Author: Brian Hicks File Type: epub Toward the Setting Sun chronicles one of the most significant but least explored periods in American history, recounting the little known story of the first white man to champion the voiceless Native American cause. Son of a Scottish trader and a quarter-Cherokee woman, Ross was educated in white schools and was only one-eighth Indian by blood. But as Cherokee chief in the mid-nineteenth century, he would guide the tribe through its most turbulent period. The Cherokees plight lay at the epicenter of nearly all the key issues facing a young America western expansion, states rights, judicial power, and racial discrimination. Clashes between Ross and President Andrew Jackson raged from battlefields and meeting houses to the White House and Supreme Court. As whites settled illegally on the Nations land, the chief steadfastly refused to sign a removal treaty. Only when a group of renegade Cherokees betrayed their chief and negotiated an agreement with Jacksons men was he forced to begin his journey west. In one of Americas great tragedies, thousands died during the Cherokees migration on the Trail of Tears. Toward the Setting Sun retells the story of expansionism from the native perspective, and takes a critical look at the well-rehearsed story of American progress. Review A vigorous account of the forced removal of the Cherokee people from their southern homelands. . .[Hicks] takes a measured view of Rosss opponents and allies alike, shedding new light on the career of other eminent figures such as the newspaperman and Confederate general Stand Watie. A welcome addition to Cherokee history. Kirkus Review Richly detailed and well-researched, this heartbreaking history unfolds like a political thriller with a deeply human side. Publishers Weekly By focusing on the people behind the tragedy of the Cherokee and the Trail of Tears, Brian Hicks makes us see how individual men and women shaped the complex course of history. Written with sympathy and verve, Toward the Setting Sun is an important book that is also a pleasure to read.Nathaniel Philbrick, author Why Read Moby-Dick?, The Last Stand Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the National Book Award-winning In the Heart of the Sea In this powerful and engaging new book, Brian Hicks tells the compelling story of Chief John Ross and the tragedy of the Cherokee Nation. By focusing on the Ross family, Hicks brings narrative energy and original insight to a grim and important chapter of American life.Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion Its a particularly horrific chapter in the consistently shocking record of the United States treatment of the Native Americans. Brian Hicks, a South Caroline journalist, adroitly relates this tragedy in Toward the Setting Sun through the experiences of the Cherokees principal chief John Ross. Its a gripping story, told by Hicks with perception and sensitivity. The author rightly compares it to Gone with the Wind or The Godfather in its scope and drama. Anne Bartlett, Book Page Hicks is a skilled writer and historian and this book about a tragic chapter in our nations story is enlightening and powerful. The Boston Globe Clear and compelling Hicks is a gifted storyteller. Minneapolis Star Tribune With careful probing and quiet eloquence, Brian Hicks shows us the moral complexities of a leader struggling to make sense of his shrinking world. You feel the fate of John Ross and the Cherokees, a great people whose only crime was living in the path of a ravenous, covetous empire.Hampton Sides, author of Blood and Thunder The begrudging apology from the U.S. Senate in December, 2009, should be only the beginning of a new national awareness, to which Mr. Hicks has ably contributed. A.J. Langguth Brian Hicks mastery has made history come alive as he reveals the voices of the past reaching out to us. Toward the Setting Sun is an extraordinary account of a sad time in our nations history. It is truly timeless and of great historical worth. Clive Cussler, author of Spartan Gold Toward the Setting Sun is a powerful metaphor for the U.S. governments forced expatriation of the [Cherokees] Hicks book is a must-read [It] bears the trenchant style of a fine writer. The Post and Courier [Well] written Hicks does a great job of establishing and building up his information. Library Journal Brian Hicks tells a compelling story about a determined Cherokee leader who was forced to make hard choices absent any good options in a rapidly changing land. Toward the Setting Sun is an honest, provocative examination of tragic betrayal and the limits of power for the Native American.Scott Zesch, author of The Captured A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier A riveting history of the white chief who led the Cherokee tribe through their most progressive era, then through their greatest tragedy. The Daily Beast Hicks renders relatively familiar portraits of U.S. political figures The real interest here is in the secondary characters His story is one of a people responding to imperialism, along with a testimonial to the resilience of a chieftain and his followers It is an excellent introduction to an important episode in U.S. history, and a gateway to further Native American study. Jim Cullen, History New Network [T]he engaging writing style will draw in readers and will make accessible to a wide audience both the magnitude of the tragedy of removal and the resiliency of the Cherokee peoples Choice, Current Reviews for Academic Libraries