Book picks similar to
Savage Whisper by Earl Murray


american-history
continental-divide
fiction---historical
fiction---western

Sin Killer


Larry McMurtry - 2002
    Lord and Lady Berrybender have abandoned their home in England to broaden the horizons for themselves and their three children. With irascible determination—and a great deal of outright chaos—the party experiences both the awesome majesty and brutal savagery of the unexplored land, from buffalo stampedes and natural disasters to Indian raids and encounters with frontiersmen and trappers, explorers, pioneers, and one part-time preacher known as "the Sin Killer." Sin Killer, the strong, silent Westerner, captures the heart of the strong-willed, beautiful Berrybender daughter, Tasmin. But their fast developing relationship can only bring more trouble for the Berrybender's. Packed with breathtaking adventure, charming romance, and a sense of humor stretching clear over the horizon, Sin Killer is a truly unique view of the West that could only come from the boundless skill and imagination of Larry McMurtry.

Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana


James H. Madison - 2014
    They came to value individual freedom and distrusted government, even as they demanded that government remove Indians, sell them land, and bring democracy. Down to the present, Hoosiers have remained wary of government power and have taken care to guard their tax dollars and their personal independence. Yet the people of Indiana have always accommodated change, exchanging log cabins and spinning wheels for railroads, cities, and factories in the 19th century, automobiles, suburbs, and international trade in the 20th. The present has brought new issues and challenges, as Indiana's citizens respond to a rapidly changing world. James H. Madison's sparkling new history tells the stories of these Hoosiers, offering an invigorating view of one of America's distinctive states and the long and fascinating journey of its people.

Last Go Round: A Real Western


Ken Kesey - 1994
    Photos.

Ride Away


Cotton Smith - 2015
    But now, after forging cattle trails and fighting off the Comanche, he’s setting his sights on a brighter future. With the help of his older brother Blue, a Civil War veteran who lost his arm in battle, Deed turns the Rafter C homestead into a successful, working cattle ranch. But when a land-grubbing banker tries to wipe out the competition—slaughtering ranchers, robbing farmers, and building an army of hired killers—Deed and Blue have no choice but to fight back with everything they’ve got. That means bringing in the big guns. Settling old scores. And taking a chance on a dangerous outlaw named Holt Corrigan—their long-lost brother…

Dance on the Wind


Terry C. Johnston - 1995
    So late one night he snatches a squirrel gun and a handful of biscuits, flees into the woods, and doesn’t look back. From Louisville past the Chickasaw bluffs and the Natchez Trace all the way to New Orleans, he plunges into the rough-and-tumble life along the banks of the Mississippi: a volatile, violent country of boatmen and river bandits, knife fights and Indian raids, strong liquor and stronger women. Yet beyond the great river stretches the vast, unexplored expanse of the Great Plains. And it is here that young Titus will seek his future, and risk everything to seize it.

Winding Stair


Douglas C. Jones - 1979
    When a woman is found murdered, young attorney Eben Pay, newly arrived to the territory, is pulled into a posse that follows a trail of blood and destruction. Among the dead he discovers a survivor, the beautiful, traumatized Jennie Thrasher, and the question of what she witnessed hangs like a storm cloud over the investigation. From the trial to the courtroom, Winding Stair is a classic historical novel that brings to vivid life a bygone era.

The Best of American Heritage: The Civil War


Edwin S. Grosvenor - 2015
    The Civil War posed a critical test of the young nation's character, endurance, and will to survive. Coming only two generations after the nation's founding, the secession of Southern states challenged the very existence of the United States. "America's most monumental drama and morality tale" comes alive in this brilliant collection from America's leading history magazine, as selected by its current editor-in-chief, Edwin S. Grosvenor.

Warrior Woman: The Exceptional Life Story of Nonhelema, Shawnee Indian Woman Chief


James Alexander Thom - 2003
    Now he and his wife, Dark Rain, have created a magnificent portrait of an astonishing woman–one who led her people in war when she could not persuade them to make peace.Her name was Nonhelema. Literate, lovely, imposing at over six feet tall, she was the Women’s Peace Chief of the Shawnee Nation–and already a legend when the most decisive decade of her life began in 1774. That fall, with more than three thousand Virginians poised to march into the Shawnees’ home, Nonhelema’s plea for peace was denied. So she loyally became a fighter, riding into battle covered in war paint. When the Indians ran low on ammunition, Nonhelema’s role changed back to peacemaker, this time tragically.Negotiating an armistice with military leaders of the American Revolution like Daniel Boone and George Rogers Clark, she found herself estranged from her own people–and betrayed by her white adversaries, who would murder her loved ones and eventually maim Nonhelema herself.Throughout her inspiring life, she had many deep and complex relationships, including with her daughter, Fani, who was an adopted white captive . . . a pious and judgmental missionary, Zeisberger . . . a series of passionate lovers . . . and, in a stunning creation of the Thoms, Justin Case–a cowardly soldier transformed by the courage he saw in the female Indian leader.Filled with the uncanny period detail and richly rendered drama that are Thom trademarks, Warrior Woman is a memorable novel of a remarkable person–one willing to fight to avoid war, by turns tough and tender, whose heart was too big for the world she wished to tame.From the Hardcover edition.

