'Crisply written and provocative . . . Lucid, often beautifully written . . . A pleasure to read.' Wall Street Journal

'Mort makes a fascinating read of every subject he takes up.' Associated Press

The harrowing story of the feud that ignited the Apache Wars

In February 1861, the young son of an Arizona rancher was kidnapped by Apaches. His father followed their trail and reported the incident, blaming a band of Chiricahuas led by the infamous warrior Cochise. Despite the lack of proof, the young and inexperienced Lt George Bascom met with the Apache leader, who brought along his wife, his brother, and two sons. Despite Cochise's denial of any involvement, Bascom took Cochise's family hostage and demanded the return of the boy. An enraged Cochise escaped the meeting tent amidst flying bullets and vowed revenge.

What followed that precipitous encounter would ignite a frontier war between the Chiricahuas and the US Army that would last twenty-five years. Thousands of lives would be lost, the economies of Arizona and New Mexico would be devastated, and in the end, the Chiricahua way of life would essentially cease to exist.

Meticulously researched and thrillingly told, Terry Mort explores the collision of these two radically different cultures in a masterful account of one of the bloodiest conflicts in American frontier history.