Ride the Wind: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – November 12, 1985

The story of the capture and recapture of Cynthia Ann Parker is so interesting. I had read this book decades ago and liked it. Reading it again years later, it is still interesting. The story is real, the details unknown but seem credible. The tragedy is her return to the white world against her will and the subsequent ending.

I read this when I was in my teens and never forgot the story. Found it here and decided to read it again. It’s still a favorite.

The author pulls zero punches in this epic masterpiece, painting a vivid, unbiased portrait of both the Native Americans and American settlers in all their heroism, humanity, and horror. Meticulously researched, based on real people and true events, engaging from beginning to end with fully-developed characters, cultures, and sprawling settings that will forever haunt you and you will never forget.Unbelievable that this is the author’s first novel. This could easily be turned into a multi-season TV series sensation, but I don’t know that it would ever measure up to the reality so immersively captured in this book.This is a long book, but worth the investment of your attention. If you commit to it, you will want to read it again before you even finish it. And you will learn so much about a long-forgotten way of life along the way.

This compelling, meticulously-researched novel is fascinating, thrilling and heartbreaking. I only demoted it to four stars (I would have given it four and a half if I'd had the option) because, like most mass-market paperbacks, it is first-rate story telling but only second-rate writing. That's OK with me, though, a novel doesn't have to be beautifully written to be worth reading.I enjoyed this book very much but as a mother I feel I must warn anyone who's sensitive that it is very difficult to read in places. In this account of the last years of the Comanche, babies and children are regularly placed in peril, and many of them die. They die from disease and from the elements but most of them are brutally tortured and murdered. The atrocities are committed not just by whites (in fact the whites seem to commit fewer atrocities against women and children overall) but by the Comanche and the other tribes, who don't seem to have any moral rules against torturing and murdering children. I often wondered how much of what I was reading was based on fact and how much was exaggerated, and when researching the question discovered that many of these accounts were taken directly from history.That is why I found this book so surprising. If you are looking for a romanticized version of Plains Indian life ala "Dances With Wolves," you will not find it here. The Comanche culture was beautiful in many ways, and it was far kinder to nature than European culture will ever be, but the Comanches were a culture of warfare. They did not believe in mercy. When they could, they tortured their enemies, and were not above burning women and children alive, mutilating and raping them. I was fascinated by the detail of the Comanche world but I found it hard to feel any sympathy for many of the characters in this book, on either side, since nearly everyone condoned that kind of warfare and it was difficult for me to relate to them. I can't imagine how anyone who exists in a society where murder and torture is no longer a part of our moral fabric could really feel much sympathy for someone who murdered a child.Having said that, this is a wonderful book for students of American history, or for anyone who is interested in the Plains Indians. The author has meticulously detailed almost every aspect of Comanche life, from building a lodge to making pemmican. I particularly recommend this book as a balanced look at the conflict between the Plains Indians and white settlers. This was indeed a clash of two cultures who would never be able to peacefully co-exist, and like in any war, there were heroes and villains on both sides.

This book is beautifully and often poetically written, with excellent use of research on the geographical locations of the Comanches' lives, the botanical and zoological details of the time and place. The story of the tribe and of the individual characters, including Cynthia Ann Parker/Nadua, a white child kidnapped by the Comanche, Wanderer, a real Comanche warrior and chief, and their son Quanah, among many others, is compelling. There is a strong element of romance throughout the plot. And the book is based on history. As you read you learn amazing details of how the Comanche used the resources of their natural environment.At firstI could barely keep going for fear of what would happen to Cynthia and the other captives. And there are horrible events for both the white settlers and for the Comanche in the story. But the writing and the story allow the reader to digest what is happening without faltering. There is much joy in the story.And you will get a valuable look at the contrast between particular Native American cultures and American European culture.

I am only about 6 chapters into this 500+ page book and find it exciting and a well presented account of life as a captive in the frontier. The print is very small but it is a page turner. It can be graphic in places. All in all a good representation of the life in the old west.

The author is so good making true history such a good story.

This is the best book I believe I have ever read. It is so well written, you feel as if you are right there as the story is told. I read it years ago, with my family. We laughed, we cried, and became truly involved with this tribe and thier families. You can not read a better book. I ordered it to have on hand as the book we read was from the local library. I hope someone else finds as much pleasure as we did. Thank you.