From Publishers Weekly
Though there are many biographies of the great Shawnee chief Tecumseh (1768-1813), this effort by historical novelist Eckert ( The Frontiersman ) may spark new interest--and controversy--with its "hidden dialogue" technique. After more than 25 years of research, the author felt free to recreate Tecumseh's conversations and thoughts in what proves to be an entertaining blend of fact and fiction. The orator and organizer's life was shaped by his tribe's tragic confrontation with westward-moving whites, who encroached on Native American lands along the Ohio River valley. His long struggle against this dispossession led Tecumseh to create a historic confederacy of tribes, but this crowning achievement was destroyed by his own brother at Tippecanoe in 1811. Eckert's dialogue is clunky, yet his colorful evocation of this seminal American figure will be more broadly accessible than are drier, more factual accounts. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
A spirited but misdirected stab at a definitive biography of the great Shawnee warrior, from prolific historian and novelist Eckert, whose six-volume nonfiction The Winning of America series (Twilight of Empire, Gateway to Empire, etc.) paved the way for this epic. Employing what he terms ``narrative biography'' as a touchstone (and as an apparent euphemism for poetic license), Eckert embarks on a quest for the real Tecumseh, seeking a life buried beneath countless legends and tales. The result is a mammoth account of a remarkable American from the spectacular moment of his birth--concurrent with the appearance of a brilliant shooting star- -to his sudden death in the Battle of Thames in 1813, an event described in more than 40 different ways by ``eyewitnesses.'' Along with the portrait of a man of keen insight and ability--a natural leader who eschewed the role of chief but who sought tirelessly to unite all tribes in a pan-Indian movement--emerges a rich tapestry of Native American society in the Ohio region during Tecumseh's time. The Indian leader and his family, especially his brother, the prophet Tenskwatawa, figured dramatically in the growing violence along the frontier as white settlers swarmed across the Appalachians onto Indian lands. By emphasizing the greatness of Tecumseh, however, Eckert minimizes the significance of tribal unification as a wider phenomenon and the role of spiritual leaders in firing that movement, to the extent that, for instance, Tenskwatawa is depicted as a sniveling conniver achieving renown largely through his brother's generosity. A biography that succeeds better as fiction. Astoundingly detailed but ambitious to a fault, in its interpretative zeal it strays from, or at least embellishes, the historical record to the point of being suspect. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh FROM OUR EDITORS
A fiery orator, a brilliant diplomat, a revolutionary thinker, a political & military genius--the man named Tecumseh became a legend among Native Americans & whites. He stood as a messiah to his people during one of the most crucial periods of their history, as the whites began to explore & expand to the west of the British colonies. In this meticulously researched biography, 5-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Allan W. Eckert fleshes out the details of a fascinating life & corrects the mistakes of previous accounts. Eckert tells the compelling story of the great Shawnee warrior, born under the augury of a shooting star, who drew together an enormous Indian alliance & led it to the greatest Indian victory in history over American military force.
ANNOTATION
The epic tale of a towering Native American hero by the award-winning author of The Frontiersmen. Published to rave reviews, this extraordinary book tells the story of Shawnee leader Tecumseh, a military genius whose vision was to unite the North American tribes into one powerful Indian nation, capable of forcing back the encroaching white settlers.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
They had defeated the French and now the English possessed the vast North American Empire. Soldiers, traders, settlers—all began the trek across the wilderness to claim the land and its riches. Against this relentless tide Indian warriors rose up in bitter fury exploded in the bloody battle for the conquest of the Northwest territory.
'Reading Eckert is like listening to a master storyteller: he presents his material in vivid detail, using the novelist's technique to enhance dramatic events.'— Publishers Weekly
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Though there are many biographies of the great Shawnee chief Tecumseh (1768-1813), this effort by historical novelist Eckert ( The Frontiersman ) may spark new interest--and controversy--with its ``hidden dialogue'' technique. After more than 25 years of research, the author felt free to recreate Tecumseh's conversations and thoughts in what proves to be an entertaining blend of fact and fiction. The orator and organizer's life was shaped by his tribe's tragic confrontation with westward-moving whites, who encroached on Native American lands along the Ohio River valley. His long struggle against this dispossession led Tecumseh to create a historic confederacy of tribes, but this crowning achievement was destroyed by his own brother at Tippecanoe in 1811. Eckert's dialogue is clunky, yet his colorful evocation of this seminal American figure will be more broadly accessible than are drier, more factual accounts. ( Feb. )
Library Journal
Eckert (A Sorrow in Our Heart, LJ 2/15/92) stands on an uncommon ground between academic and popular writers. His use of the "hidden dialog" as a means of writing history had been termed "documentary fiction." Here, he takes on the long and varied history of the Ohio River valley, engendered by indigenous Americans and settlers from European powers-French, Dutch, English, and Spanish. Eckert introduces a considerable number of Indians into the Ohio environment, utilizing a variety of fascinating primary resources to tell the history of the region and its people from 1768 to 1795. The final product, readable and rich in history, nevertheless will create problems for the historian and concern for the general reader. Those looking for a thorough history of the valley will be disappointed, and book selectors need to be aware of the type of history this book represents.-Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., Ala.
BookList - Jay Freeman
In the middle of the eighteenth century, English colonists began drifting into the trans-Allegheny valley of the Ohio River, the first spasmodic thrust of the westward movement. They inserted themselves into a volatile milieu; Frenchmen and a seemingly endless variety of Native American tribes traded, competed, and frequently warred with one another. To paraphrase Trotsky, those looking for tranquillity picked the wrong place and time to be born. Eckert's gift for connecting the lives of scores of obscure characters with a broader context provides the same masterful mix that made Evan Connell's "Son of the Morning Star" a delight for both the scholar and the general reader. Although the famous (e.g., Mad Anthony Wayne) and the near famous (e.g., Arthur St. Clair) are given their due, Eckert is at his best in chronicling the lives and fates of ordinary people who ferociously struggled with nature and with one another to hold their piece of ground. An eloquent and often heartrending portrayal of a fascinating and pivotal epoch in American history.
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