Books with author Allan C. Eckert

Blue Jacket (ca. 1743-ca. 1808), or Waweyapiersenwaw, was the galvanizing force behind an intertribal confederacy of unparalleled scope that fought a long and bloody war against white encroachments into the Shawnees homeland in the Ohio River Valley. Blue Jacket was an astute strategist and diplomat who, though courted by American and British leaders, remained a staunch defender of the Shawnees independence and territory. In this arresting and controversial account, John Sugden depicts the most influential Native American leader of his time. John Sugden is an independent scholar and a former associate editor of Oxford University Presss American National Biography project. His books include Tecumseh: A Life, winner of the Society for Military History Distinguished Book Award.

His mother was a housecat gone wild-a huge, tiger-striped cat who survived almost certain death at the hands of a man intent upon destroying her and her family. His father was a bobcat-a proud, cunning creature of the Wisconsin countryside, whose tumultuous courtship with her resulted ultimately in his own violent death. The Crossbreed himself was their largest offspring-the only one that strange litter the feral housecat bore to resemble his sire, even though his markings were those of his mother. His intelligence and ability and the combination of the better attributes of both breeds enabled him to survive in a world of enemies and t undergo an incredible odyssey of over two thousand miles in four years. The Crossbreed is a swiftly paced, sometimes brutal sometimes sad, always compelling novel of an indomitable spirit; of the perfection that is nature and of the cruel and sometimes wonderfully tender moments between men and animals.

Eckert's classic tale of Simon Kenton and settlement of the Ohio Valley is a must read for anyone interested in the history of the United States. This book was recommended to me after reading Eckert's "Dark and Bloody River". It is exciting, highly engaging, and historically detailed. The notes at the end of the book are a novel by themselves. The story of Kenton, Boone, and the Kentucky settlers is truly amazing. It has often been said that this should be required reading in high school and I can't help but agree. Eckert's books take place in a time and place nearly forgotten by modern Americans. Children raised on the old "Cowboys and Indians" westerns never learn that there was a whole other "West" on the Eastern frontier and the Northwest Territory. I grew up in Ohio, and I never learned about many of the events that happened in my own back yeard until I began reading Eckert! Many people are surprised to learn that there were a number of very bloody and significant battles during the Revolutionary War west of the Appalaichans, right here in Ohio in fact. A whole chapter of our history is being forgotten, but luckily, Eckert's books help to prevent that