Second Time Around
Summary: 3 Stars
John Sudgen's "Tecumseh: A Life" is one of the more recent biographies of the famous Shawnee leader. Upon first reading of this book, I was not greatly impressed as the text was rather dry and languid. However, after delving more deeply into other works on Tecumseh's background and history of the War of 1812, I felt this work perhaps deserved another look. Tecumseh of course is the famous Shawnee war leader who resisted American expansion into the Northwest Territory in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He has been the subject of many books and movies, many of them fanciful presentations of the mythical image that has grown up around the man that many have called the greatest Indian leader of all time. Tecumseh's dream of a powerful pan-Indian confederacy was visionary in scope as he hoped to unite not just a few, but ALL the Indian tribes east of the Missisippi and beyond against the flood of white settlers pouring across the Appalachian Mountains. Tecumseh came closer than any others to succeeding in that vision, but the British defeat in the War of 1812 and Tecumseh's death at the Battle of Moraviantown in 1813 ended that dream forever.
Sudgen's book helps to dispel many of the myths and tries to present the known facts about Tecumseh's life. While not nearly as engaging as Allan Eckert's "A Sorrow In Our Hearts", this book serves as a decent, if still somewhat slow going telling of the life of an undeniably capable leader. Sudgen also takes time to bash research of other historians who have done work on Tecumseh, ostensibly to help clarify the many myths and misconceptions that have grown up around the Shawnee leader in the past 200 hundred years, but the chapter comes off as more of a rant against other authors and diminishes the impact of the book. After reading Sudgen's work, I would recommend checking out not only Eckert's books on Tecumseh, but also "A Wampum Denied" by Sandy Antal and "The Shawnee Prophet" by R. David Edmunds for a more in-depth understanding of Tecumseh's life and times.
Book Review: Whomp 'em
Summary: 3 Stars
This book lost one star right off the bat. There are two maps of the US at the time of the action, with several cities and Indian settlements marked. Almost none of the places where the action in the book takes places are marked on the maps. I would read about a battle, then spend five minutes looking for the place name on the maps, because, well, it was a big battle, it must be there. Nope. So we're starting now from a maximum of four stars.
Cartography aside, this was a not-too-bad, traditional biography. Some parts dragged, it seemed to me, because nothing exciting was happening at the time, but the author nonetheless felt obligated to describe what Tecumseh was doing at all times. Some parts were interesting and the writing was really snappy. In the end, I was left with a good view of what Tecumseh was up against, the motivations of his allies and enemies, and the state of affairs for the Indians in general.
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