The Trickster


Muriel Gray - 1994
    A young police officer is found murdered and strangely mutilated. A truck driver is found frozen solid in his truck, doors and windows closed, with snow drifts inside the cab. A hotshot skier is found dead and bloody in deep snow, with no human footprints anywhere near the body. Fear begins to spread that a bizarre and ingenious serial killer is on the loose. But for Sam Hunt, who turned his back on his Indian roots to live in white society, the fear is especially strong: He's been having blackouts, waking up miles away from where he started, with blood on his face and absolutely no recollection of what he's done. The Trickster is relentless and terrifying suspense -- the most talked-about debut thriller of the year, by a writer of unique and startling gifts.

The Spirit Lake Massacre and the Captivity of Abbie Gardner (Expanded, Annotated)


Abbie Gardner-Sharp - 2000
    Barely 14 years old, her family was butchered before her eyes and she witnessed the deaths of two other women captives before her release by Chief Inkpaduta. Gardner suffered years of illness after her return to white culture but eventually made a successful and prosperous life with a family. This book went through seven editions in her lifetime and she eventually purchased the cabin and property from which she was abducted and turned them into a tourist attraction. The cabin still stands today near Spirit Lake, Iowa. Told from the view of a woman looking back three decades to her traumatic experience, Gardner used notes she had written down in the intervening years as well as public documents to produce a highly-readable and compelling narrative. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

Valley of the Moon: The Diary of María Rosalía de Milagros, Sonoma Valley, Alta Valley, California, 1846,


Sherry Garland - 2001
    Orphaned years ago, she and her brother Domingo work on a ranch run by the stern Señor Medina. María's writing captures the intense tradition and culture of the Spanish as she observes the war that Alta California ultimately loses to the Americans.

This Widowed Land


Kathleen O'Neal Gear - 1993
    A seeress with a bond to the spirit world, she has beheld a frightening vision-of a blond man in a black robe, whose coming will bring death and despair to her people.Father Marc Dupre is a French missionary who has come to Quebec to preach Christianity. He is not prepared for his own growing love for Andiora, an attraction she shares with all her heart.But more than a forbidden union threatens them both. A mysterious epidemic is devastating the Hurons, and vengeful shamans blame the "Black Robes" from Europe, crying out for the priests' deaths.Menaced by war and disease, torn between their desires and their sacred callings, Marc and Andiora struggle to find peace and fulfillment.

The Vanishing American


Zane Grey - 1925
    It reveals Grey's empathy for the Native American and his deep concern for the future survival of that culture. It is the story of Nophaie, a young Navajo, who is picked up by a party of whites at the age of seven. White parents bring the child up as though he were their own, eventually sending him to a prestigious Eastern college where he distinguishes himself by his outstanding athletic skill. The Vanishing American is about Nophaie's struggle to find a place in society. On a larger scale it is about all Native Americans and their future in America.

No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin


BookRags - 2011
    It is also a psychohistory about Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt. Goodwin becomes a psychoanalyst, who delves into their childhood traumas, emotional lives, family relationships, and even their extra-marital affairs, to create an understanding of them as human beings.This study guide includes the following sections: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.

Stay the Rising Sun: The True Story of USS Lexington, Her Valiant Crew, and Changing the Course of World War II


Phil Keith - 2015
    Another carrier was nearly ready for launch when the news arrived, so the navy changed her name to Lexington, confusing the Japanese.The men of the original "Lady Lex" loved their ship and fought hard to protect her. They were also seeking revenge for the losses sustained at Pearl Harbor. Crippling attacks by the Japanese left her on fire and dead in the water. A remarkable 90 percent of the crew made it off the burning decks before Lexington had to be abandoned. In all the annals of the Second World War, there is hardly a battle story more compelling.Lexington's legacy did not end with her demise, however. Although the battle was deemed a tactical success for the Japanese, it turned out to be a strategic loss: For the first time in the war, a Japanese invasion force was forced to retreat.The lessons learned by losing the Lexington at Coral Sea impacted tactics, air wing operations, damage control, and ship construction. Altogether, they forged a critical, positive turning point in the war. The ship that ushered in and gave birth to a new era in naval warfare might be gone, but fate decreed that her important legacy would live on.