Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation

by John Ehle

Overview

A sixth-generation North Carolinian, highly-acclaimed author John Ehle grew up on former Cherokee hunting grounds. His experience as an accomplished novelist, combined with his extensive, meticulous research, culminates in this moving tragedy rich with historical detail.

The Cherokee are a proud, ancient civilization. For hundreds of years they believed themselves to be the "Principle People" residing at the center of the earth. But by the 18th century, some of their leaders believed it was necessary to adapt to European ways in order to survive. Those chiefs sealed the fate of their tribes in 1875 when they signed a treaty relinquishing their land east of the Mississippi in return for promises of wealth and better land. The U.S. government used the treaty to justify the eviction of the Cherokee nation in an exodus that the Cherokee will forever remember as the “trail where they cried.” The heroism and nobility of the Cherokee shine through this intricate story of American politics, ambition, and greed.


B & W photographs

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385239547
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/22/1997
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	60,846
Product dimensions:	5.19(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.92(d)
Lexile:	1150L (what's this?)

About the Author

John Ehle, a sixth-generation North Carolinian, grew up on land once used as hunting grounds by the Cherokee. He is the author of fourteen highly acclaimed works. His novel The Winter People has been made into a major motion picture.

Editorial Reviews

One of the many ironies of U.S. government policy toward Indians in the early 1800s is that it persisted in removing to the West those who had most successfully adapted to European values. As whites encroached on Cherokee land, many Native leaders responded by educating their children, learning English, and developing plantations. Such a leader was Ridge, who had fought with Andrew Jackson against the British. As he and other Cherokee leaders grappled with the issue of moving, the land-hungry Georgia legislatiors, with the aid of Jackson, succeeded in ousting the Cherokee from their land, forcing them to make the arduous journey West on the infamous ``Trail of Tears.'' Popular history for public libraries. Mary B. Davis, Museum of American Indian Lib., New York

Library Journal

The narrator's voice, deep and sandpaper-like, establishes an empathy with the fictional and non-fictional characters in this historical novel about the Cherokee Nation. Although there is no attempt made at characterization, McDonough creates a feeling for the personalities with his mood, tones, and cadence. His somber and respectful rendition of the poetic passages beautifully magnifies the author's intended effect far beyond the ability of a printed page. Since the novel's story is so secondary to the history presented, and since the sad and embarrassing truth is so important, the frivolity and license a gifted and experienced actor such as this narrator might have taken are judiciously avoided with laudable effect. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

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