Ida Egli

Neal Metcalf's new book, inspired by actual events, highlights the last of the Indian wars in California, as told through the eyes of a soldier wanting to go back home to his sweetheart. He watches as Captain Jack, the chief of the last of the Modoc tribe, not wanting to be confined to the nearly-unlivable reservation to which they have been assigned, sets up and does battle with the U.S. Army in the lava fields near Mount Shasta. Captain Jack is an honorable chief, but a few of his braves and some of the recruits and officers of the Army unit sent to return them to the reservation are carrying grudges they are eager to bring to battle. The story of this standoff is fascinating, and compelling, and well-written by Metcalf. I really enjoyed reading it, and it made me think again about the terrible treatment we inflicted on our native peoples—when all they wanted was a decent, simple life in their homelands.