S. C. GWYNE

Un relato histórico increíblemente vívido de los cuarenta años de lucha entre los indios comanches y los colonos blancos por el control del oeste de Estados Unidos, protagonizado por Quanah, el último jefe comanche. Gwynne abarca en su relato arrollador el colonialismo español, la guerra de Secesion, la destruccion de las manadas de bufalos, y la llegada del ferrocarril: una historia fascinante para los lectores de todas las edades, con rigor de historiador y pulso de novelista.

An excellent sports history (Publishers Weekly) in the tradition of Michael Lewiss Moneyball, award-winning historian S.C. Gwynne tells the incredible story of how two unknown coaches revolutionized American football at every level, from high school to the NFL.Hal Mumme spent fourteen mostly losing seasons coaching football before inventing a potent passing offense that would soon shock players, delight fans, and terrify opposing coaches. It all began at a tiny, overlooked college called Iowa Wesleyan, where Mumme was head coach and Mike Leach, a lawyer who had never played college football, was hired as his offensive line coach. In the cornfields of Iowa these two mad inventors, drawn together by a shared disregard for conventionalism and a love for Jimmy Buffett, began to engineer the purest, most extreme passing game in the 145-year history of football. Implementing their Air Raid offense, their teamsat Iowa Wesleyan and later at Valdosta State and the University of Kentuckyplayed blazingly fastfaster than any team ever had before, and they routinely beat teams with far more talented athletes. And Mumme and Leach did it all without even a playbook.A superb treat for all gridiron fans (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), The Perfect Pass S.C. Gwynne explores Mummes leading role in changing football from a run-dominated sport to a pass-dominated one, the game that tens of millions of Americans now watch every fall weekend. Whether youre a casual or ravenous football fan, this is a rousing tale of innovation (Booklist), and Gwynnes book ably relates the story of that innovation and the successes of the man who devised it (New York Journal of Books).

From historian and bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Empire of the Summer Moon comes a captivating, thoroughly researched (The New York Times Book Review) tale of the rise and fall of the worlds largest airshipand the doomed love story between an ambitious British officer and a married Romanian princess at its heart.The tragic fate of the British airship R101which went down in a spectacular fireball in 1930, killing more people than died in the Hindenburg disaster seven years laterhas been largely forgotten. In His Majestys Airship, S.C. Gwynne resurrects it in vivid detail, telling the epic story of great ambition gone terribly wrong.Airships, those airborne leviathans that occupied center stage in the world in the first half of the 20th century, were a symbol of the future. R101 was not just the largest aircraft ever to have flown and the product of the worlds most advanced engineeringshe was also the lynchpin of an imperial British scheme to link by air the far-flung areas of its empire, from Australia to India, South Africa, Canada, Egypt, and Singapore. No one had ever conceived of anything like this, and R101 captivated the world. There was just one problem: beyond the hype and technological wonders, these big, steel-framed, hydrogen-filled airships were a dangerously bad idea.Gwynnes chronicle features a cast of remarkableand tragically flawedcharacters, including Lord Christopher Thomson, the man who dreamed up the Imperial Airship Scheme and then relentlessly pushed R101 to her destruction; Princess Marthe Bibesco, the celebrated writer and glamorous socialite with whom he had a long affair; and George Herbert Scott, a national hero who was the first person to cross the Atlantic twice in any aircraft, in 1919eight years before Lindberghs famous flightbut who devolved into drink and ruin. These historical figuresand the ship they built, flew, and crashedcome together in a Promethean tale of unlimited ambitions and technical limitations, airy dreams and explosive endings (The Wall Street Journal).

From the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Empire of the Summer Moon and Rebel Yell comes a masterwork of history (Lawrence Wright, author of God Save Texas), the spellbinding, epic account of the last year of the Civil War.The fourth and final year of the Civil War offers one of the most compelling narratives and one of historys great turning points. Now, Pulitzer Prize finalist S.C. Gwynne breathes new life into the epic battle between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant; the advent of 180,000 black soldiers in the Union army; William Tecumseh Shermans March to the Sea; the rise of Clara Barton; the election of 1864 (which Lincoln nearly lost); the wild and violent guerrilla war in Missouri; and the dramatic final events of the war, including Lees surrender at Appomattox and the murder of Abraham Lincoln.A must-read for Civil War enthusiasts (Publishers Weekly), Hymns of the Republic offers many surprising angles and insights. Robert E. Lee, known as a great general and Southern hero, is presented here as a man dealing with frustration, failure, and loss. Ulysses S. Grant is known for his prowess as a field commander, but in the final year of the war he largely fails at that. His most amazing accomplishments actually began the moment he stopped fighting. William Tecumseh Sherman, Gwynne argues, was a lousy general, but probably the single most brilliant man in the war. We also meet a different Clara Barton, one of the greatest and most compelling characters, who redefined the idea of medical care in wartime. And proper attention is paid to the role played by large numbers of black union soldiersmost of them former slaves.Popular history at its best, Hymns of the Republic reveals the creation that arose from destruction in this engrossingriveting (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) read.

*Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award**A New York Times Notable Book**Winner of the Texas Book Award and the Oklahoma Book Award*This New York Times bestseller and stunning historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West is nothing short of a revelationwill leave dust and blood on your jeans (The New York Times Book Review).Empire of the Summer Moonspans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backwardby Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands.The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynnes exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroads, and the amazing story of Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quanaha historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being.Hailed by critics, S. C. Gwynnes account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all, thrillingly told. Empire of the Summer Moon announces him as a major new writer of American history.

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the epic New York Times bestselling account of how Civil War general Thomas Stonewall Jackson became a great and tragic national hero.Stonewall Jackson has long been a figure of legend and romance. As much as any person in the Confederate pantheoneven Robert E. Leehe embodies the romantic Southern notion of the virtuous lost cause. Jackson is also considered, without argument, one of our countrys greatest military figures. In April 1862, however, he was merely another Confederate general in an army fighting what seemed to be a losing cause. But by June he had engineered perhaps the greatest military campaign in American history and was one of the most famous men in the Western world. Jacksons strategic innovations shattered the conventional wisdom of how war was waged; he was so far ahead of his time that his techniques would be studied generations into the future.In his magnificent Rebel YellS.C. Gwynne brings Jackson ferociously to life (New York Newsday) in a swiftly vivid narrative that is rich with battle lore, biographical detail, and intense conflict among historical figures. Gwynne delves deep into Jacksons private life and traces Jacksons brilliant twenty-four-month career in the Civil War, the period that encompasses his rise from obscurity to fame and legend; his stunning effect on the course of the war itself; and his tragic death, which caused both North and South to grieve the loss of a remarkable American hero.

This stunning historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West was a major New York Times bestseller.In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all.S. C. Gwynne''s Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined just how and when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. So effective were the Comanches that they forced the creation of the Texas Rangers and account for the advent of the new weapon specifically designed to fight them: the six-gun.The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne''s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroads--a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being.