It's a shame the story of Corn Tassel is not already familiar to us, because, in a way, it sums up the history of that era. Trust, negotiation, greed, deception, and trying to adjust to inevitable new realities are all elements of modern life we can relate to in this broadly researched and excellently told story of our ancestors, showing us we are not so different today.-Danny Kuhn, author, Fezziwig, a Life and O Mountaineers! Noted (or Notorious) West Virginians
With a researcher's eye for detail, a storyteller's ear for language, and an advocate's passion for the untold and underrepresented stories of the disenfranchised, Dorton adds an invaluable narrative to the historical record of our nation's indigenous cultures, particularly the eastern Cherokees. At a time when many of us are looking back in reflection and with regret over the devastating actions of our forebears, this necessary account of an overlooked hero immerses us in a past we must understand in order to help us come to a collective reckoning.-Linda Lowen, New York Times essayist, Editor of the anthology, Hopeful, Grateful, Strong
This is an exhilarating story often told in the words of a beloved Cherokee Chief, an American hero for all times, who gave his life in the struggle for peace between native Americans and early European settlers. It is history at its most exciting, beautifully written, researched and compiled by Mitzi Dorton.-Martha Ellen Hughes, author, Precious in His Sight, Viking/Penguin