Larry WilliamsonBesprekingen

Nice novel of a little known area of American History. While the Cherokee Trail of tears is widely known (at least people have generally heard of it), the removal of the other four of the Five Civilized tribes is less well known. Larry Williamson has taken an even lesser known part, the Second Creek War and built a story around it which helps give attention to the hardships faced by the Creek in their attempts to avoid removal and blend in or resist the wave of white settlers moving into their territory. When historical characters are introduced into the narrative, Williamson often adds historical information concerning their background. i actually teach Native American history and was unaware of the extent of the resistance. i actually ordered the main historical work in Williamson's bibliography for our library, and will probably order this and it's prequel as well. Hats off to Williamson for bringing this important but overlooked moment in history to a wider audience.

To learn more about the 'Trail of Tears' and how American Indians were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands during the 1830's along the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma, read this book. As historical fiction, it is both compelling and painstakingly historically accurate. The major characters throughout the book are both interesting and well-developed.

As you begin to understand how the Creeks lost their vast lands stretching across much of Alabama and Georgia land so that white settlers could claim it as their own, the book becomes increasingly painful to read. President Andrew Jackson and his cabinet, the governors of both Alabama and Georgia, the military along with unscrupulous land speculators, had one goal: to round up and drive the Creeks and other Indian tribes off their lands to claim it for white settlers. The author provides specific details of how the military defeated the Creeks then rounding them in a series of forts before escorting them along the infamous "Trail of Tears". No dignity was allowed for the Indians.

Of particular interest is the fact that the Creeks had lived in harmony with the white settlers in Alabama for decades and most local whites were opposed to the treatment of the Indians. The Indians and white settlers were close enough that interracial marriage was not unusual. In fact one of the reasons that selected this book is that my Great Great Grandmother was Creek Indian in South Alabama, who married a white settler and I wanted to know more about her world.

In short, I highly recommend it.

This books is an interesting blend of historical fiction and real historical characters during the time of President Andrew Jackson. I love history, but the time of the Creek wars is not a time period I knew much about. The story does a great job of bringing out the humaness of when the government removed native Americans from their homes and really paints a picture of the area and time period based on research. It takes history and makes it an interesting narrative that draws you into the story.

In general, the book is well-written, using great descriptive language.
However, some of the plot points and dialogue are a little corny and took me out of the story. This helps to keep the story light and a fast read.

Having just finished "the Trials of Nina McCall" about the injustice endured by thousands of women in America under the pretense of controlling the spread of STI's. An eye opening history of how government can abuse its' citizens and get away with it. Which brings us to further government abuse, this time stealing the homes and lands of the original people to live on the place we now call America. Europeans felt superior to native Americans and believed themselves entitled to the land which they, they felt, could better utilize than to let it go to waste(?) as was
happening under the original people. So nothing was considered out of bounds in cheating, stealing, and murdering to accomplish their own ends. All of this was sanctioned by a government that felt no duty to honor treaties or agreements made with Native Americans. To the victor go the spoils, but the Europeans dishonored the religious traditions they claimed made them masters of the new world. Another disappointing chapter in the "glorious history" of what we call the greatest country in the world. The book is well written and held my attention from start to finish. A great read and well worth the time spent reading it.

This is the way that history should be explored and valued. The narrative contains loads of pertinent information, while also providing a beautiful human realness to the facts and dates and names laying in the past. It is apparent that the author is very interested and knowledgeable about the story's existence.

I received this book from the Early Reviewers group and I was so excited to get this one.
This book I looked forward to more than any other book I've received.
The book Muskogi Sunset: The Second Creek War Of 1836 takes place in Alabama and Georgia in 1836. Andrew Jackson is President after having fought the Creek (Muskogi) Indians in Alabama in 1813-1814. Jackson has passed a law that orders the removal of the Indians from the area and transplants them out West in new lands.
This happens along the Tallapoosa river in mideastern Alabama and Midwestern Georgia.
The Indians are not happy to have to leave their ancestral homes, many of them have been given land grants by the Federal Government. The settlers in the area most get along peacefully with the Creek people and they all just want to live in peaceful coexistence. The army comes in with agents to enforce the removal and begins to round up Indian families to various stockades around the area to prepare for the trip West. Also shady characters come along with various schemes to cheat the Indians out of their rightfully held lands.
This story unfolds as a historical novel told with a blend of real historical characters and fictionalized people, especially the Murph family which were featured in Mr. Williamson's previous novel, Tallapoosa.

My father is from Heflin, Alabama, a small town on the Tallapoosa river, north of where this novel is placed, and I can remember as a child my grandfather taking us to Horseshoe Bend National Military Park where Jackson fought with the Creeks in 1813-1814. But I never knew too much about the times or the troubles. I was excited to read about this time period and I learned a lot, not only from reading this story, but from further research on the people and places.

Larry Williamson has done a fine job telling this story, it is exciting, tragic, humorous, and heartbreaking. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves history. I recently read The Killer Angels, a Civil War novel, that was excellent and I believe Muskogi Sunset ranks right along side as far as historical novels go.
I am excited to track down Mr. Williamsons other books and read more about this area of geography and history.½

I did not enjoy this book. The historical facts were common and non-informative. Seemed Wikipedia like. The fictionalization was slanted and totally out of context. I hope that this was a proof copy and not the final book. to . The book jumped from fact to fact often backtracking, It read like a high school essay where the student put their note cards in the wrong order and didn't bother to correct them.
I have read several books in this genre and this one does not measure up.

The first war that the U. S. Army fought against the Muskogi or Creek Indians happened in southeastern Alabama/southwestern Georgia in 1813-14. The Creeks were thoroughly defeated by General Andrew Jackson. After years of peaceful interaction between Creeks and Whites, in 1830, Jackson, then President, pushed through a law to remove the five tribes of the southeastern U. S. to what eventually became Oklahoma. After many Creeks resisted losing their homelands by attacking white settlers, in 1836, the U. S. Army came into the area to round up the renegades and hostiles and force them westward. Thus, the Second Creek War. It was largely a matter of raids and small-scale attacks energized by deceitful land grabs by whites.
This short book is historical fiction. People who find the usual history book not to their liking because “it’s just a lot of names and dates” should enjoy “Muskogi Sunset.” While following a readable story, they will also get a plausible account of the Second Creek War of 1836. The author’s purpose seems to inform about the war in an easily digested way. He seems in control of the historical facts. He emphasizes, as do more conventional historians, that many white settlers sympathized with the Creeks rather than with Andrew Jackson. In all, this book is a good way to learn some important but ugly and messy history.

Pretty interesting book. I don't read much historical fiction, as I am generally a non-fiction guy, but there was some good historical info in the book. It really showed the difficulty all sides had with the enforcement of Jackson's Indian removal policies. Of course, the Indians got shafted, but that was the norm at that time. However, even those who tried to do things the right way had the deck stacked against them. I would have liked to see more primary sources, but again, this is a novel, not a history book.