The Shawnees and the War for America

By: Colin G. Calloway

Narrated by: George K. Wilson

Acclaimed historian Colin G. Calloway, Dartmouth professor of history and American Indian studies, is the series editor for The Penguin Library of American Indian History. Rich in detail and highly readable, this compelling narrative portrays the Shawnees' valiant struggle to maintain their way of life.©2007 Colin G. Calloway (P)2008 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"A remarkably accessible distillation of Shawnee history." ( Publishers Weekly)

An Able Overview

We really need more of such books: competent, thorough, readable distillations of the latest scholarship, able historical overviews. I read this as a memory-jogger, and while I encountered nothing new, I was most pleased by how much information was presented, well told and well organized. This provides an excellent introduction (or reminder) of the history of the Shawnees and their unique position as the travelers, bridge-builders, and resisters they were as they negotiated the ever-shifting no man's land between Native America, England, and the colonies/United States. This also provides good insights into how the Shawnees of today became established in their current settings and incarnations. Highly recommended.

The narration makes it clear when direct quotes appear, and I really appreciate that. My main complain against the narration is that George Wilson changes his pronunciation of some of the proper names as he goes along, and this can be jarring/confusing.

a more complete history

Calloway does a very good job of expanding the history of the Shawnees both before and after the life of Tecumseh. As usual, Callowat does not present Shawnee thought and action as a monolithic concept embraced by all members of the tribe. The proverbial good guys (and bad guys) are not uniformly of one color. We see that not all Shawnees acted in the same way to the invasion of their land by white settlers and speculators. Calloway gives a history of the Shawnee prople after Tecumseh's death rather than ending their story with that defeat.
While I found the narrator more than competent, he pronounced several names, both Indians and whites, differently than I have heard from other speakers.

Researching Native History

Book was very helpful in my researching of Native history. I wanted to understand why the Shawnee were called the traveling tribe.

Disappointing

I love Colin Calloway’s books, so my disappointment is relative to the high bar he has set. Unfortunately, this book contains less pre-19th century information on the Shawnee than The Indian World of George Washington, despite the latter’s far wider scope. The 19th century material is good but I’d recommend Sami Lakomaki’s book on the Shawnee instead. For earlier material, Stephen Warren’s, and for the Northwest Indian War Calloway’s GW book. This simply doesn’t offer anything that isn’t covered better elsewhere.