Oh What a Slaughter

Massacres in the American West, 1846 - 1890

By: Larry McMurtry

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

In Oh What a Slaughter, Larry McMurtry has written a unique, brilliant, and searing history of the bloody massacres that marked, and marred, the settling of the American West in the 19th century, and which still provoke immense controversy today.

Here are the true stories of the West's most terrible massacres: Sacramento River, Mountain Meadows, Sand Creek, Marias River, Camp Grant, and Wounded Knee, among others. These massacres involved Americans killing Indians, but also Indians killing Americans, and, in the case of the hugely controversial Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1857, Mormons slaughtering a party of American settlers, including women and children.

McMurtry's evocative descriptions of these events recall their full horror, and the deep, constant apprehension and dread endured by both pioneers and Indians. By modern standards the death tolls were often small, Custer's famous defeat at Little Big Horn in 1876 was the only encounter to involve more than 200 dead, yet in the thinly populated West of that time, the violent extinction of a hundred people had a colossal impact on all sides. Though the perpetrators often went unpunished, many guilty and traumatized men felt compelled to tell and retell the horrors they had committed. From letters and diaries, McMurtry has created a moving and swiftly paced narrative, as memorable in its way as such classics as Evan S. Connell's Son of the Morning Star and Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

©2005 Larry McMurtry (P)2005 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This book will make an outstanding addition to western history collections." (Booklist)

Biased

If you want to hear, "White man is bad - Indians are good", then this is your book. The author uses adjectives like "Brave, Warrior, peaceful" when speaking of the Indians and "corrupt, greedy, massacrers" for the white settlers.

The book was more like the author's notebook and not well organized.

Enjoyable and Balanced

After reading some of the other reviews, I was worried about what I would find in this book.

I think that too often in recent years authors will use history as a way of bludgening the reader with his or her take on current events. I was expecting that here.

However, with one notable and unfortunate exception toward the end of the book, I thought that McMurtry did a pretty good job of staying balanced. Massacre is his subject, after all, and massacres have a way of drawing out judgements.

I agree with the other reviewers regarding the narrator. I didn't put me off the book, obviously, but I grew tired of hearing him breathe.

This is a shame

This author of such gripping historical novels turns to history and cranks out a rather boring book with frequent intrusion of his opinions on current world events. A man with a disappointing naive view of these events.

Boring, Bias

Would you try another book from Larry McMurtry and/or Michael Prichard?

No !

What do you think your next listen will be?

?

What didn’t you like about Michael Prichard’s performance?

Terrible voice for this kind of book ! I could barely make it thru the book.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No, I was disappointed.

Any additional comments?

I feel books about the west and frontier life should be read by someone who sounds like he could have been there. Just my opinion !

Boring!!!

I was very interested in this book because of the subject, but the reader of this book makes listening to this book boring. I stopped listening to this audio book after 30 minutes. also the reader does not know how to pronounce the rape correctly. Not worth the money or time to download. If you interested in this book, buy the book and read it!

Good but not great

Lots of great initial context. Highly recommended for e try level knowledge on the violence in the west.