Cover is a little bland, I wish they had chosen something that pops.
Before I go into that I need to address a concern I had when I started this book. I read the front inside of the dust cover and the publication date and was concerned. I should have read the inside of the back cover as well, then I would be concerned about different things. One of the authors is part American Indian, but none of the authors are historians, being a journalist and an editor. As for its coverage of the tragedy of war, it is impressively even-handed. Massacres and brutality abound in frontier battles like this, and I have the impression that the reason more of the white massacres of Indians are described is because the whites won, and being on the winning side means you can massacre your enemies, not the other way around. The Carthaginians got destroyed rather than the Romans because the Romans won. 
It's a decent piece of artwork, but I like some works on back covers.
The American Indian Wars covers the subject chronologically and makes some interesting choices in its focus. Around half of the narrative takes place before the founding of the United States, and only 1/8th of the book covers the period after the Civil War. Marginalizing the main period people think of when they think of American Indians is a bold choice, but the authors present it persuasively. The period of initial contact was the period when the conflict was most equal. By the time the United States was an independent country its resources vastly outweighed any single tribe and was even able to overpower the larger groups of tribes assembled by charismatic leaders without too many difficulties. By 1865 the disparity was too great, and the flood of settlers could not be stopped. The whole book then takes the air of a great tragedy, as culture after culture is overwhelmed, and mistreated from sea to shining sea. It is hard to present the past accurately and not have a sense of tragedy about it. Nostalgia is a trap.
What The American Indian Wars did not do well is make me reconsider my disinterest in American history. I have been thinking about it, and I think it is because it feels so small. I know that is a weird thing to say about one of the largest counties in the world, bear with me. The tendency for isolationism is strong even in this history. Spain appears only to sell Florida, and there is no real mention of Mexico. How did the Mexican border affect the wars with the Apaches? The only powers of long-term interest in this book are France and Britain, and they still feel like sideshows. History has a greater impact when it can keep the wider causes and effects in mind, and address them in a memorable if cursory manner. Maybe I subconsciously connect the dots in areas I am more familiar with, but usually, the feeling is of smallness.
Would I recommend The American Indian Wars? No, not for a moment. While a decent read, I am not satisfied it was a good history. I don't know much about the subject so I cannot state definitive facts, but it feels like it is not enough. If American Indians interest you there has to be a more modern book on the subject written by an actual historian rather than a journalist. I don't think journalists make good historians.
Now that, that is dramatic colors, I like it.
This has been delayed a bit because I ordered a book and I wanted to review it when I got it. I have not talked about it yet on the blog, but I am a big Warhammer 40k book fan and the Black Library has just released a book I have been really looking forward to has been released. The End and the Death Volume 1 by Dan Abnett is going to be the next book I review. I am looking forward to tearing into this brick of a book. 
The End and the Death is a huge book. Don Quixote for scale.
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