“Mesmerizing.” “Immaculate research.” “Puts you in the saddle with the Apaches.”
This is how readers are describing Steve’s latest book, “Riding With Cochise,” a remarkable history of the Apache Wars that swept across the American Southwest between 1850 and 1886. Told in large part by the surviving relatives of two of the greatest Apache war chiefs in history, Cochise and Geronimo, Steve also profiles two other great tribal leaders, Victorio and Mangas Coloradas, in this highly readable story.
Regardless of whether you enjoy reading about American history or not, this is a book you’ll find hard to put down once you start. It is the story of decades of broken treaties and betrayal as the Apaches fought to keep not only their homelands but also their entire culture from being destroyed by American encroachment.
Steve brings this violent drama to life by skillfully combining hundreds of hours of interviews with his own travels on horseback and on foot to the very places where it happened. You’ll go deep into the Cochise Stronghold of Arizona’s Dragoon Mountains where the chieftain lived and ride through New Mexico’s Massacre Canyon, where no wagon train or military patrol was safe. You’ll walk beside the old stage station at Apache Pass, touch the fading stone walls of Fort Craig, sit beside the campfires of Tom Jeffords, and be in the saddle with General George Crook and Lt. Charles Gatewood as they chase Geronimo.
More than two years in the writing, Steve provides specific directions to many of these historical locations throughout New Mexico and Arizona. His own prize-winning color photography, as well as numerous historical B&W photographs are also included.
Steve’s engaging story-telling styles makes this is a book you’ll enjoy from cover to cover, and then re-read again and again.
“Riding With Cochise” will be officially released in bookstores nationally on May 2, but advance orders may be made through Amazon.com.