Why read Myth, Memory, and Massacre?

Book cover of Myth, Memory, and Massacre: The Pease River Capture of Cynthia Ann Parker

Book description

In December 1860, along a creek in northwest Texas, a group of U.S. Cavalry under Sgt. John Spangler and Texas Rangers led by Sul Ross raided a Comanche hunting camp, killed several Indians, and took three prisoners. One was the woman they would identify as Cynthia Ann Parker, taken captive…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Myth, Memory, and Massacre as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

James E. Crisp

Author

I’ve been hearing about Cynthia Ann Parker since I was a child growing up in the part of northern Texas once ruled by her Comanche captors–and her Comanche compatriots! Captured as a child by Comanche raiders at the Parker family’s frontier compound at the time of the Texas Revolution, Cynthia Ann fully became a Comanche. She married a warrior, Peta Nocona, and together they had a son, “Quanah Parker,” who eventually became the most famous “Indian” in America.

I was amazed by the authors’ ability to penetrate the myths surrounding Cynthia’s recapture by Texas Rangers. Speaking virtually no English, she…

From James' list on The best history books written from hidden, elusive, and mysterious sources.