MUST SEE, MUST READ
From Cochise to Geronimo
(2010, by Edwin R. Sweeney): Chiricahua Apache historian Edwin Sweeney wrote five Apache-related books, edited a sixth and was widely accepted as the world’s foremost authority on Cochise. This book, the fifth in his output, is far and away his magnum opus. His meticulous research makes it the ultimate book on the Chiricahua Apaches, one that will be referenced for many years to come. It boasts minute details, never-before-published information and the most up-to-date facts concerning the 12-year period of 1874—86 (Sweeney covered the years prior in his earlier biographies Cochise and Mangas Coloradas). At 706 pages, this is the final word on the subject.
Chronicles of War: Apache & Yavapai Resistance in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico, 1821–1937 (2014, by Berndt Kuhn): This amazing book records every known incident of Apache aggression against Americans or Mexicans, beginning with the first entry in 1821 and concluding with the final one in 1937. The encyclopedic entries are in chronological order. The resulting tome, which took 30 years to produce, comprises nearly 4,000 entries. At the risk of sounding cliché, this book is a must for every serious student of the Apaches.
From Fort Marion to Fort Sill (2013, by Alicia Delgadillo): While many books on the Chiricahua Apaches concentrate on their struggle to preserve ancestral homelands, this interesting book highlights their time as prisoners of war (hence the title). Painstakingly researched and lavishly illustrated with black-and-white and color photographs, the book presents each letter of the alphabet as the chapter heading, with Apache POW names listed in their respective chapters. This format makes the book an excellent resource for researchers of tribal history and culture.
(1886, by John G. Bourke): Captain Bourke of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry wrote this small book after participating in Brig. Gen. George Crook’s 1883 expedition into Mexico’s Sierra Madre to recover a 6-year-old boy stolen by the Apaches and return the hostiles to the reservation. Bourke was also an ethnologist and a naturalist, as reflected in his writing. Drawing from his personal notes,
