Paul Andrew Hutton

Disclaimer: I received this book as part of GoodReads FirstReads program.

The Apache Wars begins (and began) with the abduction of a young, one-eyed boy by Apache raiders after the attacked his home, killing his father and taking off with their livestock. This is the beginning of hostilities between the Apaches and the USA and the Apaches and Mexico. Many of the prominent names in this story are familiar to anyone who grew up watching old cowboy movies, especially Cochise and Geronimo. The stories of how these people lived, interacted with the Anglos and Latinos and with each other is rarely told with any accuracy. In the old John Wayne westerns, the Apaches are universally the bad guys. Reality has a way of being more complicated, and the representatives of the US Government certainly had their own share of villains. I enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it to anyone interested in American history in general, and especially history of the American West.… (more)

I was first introduced to Paul Andrew Hutton back in the 90s when he appeared as a "talking head" on A&E's Civil War Journal series. He served as editor of the trade paperback Eyewitness to the Civil War series, which included some classic titles of CW literature, including JL Chamberlain's Passing of the Armies. But his CW work is more of a side gig to his major works on the history of the American West and Southwest, and he ranks as one of that theater's main historians. I was living in Arizona when I acquired Apache Wars, so it was truly local history reading much of it. As an academic, Hutton's work is not for the casual reader (which does not bother me in the least as I am not a fan of "popular history"), but his research into and knowledge of his subject matter is quite deep. Familiarity with the geographic areas referred to in the text are of course helpful, but not a requirement. This ranks as unquestionably the best volume on the subject matter and is one of Hutton's finest works.… (more)

In 1851, an Apache warrior named Goyahkla found his entire family massacred by Mexican militia men. This warrior, believing the justice of his revenge earned him the protection of the gods, would embark on a lifetime of violent retribution. The name he would become known by was not his own, but (a bit perversely) the name of the saint his Mexican victims prayed to when he attacked: Geronimo. Ten years later, a young boy, Felix Ward, was abducted in an Apache raid on his parent’s ranch. These two figures would contribute to a war between the Apaches and the American government that would last for decades.

This is an incredible history, and one which has largely been forgotten (at least in my east-of-the-Mississippi neck of the woods). While the name Geronimo is known to many (though to most as the word that is shouted before jumping from a high place), few know the details of the Apache resistance to American and Mexican encroachment. Like many Native American histories, it is a part of the past that has been de-emphasized in school curricula.

The story is stunning, and devastating. The duplicity and racism of the American government, while not surprising, is nauseating to read about in such detail. The bad-faith deals, the continual shunting of the Apache onto smaller and smaller portions of land, the corruption of the Indian Agents assigned to their “care,” the selling of troublesome Apaches into slavery, it’s all there in black and white. And it’s horrifying.

This is a well-written history, but keep in mind that this is more of an academically-inclined book. The story is an incredible one, but in this tone, it does become dry and dragging at times. History buffs and those interested in the topic will find an incredible trove of information here. Those looking for a more accessible version of the story should check out Indeh, written by Ethan Hawke and illustrated by Greg Ruth (Which made my Top 10 for 2016).

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.… (more)