Reviews
In his penetrating new book, Thunder in the Mountains, Daniel J. Sharfstein shows how the meaning of freedom was contested after the Civil War not only in the South but all the way to the Pacific Northwest... Sharfstein's account makes for absorbing reading; it adds immeasurably to our understanding of the complicated, interwoven lives of those who fought for 'progress' east and west... Those who know little about General Howard, other than that he was a founder of Howard University, will be especially interested in following his story to the end., "In his penetrating new book, Thunder in the Mountains, Daniel J. Sharfstein shows how the meaning of freedom was not only contested in the South after the Civil War but extended all the way to the Pacific Northwest....Sharfstein's account not only makes for absorbing reading; it adds immeasurably to our understanding of the complicated, interwoven lives of those who fought for "progress" east and west....Those who know little about General Howard, other than that he was a founder of Howard University, will be especially interested in following his story to the end.", No other book better brings to the fore the qualities of Chief Joseph or better explores the dilemma of his pursuer, Gen. O.O. Howard....a splendid book., Magnificent and tragic....Sharfstein is a wonderful storyteller with a deep knowledge of all the relevant source material from the period. His narrative is rich with fascinating historical details., ""Daniel Sharfstein offers a searing account of an American tragedy: how Oliver Otis Howard, a champion for the rights of freed slaves, became an architect of the dispossession and subjugation of Native people. This beautifully written book will change the way readers think about the era of Civil War and Reconstruction."", One of the epic tales of American history, rendered by a master storyteller. Daniel Sharfstein breathes new life into the fascinating figures at the heart of the Nez Perce War., Superb....Sharfstein's story unfolds as a swift-moving narrative of tragic inevitability....of compelling interest to any student of 19th-century American history., In his penetrating new book, Thunder in the Mountains, Daniel J. Sharfstein shows how the meaning of freedom was contested after the Civil War not only in the South but all the way to the Pacific Northwest....Sharfstein's account makes for absorbing reading; it adds immeasurably to our understanding of the complicated, interwoven lives of those who fought for 'progress' east and west., Beautifully wrought and impossible to put down, Daniel Sharfstein's Thunder in the Mountains chronicles with compassion and grace that resonant past we should never forget., Intimate, propulsive and ultimately heart-breaking....a compassionate military history and a shrewd examination of how cultural legends are created., Daniel Sharfstein offers a searing account of an American tragedy: how Oliver Otis Howard, a champion for the rights of freed slaves, became an architect of the dispossession and subjugation of Native people. This beautifully written book will change the way readers think about the era of Civil War and Reconstruction., Revelatory and riveting, Daniel J. Sharfstein's Thunder in the Mountains places the Nez Perce War within the broader story of the Civil War Era and the postwar shift to empire. In rigorously researched set pieces that capture the nature of life among the Nez Perce, the white settlers of the Wallowa Valley, and Army officers and their families, Sharfstein captures the many causes and consequences of what Yellow Wolf called 'the war we did not want.', Revelatory and riveting, Daniel J. Sharfstein's Thunder in the Mountains places the Nez Perce War within the broader story of the Civil War Era and the postwar shift to empire. In rigorously researched set pieces that capture the nature of life among the Nez Perce, the white settlers of the Wallowa Valley, and Army officers and their families, Sharfstein captures the many causes and consequences of what Yellow Wolf called 'the war we did not want.' By situating the Nez Perce War within the Civil War, Reconstruction, Alaskan expansion, and the Spanish-American War, Sharfstein persuasively argues that the war was a crucible for American state building and a central piece of nineteenth-century American history.
