The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest

by Alvin M. Josephy Jr.

Book Overview

Is there any chapter in American history more dramatic than that of the Northwest from the time of Lewis and Clark to the tragic defeat of Chief Joseph in 1877? Heroic - and not so heroic -characters abound: explorers, fur traders, miners, settlers, missionaries, ranchers, Indian chiefs and their tribespeople. Now, when interest in Lewis and Clark and the American Northwest has never been higher, comes the first complete and unabridged paperback...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395850118
• ISBN13: 9780395850114
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 736 Pages
• Weight: 2.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Authoritative, essential, heart-rending

The appalling treatment of the Nez Perces is a sordid and shameful chapter in the modern history of the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Josephy carefully and meticulously describes the downfall of this peaceful and friendly people. His account begins slowly, but it accelerates with the momentum of a huge steam engine and thunders to a climax that left me in tears.

The best book available on this subject

Growing up in Idaho, and in my youth occasionally hearing some of the stories of the tragic flight of the Nez Perce, led me to read several books on the subject. No other story in American history is as fascinating as this one. Many good books have been written about it (along with a few that are not so good), but this one is easily the best. It is the most detailed, most accurate, and yet the most readable of all of them. Be warned, however--it is long (700+ pages), and nearly three fourths of the book deals with events that occured prior to the well-known Nez Perce war of 1877. For a shorter read about just the war itself Beal's "I Will Fight No More, Forever" might be a better choice. But for a comprehensive history of the entire region and its people, this is the best.