The Military and United States Indian Policy, 1865-1903

My over all impression of this book is positive. The author paints an accurate picture of the historical situation of the time. Wooster takes a close look at an often-misunderstood period of history. The detail of military strategy against the western tribes give the reader the feel of the average solder but the Indian's view point is often over looked. My understanding of this episode in history has been advance by this book. The image of the highly organized military of my personal experience was not found among the pages of Wooster's book. The most illuminating aspect of the book was the information about the national political arena that civilian and military leaders both were required to maneuver in. Wooster's sources are of the highest quality available, most of them written by the actual figures in the book. His over reliance of sources from only one side of the history is the only weakness of the sources. Correspondence or a set of official orders can support nearly every paragraph in the book. It is unfortunate there are not as many records among the Indian leaders.