Making Peace With Cochise: The 1872 Journal of Captain Joseph Alton Sladen

Rating:
Summary: Cochise Comes Alive
Review: Cochise is an elusive character. There are no photographs of him, and only one eloquent speech, which was recorded by an Army interpreter. Otherwise, we are left with vague secondhand accounts that often make him a two-dimensional cardboard cutout. Sladen's journal breathes life into this dynamic individual. It is fascinating reading, and, as Sweeney the editor points out, Sladen is not judgmental. He simply describes life in the Apache camp. A wonderful book.

Rating:
Summary: Cochise Comes Alive
Review: Cochise is an elusive character. There are no photographs of him, and only one eloquent speech, which was recorded by an Army interpreter. Otherwise, we are left with vague secondhand accounts that often make him a two-dimensional cardboard cutout. Sladen's journal breathes life into this dynamic individual. It is fascinating reading, and, as Sweeney the editor points out, Sladen is not judgmental. He simply describes life in the Apache camp. A wonderful book.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful and vivid journal
Review: I read this book in one setting. What a fascinating journey Sladen takes you on in this first hand account of a significant moment in history. I've been reading books on the west my entire life and I have to say this is the best single book one could read on the American Southwest. It chronicles the remarkable meeting between General O.O. Howard and the Great Apache leader Cochise. Sladen records Cochise's personality and style in great detail. He gives a vivid portrait of life in an Apache village. He presents Tom Jeffords and Howard as they really were. He describes the incredible county this drama played out in with the sensibility of a true lover of beauty and nature. Sladen's become one of my heros along with Cochise and Edward R. Sweeney who edited this book and wrote a brilliant biography of Cochise.