The Seminole Wars: America’s Longest Indian Conflict by John Missall

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Still another coverage of the Seminole Indian Wars. This one takes the tale and approaches it with a more objective view. unfortunately weigh down with P.C. mess. Also, the nasty fingerprints of editor Gary Mormino can be found in this.

This is an easier to digest history as the authors better connect events than others have done that I’ve read. There’s also a welcome relation of war events and what is going on otherwise in the U.S. and world.

Problems are early on and could lose readers. There are the constant references to “whites”. “Whites”? What the hell are “whites”? The author seek to ball all of any skin color of lightness (whatever that is) into something they called “white”. This goes on throughout the book. They mean Americans, but refuse to use the term and don’t explain why. Is this a Mormino edit? Does sound like his kind of inanity.

There’s another line of “…religious fervor, speculative greed and racism” involving the Americans continuing historical man’s efforts to conquer. They write this as if it was only an American ideal. Worse they never throughout the book recognize the “…religious fervor, speculative greed and racism” were exactly the issues the indians had, too. There’s a line against “nationalism” involving the Americans. Yet, that is, also, exactly what the indians sought, too. This last is the stuff of Mormino, who refuses to recognize that “…religious fervor, speculative greed and racism” is what drove the Spanish conquistadors…to ultimate evil violent ends.

There’s much good of the book, outside of treading old territory. The objective views are very helpful. The grave exceptions being the addition of the temporary viewpoints of the time of the writing that will change and change again.

Bottom line: I don’t recommend this book. 5 out of ten points.



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