The Reading Warehouse

The son of white captive Cynthia Ann Parker, Quanah Parker rose from able warrior to tribal leader on the Comanche reservation. Between 1875 and his death in 1911, Quanah dealt with local Indian agents and with presidents and other high officials in Washington, facing the classic dilemma of a leader caught between the dictates of an occupying power and the wrenching physical and spiritual needs of his people. He maintained a remarkable blend of progressive and traditional beliefs, and contrary to government policy, he practiced polygamy and the peyote religion. In this crisp and readable biography, William T Hagan presents a well-balanced portrait of Quanah Parker, the chief, and Quanah, the man torn between two worlds.

William T. Hagan is retired Professor of History at the University of Oklahoma. His numerous books on American Indian subjects include The Sac and Fox Indians; United States-Comanche Relations; Quanah Parker, Comanche Chief; and Theodore Roosevelt and Six Friends of the Indian, all published by the University of Oklahoma Press.