A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh by Allan W. EckertMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an amazingly detailed work of scholarship tracking the life of Tecumseh from the family he was born into to the day of his death. There are extensive notes amplifying details such as why the author chose certain points of view or why he disregarded unsupported versions of events. Largely this builds on and at times corrects Allan W. Eckert's other works The Frontiersmen, Wilderness Empire, and Gateway to Empire. The focus here is on the military life of Tecumseh from successful warrior in the period of The Revolutionary War to general of a united Indian front during the War of 1812. Much credence is given to Tecumseh predicting successfully the solar eclipse of June 16, 1806, a brilliant meteor display or comet of 1811, the December 16, 1811 New Madrid earthquake, and the day of his own death. This work of scholarship is of interest beyond Tecumseh's biography to the events he partook in, especially British-American relations over his life. The author tends toward novelisation often by recreating dialog and scenes which I think would be better forgone and could have greatly shortened the telling of a life full of enough drama.
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