Mariano
asked:
Hey there... just started reading Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee... just realized it takes place after the infamous Trail of Tears... do you think I should read this book before Bury My Heart? (I already know what horrific things happen, more or less, but perhaps this book will inform me more beforehand?)
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Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation,
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sara
In case anyone else is wondering the same thing, it only matters which you read first if you like reading history in chronological order. Even though I prefer to do that, I read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee first. Bury My Heart, in my opinion, is significantly better than Trail of Tears. I’d recommend Bury My Heart but not Trail of Tears, though I’m glad to have read Trail of Tears.
Jeff
I have read both, and I saved Bury My Heart for after all my Indian history reading ( almost two years) for the reason you mention. I would definitely read Trail first, but it shouldn't matter THAT much. Although Bury goes back in time for background, it ends in modern times, where Trail ends shortly after removal. As an aside, as many historians and readers have pointed out, Bury was written during a period of time when historians were almost worshipping Indians ( no flaws at all!), but Trail was written more recently when the pendulum swung back to reality. Bury goes out of it's way to pull at your heartstrings, needlessly in my mind. Despite it's fame, in my opinion there are far better books that have been written since.
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