William R. Reynolds Jr.

This is one of those books that’s difficult to review. Not because it’s poorly written or bad, but on the contrary because it is well written. The problem I have with reviewing is trying to convey the words of sadness that this behavior not only existed in the 18th and 19th centuries, but still exists today. The Cherokee in particular struggled with the arrival of the Europeans as they once called home an area ranging from Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. Gradually though they were forced to leave their homes via the Trail of Tears. William R Reynolds Jr, a descendant of Chief Doublehead of the Chickamauga Cherokees, packs a lot of information into this review. While Reynolds is not a typical academic, the writing sometimes displays this with weird verbiage, he is able to sets it up well in context of history and leading readers step by step to what they need to know to understand the story.

Review copy provided by LibraryThing Early Reviews… (més)

I very much wanted to like this book, but mostly I don't. First of all, it needs to be re-titled. "The Cherokee Struggle to Maintain Identity in the 17th and 18th Century" led me to believe there would be a focus on the culture and changes to the culture of the Cherokee during this time period. Although there are mentions of changes, they are very non-specific. References are made to how relations between the Cherokee and the European settlers caused a breakdown of traditional Cherokee customs and ways of living their daily lived due to new items used in trade; also there are general references of Cherokee leaders believing it would be better to assimilate with the Europeans because they obviously weren't going away. Other than that, there is nothing specific. No descriptions of how life was lived prior to the European invasion and comparisons as time went on.
This book is more a list and description of treaties that were made and broken, skirmishes between the Cherokee (and other tribes fighting with the Cherokee or sometimes with the Europeans), detailed descriptions of deaths of settlers.
The book is also very repetitious, much more editing is needed.
It was difficult to read. I am very disappointed as I really wanted to learn what the title implies.… (més)

My mistake in requesting this book from LT Early Reviewers was not to take a closer look at the author and his credentials. 2.3% Cherokee ancestry (admittedly hard to prove due to no written records ) and "fierce pride" for it along with thinking an invitation to join would be an "honor" does not a scholar make. The preface was filled with self-reference and geneology (he's also a distant relative, supposedly, of William the Conqueror). This is a great book for relatives of the author, more of an extended family tree, than anything that sheds any new light on how the Cherokee struggled to keep their unique identity in the face of cultural loss..… (més)