The Bestselling Author of The Revenant

BOOK DESCRIPTION

In 1866, with the country barely recovered from the Civil War, new war breaks out on the western frontier—a clash of cultures between the Native tribes who have lived on the land for centuries and a young, ambitious nation. Colonel Henry Carrington arrives in Wyoming’s Powder River Valley to lead the US Army in defending the opening of a new road for gold miners and settlers. Carrington intends to build a fort in the middle of critical hunting grounds, the home of the Lakota. Red Cloud, one of the Lakota’s most respected chiefs, and Crazy Horse, a young but visionary warrior, understand full well the implications of this invasion. For the Lakota, the stakes are their home, their culture, their lives.

As fall bleeds into winter, Crazy Horse leads a small war party that confronts Colonel Carrington’s soldiers with near constant attacks. Red Cloud, meanwhile, wants to build the tribal alliances that he knows will be necessary to defeat the soldiers. Colonel Carrington seeks to hold together a US Army beset with internal discord. Carrington’s officers are skeptical of their commander’s strategy, none more so than Lieutenant George Washington Grummond, who longs to fight a foe he dismisses as inferior in all ways. The rank-and-file soldiers, meanwhile, are still divided by the residue of civil war, and tempted to desertion by the nearby goldfields.

Throughout this taut saga—based on real people and events—Michael Punke brings the same immersive, vivid storytelling and historical insight that made his breakthrough debut so memorable. As Ridgeline builds to its epic conclusion, it grapples with essential questions of conquest and justice that still echo today.

Details

  • Rating: ☆☆☆
  • Author: Michael Punke
  • Genre:  Historical Fiction, Native American
  • Length: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
  • Release Date:  06/01/2021
  • Excerpt

My Thoughts

By 1863, gold-hungry prospectors had blazed the Bozeman Cutoff connecting Fort Laramie and the Oregon Trail with the Montana gold fields.  By 1866, thousands of miners, and settlers were flooding the shortcut. Unfortunately, the trail crossed grasslands vital to the Ogala Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho traditional way of life. It was no surprise to mountain men like Jim Bridger and James Beckwourth that small scale Indian raids on wagon trains and travelers began.

  
The focus of Michael Punke’s Ridgeline is the construction of Fort Phil Kearney to be sited directly on the Bozeman trail. Crazy Horse and Little Hawk spy on the logging and military drills from afar and are soon alarmed by the clear-cutting of timber and the vast size of Col. Carrington’s new fort. Clearly the soldiers must be driven away. 

By observing the routines, habits and military tactics of Capt. Bisbee, Capt. Ten Eyck and Capt. Fetterman, Crazy Horse evolved his attacks culminating in the infamous Fetterman Massacre on December 21, 1866.

 
Should Lt. Grummond be blamed for disobeying orders, or is the blame for the fatal outcome belonging where it fell on Capt. Fetterman?  Col. Carrington certainly does not escape scrutiny by the author.  The ineptness of officers, infantry and cavalry alike becomes clear to the reader.

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Michael Punke’s rich descriptions of the rugged lands and cruel weather conditions gives the reader the proper setting.  The correspondence from officer’s wives adds a realistic glimpse of married life at Fort Phil Kearney.

Once the final battle began, the reading was exciting as well as troubling with graphic violence. From the first chase, the story becomes a real page-turner. 

My Concerns

  1. I was somewhat bothered by the eloquent dialog between the Native Indians compared to that of the soldiers.
  2. It would have been helpful to have had detailed maps of the battlefield so the chaotic fighting would have been easier to visualize.

Final Thoughts

Though segments were quite enjoyable, as a whole this wasn’t a novel that stood out as memorable. But if this type of book sounds interesting, I’d certainly give it a try. There was nothing that was really a big concern for me.

My sincere thanks to Henry Holt & Co. for a copy of this book and the ability to review it without any stipulations.

Rating

Rating: 3 out of 5.

You may or may not like it.

About the Author

Michael Punke serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. He has also served on the White House National Security Council staff and on Capitol Hill. He was formerly the history correspondent for “Montana Quarterly, “and an adjunct professor at the University of Montana. He is the author of “Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mine Disaster of 1917, “and “Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West. “His family home is in Montana.

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