Until Shadows Fall

Long-time readers may recognize the bulk of this work as a rewritten edition of Comanche Captives (also published as Two Rode Together, under which title it was made into a John Ford film starring James Stewart and Richard Widmark). Unlike the stereotypical western, where the good guys are very good and the bad guys are very bad, the major characters here have elements of both, and the only unforgivable sin is stupidity. Cook's writing is spare and unadorned, and perfect for the subject matter: the book depicts one of the most dismal periods of settler-Indian relations, the forced return of captives, taken mostly by the Comanches, and clearly shows that, far from coming back to joyful reunions with their families, most of the captives had been so assimilated that they no longer had any conception of(or wish for) white society. One of the strongest points made by the book is that even the best intentions can have tragic consequences, and sometimes it is better to leave well enough alone.