Ride the Wind (edition 1985)

The fictionalized story of Cynthia Ann Parker's abduction and life among the Comanche. Very little detail is known about Cynthia Ann's life, other than that she was abducted at age 9, adopted and brought up by a Tenowish Comanche family, married Chief Peta Nocona (for whom the fearsome Noconi band was named), had three children (one of which was Quanah Parker, the last of the Comanche Chiefs to surrender and enter a reservation), and was recaptured and returned to her birth family at age 34 where she tried and failed to escape and where she, after her daughter's death, was so unhappy that she starved herself to death.

Obviously, the descriptions of Cynthia Ann's day-to-day tribal life are purely fictional - she never described any of the events - but because of the author's great knowledge of Native American life, every little detail rings true. It may not be an exact description of what Cynthia Ann experienced, but it is a great description of a collective experience - if you want to know how the Comanche (and other tribes) lived without resorting to straight history books, this is perfect. Details (and there are loads of them) of how they trained and rode horses, how they made camp, raided, cooked, celebrated, worshipped, courted, gave birth, hosted friends, raised children, and (ferociously) fought their enemies, are all integrated into the overall narrative.

Robson isn't a sentimental writer, so the descriptions of the hardships - on all sides - are described in quite gruesome details. Life on the prairie may be romanticized by Wild West movies, but it was harsher than harsh and most of us wouldn't have lasted a season. A few parts of the book do tend toward the romantic (and the book cover is beyond BAD), but not too much - they read more like a tribute to how happy Cynthia Ann and Peta Nocona's marriage was, made evident by the fact that he never took another wife, which would have been traditional for a great chieftain. Overall, it's a well-researched story about the end of traditional Native American life, with all the proverbial good, bad and ugly inherent in its history. ( )

A Must-Read Western Saga

The author, Lucia St. Clair Robson, has created a masterpiece of historical fiction. There is great storytelling and a remarkable amount of research in this heartbreaking novelization of the life of Cynthia Ann Parker (Naduah), abducted as a child by the Comanches.

Although nothing much is known about Naduah during the period covered in Ride the Wind, Robson creates strong characters that spring to life and are long remembered after you've put the book down. I learned a lot about the day to day life of the Comanches, their warfare, customs, family relationships and nomadic lifestyle.

Be warned the book is very graphic and not recommended for the faint hearted. The cruelty is sickening, but to balance, there are many acts of love and kindness as well. The author strikes a note of fairness in her writing which elevates the novel beyond the usual finger-pointing and knee-jerk, bleeding heart narratives contained in much of this genre. This is not your typical good guys vs bad guys Western.

Knowing Naduah’s unhappy outcome beforehand, I approached the ending of the book with dread. After a weeks’ long gap, I came to the final sections of the book to find it was all wrapped up rather quickly and neatly with limited sentimentality. After my long journey reading Ride the Wind, the author let the previous chapters speak out instead of inserting over-the-top melodrama into the ending. I admire Ms. Robson for this as it made for a much stronger finish to the story.

There are a few other fictionalized accounts of Parker's life story available and I will likely seek these out. However, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to find another book to rival Ride the Wind's sheer emotional intensity. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the Old West. ( )

Been many years since the first time I read this, I have read it many times since and will no doubt read it a great many times again. Always an enjoyable read, but the first time had such a profound affect on me. The story draws you in immediately and shortly you become one with the heroine. Changes forever how you view that age of history. ( )

One of my favorite books on the life of Cynthia Ann Parker. Having read it no less than 5 times, I am delighted each time. Lucia St Clair Robson has masterfully captured the dynamic lifestyle of the American Indian, both the good and the bad, depending on your frame of reference. How wonderful to write with such passion about the historically significant young child and her possible trials and tribulations among a tribe of Indians so foreign to her yet so loving and compasionate. Naduah will capture your heart, make you smile at times, cry at times and above all give you an appreciation of the Indian perspective as they were being exterminated from the American West in ways you have yet to imagine. Such detail to the feelings and possible effect of such an epic dealing with the removal of the American Indian, a noble people, by the soldiers and the settlers has never been shown to compare with this awesome book. The birth of Quannah Parker is depicted within the pages as well as the birth of baby Topsannah, probably the best know picture of Cynthia Ann Parker. ( )

2.5 starsI've always imagined the book to be heart wrenching and epic in scope but I was left slightly underwhelmed by the end of the book.To be honest, the violence we were shown to, was hard to stomach. By ignorance or resilience, however, I soon got over it as the novel progressed. I also found the first half of the book to be a little slow, though not as excruciatingly slow as the second half. As for the writing, the POV was confusing at best. It jumped from one person to another and I sometimes found myself wondering, "Am I reading about the same person?"Overall, I did find the book quite enjoyable and informative in regards to the lifestyle of the Comanches. ( )