Comanches: The History of a People

by T.R. Fehrenbach

Genres: History

594 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2010

About the author

Theodore Reed Fehrenbach, Jr. was an American historian, columnist, and the former head of the Texas Historical Commission (1987-1991). He graduated from Princeton University in 1947, and had published more than twenty books, including the best seller Lone Star: A History of Texas and Texans and This Kind of War, about the Korean War.

Although he served as a U.S. Army officer during the Korean War, his own service is not mentioned in the book. Fehrenbach also wrote for Esquire, The Atlantic, The Saturday Evening Post, and The New Republic. He was known as an authority on Texas, Mexico, and the Comanche people. For almost 30 years, he wrote a weekly column on Sundays for the San Antonio Express-News. T.R. Fehrenbach was 88 years old at the time of his death.

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Now the lesson is over, and the killing's begun."

Fehrenbach's 1974 "Comanches" is nothing if not bleak. It offers an unflinching account of the history of the Comanche people, absent of any comforting resolutions. His portrayal is vivid and unsparing, detailing their social structures, warfare strategies, and cultural traditions while also examining the devastating consequences of their clashes with European settlers—culminating in their eventual defeat and forced assimilation into American society.

A recurring theme in Fehrenbach’s work, as in many histories of Native Americans, is the profound incompatibility between tribal societies and European cultures. The indigenous people could never simply become Americans, Spaniards, or French, just as the Europeans could not shed their fundamental identity. Their worldviews were so alien to each other that, even when communication was possible, they were never truly speaking the same language. This mutual exclusivity made conflict inevitable—often brutal and bloody.

Fehrenbach maintains an objective approach, avoiding simplistic portrayals. The Comanches are neither depicted as noble pacifists nor mindless aggressors, and the Europeans/Americans are not reduced to ruthless colonizers or honorable victims. Instead, he presents both sides as distinct, irreconcilable civilizations, making the tragic outcome feel all but predestined.

[Vanessa MacDougal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive history of the Comanches. Neither romanticized nor demonized them. Compelling.

[Jack Wyss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written in 1974, just when white scholars were making a concerted effort to understand other cultures and present a less white-supremacist view of history. Although Fehrenbach often fails to transcend the “civilization/savagery” narrative that pervaded academic discourse until very recently, his account is very sympathetic and is filled with rich anthropological observation and reflections on human nature, the nature of violence, and clashing cultures. If you read with a critical eye, recognizing when he goes too far (again, as a result of the lack of availability of more sympathetic language and theory) this is a phenomenal and tragic book. Will have me pondering for a long time.

[Giselle's Reading Nook · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book. In my opinion a complete and detailed history of one of the greatest Native American tribes. Discusses in length how the Comanches rose to become the greatest horse tribe during the 17th century. How they dominated the Southern plains in the 18th and 19th centuries. The book of course describes how European settlers encroached on their territories, and the wars fought as the Comanche people tried to keep their lands and maintain their nomadic way of life, and their ultimate destruction due to diseases brought over by settlers, the mass slaughtering of the buffalo and loss of access to hunting grounds. This is a must read for anyone into Native American History.

[Rodger Pettichord · Rating 5 out of 5]

A profound history

This history is actually twofold: a history of the Comanche and a history of the settling of the west. These two stories are told with an even hand, giving a fair hearing to both Amerindians and White expansion. It is very well researched, using contemporary and current information to inform the narrative. Perhaps most importantly, it is well-written, more a story than an account, offered by an author who has written not only from the head but also from the heart. It is a touching book that will inform you while also moving you. You will be glad you read it.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never encountered a book with so much raw information regarding the native tribes of North America.
It's not focused entirely on Comanches and actually really doesn't get into focusing on them specifically for quite a ways into the book.

Comprehensive. All-encompassing. Without romance. Author did very little to glorify any practice, people or event and the entire book is presented as raw info.

[Brian Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

perhaps the best history book I’ve read

Well-researched, balanced, and fascinating history of the most fearsome Plains Indians. The Comanches were able to absorb Western technology (the horse), but not adjust their culture. It was an example of two cultures which were mutually incompatible and only one could survive. It also has many parallels to more modern, even current, struggles in the world.