American Legends: The Life of Tecumseh

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: James Weippert

Length: 1 hr and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Tecumseh's reputation among Americans has been both the most unique and anomalous. As the leader of the Shawnee, Tecumseh was the most famous Native American of the early 19th century, and he attempted to peacefully establish a Native American nation east of the Mississippi River in the wake of the American Revolution. While Native Americans, especially in the "old Northwest" (present-day land west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River), understood and recognized their own long-established territories and those of other tribes, these boundaries and territories were ignored and unappreciated by the incoming settlers. Together with his brother, Tenskwatawa, Tecumseh was in the process of forming a wide-ranging Native American confederacy that they hoped would stem the westward flow of Anglo-American settlers and essentially establish a "nation" of Native Americans that would be recognized and accepted by the advancing European-American settlers. Throughout his life, Tecumseh had experienced the effects of encroachment by white settlers as his family and his people were forced from their ancestral homelands and wandered westward several times, finally settling in Missouri.

As settlers continued to encroach further west, however, Tecumseh stood firm and ready to fight them. Before America fought Britain in the War of 1812, they were engaged in Tecumseh's War around the Great Lakes. The fighting made the Indian leader famous and made a military hero (and eventually a president) out of William Henry Harrison, whose victory at Tippecanoe is considered the end of that war. Undeterred, Tecumseh allied with the British during the War of 1812 against the Americans, and he continued to fight on until he was killed at the Battle of the Thames. Without their leader, Tecumseh's Confederacy began to disintegrate rapidly.

Despite being one of their most tenacious opponents, Tecumseh almost immediately became a celebrated folk hero and respected leader in American history, all while continuing to be one of the most poignant symbols of resistance among Native Americans. The pan-Indian icon continues to be a household name across the United States today, nearly 200 years after his death.

American Legends: The Life of Tecumseh chronicles the amazing life of the Native American leader, examines his leadership of the Shawnee Confederacy, and analyzes his enduring legacy.

©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors

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Very short recitation of Tecumseh's life. It includes some true quotes from the man. Notable, is the mispronunciation of several words in the audio version...distracting. The theme is Tecumseh's attempt to forestall American western movement by assembling an indian confederacy. It did not work but he's probably the one who came closest.

Please hire narrators who graduated High School --

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This is way too broad and generalized an account. No interesting details, no insights, it's like a broad book report somebody slap-dashed together the night before it was due. This has me quite concerned about the quality of the 'Charles Rivers Editors' books --

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something better.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He mispronounces words constantly i.e. pronounces avarice as 'avar-eyes', and cowardice as ' coward-eyes', usurpation as 'ooo-ser-pation', and numerous other words. Distracting and unacceptable.A BASIC UNDERSTANDING of English should be a prerequisite for reading an Audible book. It ruins the entire book if the reader's unqualified. And where are the editors, the producers, of these audible books -- aren't they there to oversee quality control?Amazing!

What else would you have wanted to know about Charles River Editors’s life?

Why he's in the book business -- and the question is absurd since the book is supposedly about Tecumseh.

Any additional comments?

Better readers!!