Week ending March 11, 2016

Hawke, Ethan (text) & Greg Ruth (illus.). Indeh: A Story of the Apache Wars. Grand Central. Jun. 2016. 240p. ISBN 9781401310998. $25; ebk. ISBN 9781455564101. HISTORICAL FICTION
In the Old West, the Apache confront an enemy that threatens to overturn their centuries-old way of life. Young Goyahkla leads a raid of revenge into Mexico for the brutal murder of his wife and children, and the event forges him into Geronimo. Along with Naiches, the son of the great Apache chief Cochise, Geronimo contends with what life brings to the tribe and to their land, which is often violent and difficult. Using a poet’s delicate touch to view a dark chapter in U.S. history, actor/novelist Hawke (Rules for a Knight) and Ruth (The Lost Boy) employ bold facts and brutal acts laced with the vivid art and sculpted pacing that are expected with the Western genre. They also introduce various emotional subtleties to temper the action and history with humanity. By including this depth, they deliver a verisimilitude of time and place for the Apaches and the country, a quality evident in the best historical fiction.
Verdict Indeh is a great testament to a neglected history that deserves wider recognition; it benefits from the same rich storytelling witnessed in Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove” books. Readers looking for high drama and compelling spiritual journeys will find both here.—Douglas Rednour, Georgia State Univ. Libs., Atlanta