Blood Moon: Am American Epic of War and Splendor in the Cherokee Nation by John Sedgwick

Readers and scholars have, for generations, been drawn to the story of the Cherokees, arguably the tribe that assimilated most thoroughly into white society, even establishing plantations, holding African-American slaves, creating a written language, and publishing a newspaper, The Phoenix, in their language. One of the most compelling dimensions of this story is the conflict between John Ridge and John Ross, two charismatic leaders who held opposing perspectives on how to deal with President Andrew Jackson’s plan to remove all Cherokees to Oklahoma. John Ehle wrote a novel that dealt with this conflict, Trial of Tears (1989) and there are several scholarly books, but this is the first popular history treatment. It is John Sedgwick’s 6th non-fiction book to go with two fiction books.  He lives in Brooklyn. “A vigorous, well-written book that distills a complex history to a clash between two men without oversimplifying.”—Kirkus Reviews. “The most important history to know is the history