Until you’ve consumed all of the best Indian Biography books, can you even claim to be a true fan?
1. Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History (2011)
In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all. S. C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her…
2. Into The Heart: One Man’s Pursuit of Love and Knowledge Among the Yanomami (1997)
Anthropologist Kenneth Good went to the rain forests of the Amazon to study the Yanomami. He found more than one of the few remaining peoples untouched by modern civilization. During more than a decade of observation, Good found himself accepted, indeed virtually adopted, by the tribe and eventually fell in love with a young Yanomami woman. In the process, he made exciting new discoveries about the tribal people and about himself. Into the Heart is the fascinating story of his journey of discovery….
3. Medicine Woman (1987)
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4. The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation (2019)
George Washington’s place in the foundations of the Republic remains unrivalled. His life story–from his beginnings as a surveyor and farmer, to colonial soldier in the Virginia Regiment, leader of the Patriot cause, commander of the Continental Army, and finally first president of the United States–reflects the narrative of the nation he guided into existence. There is, rightfully, no more chronicled figure.Yet American history has largely forgotten what Washington himself knew clearly: that the new Republic’s fate depended less on grand rhetoric…
5. Life of Mahatma Gandhi (2004)
This is a biography of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). He led the fight for Indian independence from British rule, who tirelessly pursued a strategy of passive resistance, and who was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic only a few months after independence was achieved….
6. The Cherokee (American Indian Art and Culture) (2015)
Introduces the Cherokee people, discussing their history, traditions, and daily life….
7. An account of the remarkable occurrences in the life and travels of Col. James Smith: during his captivity with the Indians, in the years 1755, ’56, ’57, ’58, & ’59 (2018)
Biographies and Autobiographies in this category are about Adventurers and Explorers open windows into the often extraordinary lives people who travelled, fought wars, were imprisoned, sailed, climbed, set up missions, pioneered, and found new lands for settlement and colonization. This long list of adventurers includes such men and women as: Lieutenant-Colonel William Martin Leake, General John Coffin, Col. James Smith, Reginald G. Wilberforce, Sacajawea, Jasper Douthit, Field-Marshal Count Helmuth Von Moltke, Lieutenant General Crommelin, Captain James Cook, Prince Serge Dmitriyevich Urussov, Colonel David Crockett, Sir Walter…
8. From the Deep Woods to Civilization: Chapters in the Autobiography of an Indian (Classic Reprint) (2018)
Excerpt from From the Deep Woods to Civilization: Chapters in the Autobiography of an IndianIndian boyhood, published first in 1902 and in many subsequent editions, pic tures the first of three distinct periods in the life of the writer of this book. His child hood and youth were a part of the free wilder ness life of the first American a life that is gone forever! By dint of much persuasion, the story has now been carried on from the point of that plunge into the unknown with which the first book ends, a change so abrupt and so overwhelming…
9. Courage of Conviction (2002)
William Turner is a young Englishman who must choose between staying and fighting for his beliefs, only to be faced with certain death, or fleeing to the New World to face a future of uncertainty. Choosing the latter, Turner steals aboard the Fortitude, a ship bound for Jamestown and the colonies. He must make a life for himself among God-fearing Puritans, while he himself is a Baptist at heart. Life is not easy in the New World. Besides the ever-growing religious tension, there is also the threat of savage Indian attacks. Turner again is faced with a choice: Stifle…
10. Juggler of Worlds by Larry Niven (Jun 2 2009) ()
Mass Market Paperback Publisher: Tor Science Fiction ASIN: B00DEK6HS2 Average Customer Review: Be the first to review this item Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,146,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #5982 in Humorous American Literature #1003 in Native American & Aboriginal Biographies #4830 in Native American Demographic Studies Would you like to tell us about a lower price? If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?…
11. Daughters of the Earth (1995)
She was both guardian of the hearth and, on occasion, ruler and warrior, leading men into battle, managing the affairs of her people, sporting war paint as well as necklaces and earrings.She built houses and ground corn, wove blankets and painted pottery, played field hockey and rode racehorses. Frequently she enjoyed an open and joyous sexuality before marriage; if her marriage didn’t work out she could divorce her husband by the mere act of returning to her parents. She mourned her dead by tearing her clothes and covering herself with ashes, and when she herself…
12. Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy (2011)
Often remembered as the president who died shortly after taking office, William Henry Harrison remains misunderstood by most Americans. Before becoming the ninth president of the United States in 1841, Harrison was instrumental in shaping the early years of westward expansion. Robert M. Owens now explores that era through the lens of Harrison’s career, providing a new synthesis of his role in the political development of Indiana Territory and in shaping Indian policy in the Old Northwest.Owens traces Harrison’s political career as secretary of the Northwest…
13. Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team (2019)
“Sheinkin has made a career of finding extraordinary stories in American history.” ―The New York Times Book ReviewUndefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team is an astonishing underdog sports story―and more. It’s an unflinching look at the U.S. government’s violent persecution of Native Americans and the school that was designed to erase Indian cultures. Expertly told by three-time National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin, it’s the story of a group of young men who came together at that school, the overwhelming obstacles they…
Best Indian Biography Books Reviewed & Ranked
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Genesis and download some indian biography books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
James Allison: A Biography of the Engine Manufacturer and Indianapolis 500 Cofounder
Author(s): Sigur E. Whitaker
Publisher: McFarland, Year: 2011, Size: 2 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 813692
The Power of Promises: Rethinking Indian Treaties in the Pacific Northwest
Author(s): Alexandra Harmon, John Borrows
Publisher: University of Washington Press, Year: 2009, Size: 2 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 1682590
Telling a Good One: The Process of a Native American Collaborative Biography (American Indian Lives)
Author(s): Theodore Rios, Kathleen Mullen Sands
Publisher: , Year: 2000, Size: 3 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 452937
The younger brother Don yod, being the secret biography from the words of the glorious lama, the Holy Reverend Blo bZang Ye SHes a Tibetan play
Author(s): Thubten Jigmed Norbu; Robert B. Ekvall
Publisher: Indiana University Press for International Affairs Center, Year: 1969, Size: 8 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 1537950
Ishi in Two Worlds. A Biography of the last Wild Indian in North America
Author(s): Theodora Kroeber
Publisher: University of California Press, Year: 1961, Size: 45 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 1586166
Please note that this booklist is not definite. Some books are absolutely record-breakers according to The New York Times, others are composed by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.