The Last Campaign

Sherman, Geronimo and the War for America

By: H. W. Brands

Narrated by: Christopher Grove

Bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands follows the lives of General William Tecumseh Sherman and Apache war leader Geronimo to tell the story of the Indian Wars and the final fight for control of the American continent.

William Tecumseh Sherman and Geronimo were keen strategists and bold soldiers, ruthless with their enemies. Over the course of the 1870s and 1880s these two war chiefs would confront each other in the final battle for what the American West would be: a sparsely settled, wild home where Indian tribes could thrive, or a more densely populated extension of the America to the east of the Mississippi.

Sherman was a well-connected son of Ohio who attended West Point and rose to prominence through his scorched-earth campaigns in the Civil War. Geronimo grew up among the Apache people, hunting wild game for sustenance and roaming freely on the land. After the brutal killing of his wife, children and mother by Mexican soldiers, he became a relentless avenger, raiding Mexican settlements across the American border. When Sherman rose to commanding general of the Army, he was tasked with bringing Geronimo and his followers onto a reservation where they would live as farmers and ranchers and roam no more. But Geronimo preferred to fight.

The Last Campaign is a powerful retelling of a turning point in the making of our nation and a searing elegy for a way of life that is gone.

Front-of-jacket photographs: Major General William T. Sherman courtesy of Library of Congress; Geronimo courtesy of Oklahoma Historical Society; texture © detchana wangkheeree/Shutterstock royalty free 1569771634

Critic reviews

"Brands is a talented storyteller, with a novelist’s feel for pacing and detail.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“Sweeping. . . An excellent, well-written study—like most of the author’s books, a welcome addition to the literature of westward expansion.”
—Kirkus Reviews *Starred Review*

Great Big Picture Overview

If you just want to scratch the surface and keep the facts pretty straight. here ya go. Great introductory book or a 'one and done' for the water cooler dabbler.

The last Indian wars

The narrative description of the Indian wars, the suffering, the pain, the blood shed and the clash of two different cultures. One in the quest of survival and the other in the pursuit of colonization and new settlements.

Title

Title is deceptive. Very little on Geronimo...understandable click bait. Got way too far out in the weeds in some sections. Editing issues.."as so & so said", as "so & so exclaimed", etc,etc,etc. Not his best work. "Blood & Thunder" is an excellent book with none of these issues.

Great story

Liked very much covered wide range of history of the time. Good history of many people of the time.

Great Survey of the Indian Wars in the American West

A good overview of the people and events that created the conflicts between the Indigenous people of the West, the Settlers, Gold Seekers, the US government and the US Military.