Chief Seattle and the Town That Took ..., David M. Buerge
Chief Seattle and the Town That Took ..., David M. Buerge
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Chief Seattle and the Town That Took His Name
The Change of Worlds for the Native People and Settlers on Puget Sound

Author: David M. Buerge

Narrator: Arthur Morey

Unabridged: 11 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/15/2018


Synopsis

This is the first thorough historical account of Chief Seattle and his times—the story of a half-century of tremendous flux, turmoil, and violence, during which a native American war leader became an advocate for peace and strove to create a successful hybrid racial community.When the British, Spanish, and then Americans arrived in the Pacific Northwest, it may have appeared to them as an untamed wilderness. In fact, it was a fully settled and populated land. Chief Seattle was a powerful representative from this very ancient world. Historian David Buerge has been researching and writing this book about the world of Chief Seattle for the past twenty years. Buerge has threaded together disparate accounts of the time from the 1780s to the 1860s—including native oral histories, Hudson Bay Company records, pioneer diaries, French Catholic church records, and historic newspaper reporting.Chief Seattle had gained power and prominence on Puget Sound as a war leader, but the arrival of American settlers caused him to reconsider his actions. He came to embrace white settlement and, following traditional native practice, encouraged intermarriage between native people and the settlers, offering his own daughter and granddaughters as brides, in the hopes that both peoples would prosper. Included in this account are the treaty signings that would remove the natives from their historic lands, the roles of such figures as Governor Isaac Stevens and Chiefs Leschi and Patkanim, the Battle at Seattle that threatened the existence of the settlement, and the controversial Chief Seattle speech that haunts to this day the city that bears his name.

About David M. Buerge

David M. Buerge has been a teacher, historian, and writer. He is an alumni of the University of Washington and the Peace Corps. He has been researching the pre- and early history of the city of Seattle since the mid 1970s, and he has published over a dozen books of history and biography.

About Arthur Morey

Arthur Morey has won numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been a finalist for two Audie Awards. He has won awards for his fiction and drama, worked as an editor with several book publishers, and taught literature and writing at Northwestern University.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rach

A frank and honest look at the history of Washington and Oregon from about 1800-1900, specifically the Puget Sound area. I wasn’t sure how biased a book written by a white man about native Americans would be, and the author acknowledges up front that he might seem like an odd choice, but there just......more

Goodreads review by Ken

Read late for church book club. Being a naturalized Seattleite (since 2002) I had always wondered about his story. This book certainly had interesting historical references filling in many of my knowledge gaps on local names, Denny, Bagley, Bell, Snohomish, etc...... The story of Seattle himself was......more

A vital book thoroughly researched. The author makes a compelling case for Federal and local recognition of the Duwamish tribe. This information is so important, but reading it was a slog. All we can hope is that someday someone will write a hiphop musical about this compelling, forward-thinking man......more


Quotes

“This audiobook presents narrator Arthur Morey with a unique set of vocal challenges as its Native American names are daunting. A gifted narrator, he handles the material admirably…The audiobook portrays the nineteenth-century Northwest unsparingly. Religious zeal and institutionalized racism come under scrutiny, in particular. The many geographical references to today’s Emerald City are a bonus.” AudioFile

“A thoroughly researched, insightful, and at times heartbreaking book.” Seattle Times

“With this book Chief Seattle gets maybe his first shot at a full and fair examination of his legacy since the first white settlers showed up. That makes this a significant moment in Seattle history.” Seattle Review of Books

“[A] remarkably thorough account of the history of Puget Sound and the influential role Chief Seattle played in its early growth…A valuable and erudite portrayal of this influential chief and the tumultuous times in which he led his people amidst the onslaught of manifest destiny.” Booklist

“A thorough history and enduring legacy of the Native American chief.” Shelf Talk


Awards

  • Shelf Talk Peak Pick