Chief Seattle and the Town That Took His Name

By: David M. Buerge

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

This is the first thorough historical account of Chief Seattle and his times - the story of a half century of tremendous flux, turmoil, and violence, during which a native American war leader became an advocate for peace and strove to create a successful hybrid racial community.

When the British, Spanish, and then Americans arrived in the Pacific Northwest, it may have appeared to them as an untamed wilderness. In fact, it was a fully settled and populated land. Chief Seattle was a powerful representative from this very ancient world. Historian David Buerge has been researching and writing this book about the world of Chief Seattle for the past 20 years. Buerge has threaded together disparate accounts of the time from the 1780s to the 1860s - including native oral histories, Hudson Bay Company records, pioneer diaries, French Catholic church records, and historic newspaper reporting.

Chief Seattle had gained power and prominence on Puget Sound as a war leader, but the arrival of American settlers caused him to reconsider his actions. He came to embrace white settlement and, following traditional native practice, encouraged intermarriage between native people and the settlers, offering his own daughter and granddaughters as brides, in the hopes that both peoples would prosper. Included in this account are the treaty signings that would remove the natives from their historic lands, the roles of such figures as Governor Isaac Stevens and Chiefs Leschi and Patkanim, the Battle at Seattle that threatened the existence of the settlement, and the controversial Chief Seattle speech that haunts to this day the city that bears his name.

©2018 David M. Buerge (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Important

Seattle, the man spoke universal truths, still too rarely understood. The currents, prejudices and small mindedness continue. This book is another strong contribution in the conversation of how can humans be better. It fits for the race discussion. It fits for the man vs nature discussion. It fits for the discussion about what is moral and ethical. With the Puget Sound teaming with native villages and people with unfamiliar names and a dialect that takes a bit get use to, it sometimes lost me but I found it well worth the effort. And for crying out loud, can we give the Duwamish the recognition they deserve?

Extremely accurate and well thought out.

The Pacific Northwest has so much rich cultural history, and it's not often done justice. Born and raised on the Kitsap Peninsula I was fully aware of the rich heritage, often visiting the many sites in this book. I thought the narrator did an excellent job getting all of the pronunciations correct, only messing up a handful, which is actually harder than it seems. Many people not from the area struggle with the names. This was a beautifully written biography, and you will not be disappointed. If you are not familiar with the area though, I suggest you get a map to follow along.

Fascinating and thorough

This book profoundly opened my eyes and ears to the puget sound region. it can be a little dry at times but fully worth the effort.

Fascinating

An underappreciated story of the history of America's indigenous people and how they were exploited.

As a relatively recent transplant from the great white Midwest...

It was an excellent and grievous background for the closest metropolis; I learned about its honorary namesake and feel it is a minimal recompense for his life. He deserves so much more…and I also agree: “It’s pretty!”

Excellent

Should be mandatory reading by all…………,,,,,,,,,,,. . . . . . . .
I enjoyed the last 2 hours more than all the rest. All good

Important to know and fight for...

Great story, truth be told, our heatfelt energy to be released, please make it so

Best example of Native American conflicts

Author relates mindset of Chief Seattle and european settlers from their conflicting points of view much better than any other book I have read. Seattle's speech is beautiful and I cannot believe I had never heard it before, worth the reading of this book alone.

Very dull

The book is very dull and boring. Maybe because the reader is so dull or maybe because the book itself says hardly anything is known about the man But I am going to try and write a book about him.

Liked the history, but not the moralizing.

Fascinating history that rang true in its historical specifics, but lost credibility when it started preaching--especially in its final chapter. The author should have trusted readers to draw their own conclusions, rather than condescend to "enlighten" them according to today's morals. Left a bad taste. . .