An Uncommon Enemy

By Michelle Black

Book Overview

On the day after Thanksgiving, 1868, George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Cavalry attack a sleeping Cheyenne village on the banks of the Washita. Ironically, the village was presided over by Black Kettle, the foremost peace chief of the Cheyenne Nation. During the senseless slaughter of men, women, and children, the soldiers find Eden Murdoch, a white woman presumed dead years before. The army expects to use her for propaganda purposes and to refute accusations that the Cheyenne village posed no threat to white settlers, but Eden refuses to take part. She refuses to even acknowledge that the army "rescued" her from a "savage" society. She avoids giving the details of her story to any of the officers; she will say only that she considered her Cheyenne husband and his other wives family.Custer's young and inexperienced aide-de-camp, Captain Brad Randall, is assigned the task of looking after Eden. Beginning to doubt Custer's actions and struggling to act honorably, Brad is both fascinated and perplexed by Eden's eccentric behavior. He becomes obsessed with learning the truth behind Eden's bizarre journey, and when Eden begins to r

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765301032
• ISBN13: 9780765301031
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 398 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.3" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

A penetrating look at the Indian wars

Michelle Black has penned an absorbing and rich novel of the Indian wars, focusing especially on General Custer's obsessive quest for glory, which soon trumps truth and decency. The heroine of this story is a woman of innate decency, who refuses to compromise herself, her ideals, or her fate, no matter what pressures are applied to her. This is an outstanding and deeply moving novel about courage, honesty, and a woman's charity toward others.

A piercing look at a woman's courage

Michelle Black has written a fine novel about a woman caught between two worlds, Indian and white. The heroine refuses to compromise her humanity, her charity, or her love, and as a result finds herself in trouble with the cavalry, and especially General Custer. This is a marvelous depiction of military ambition so ruthless that it overrides all decency, and a good woman's response to it. I found myself caught up in a drama that throws light upon the Indian Wars, and the politics surrounding them. Michelle Black will win a wide readership.