The Fighting Cheyennes

The Fighting Cheyennes (1995) by George Bird Grinnell – World Publications
ISBN: 1572151234 | Condition: Fine (near new) | From Crappy Old Books

Long before Netflix dramatised the Wild West, George Bird Grinnell was out there documenting it with a notebook, a keen eye, and an unusual ability to listen. The Fighting Cheyennes, first published in 1915 and here reprinted in 1995, is his landmark account of the Cheyenne people’s long struggle against U.S. expansion, broken treaties, and the relentless march of settlers across the Plains. It’s equal parts history, ethnography, and epic saga, told by a man who spent decades studying and recording Native American life at a time when few others bothered to.

This copy is in fine, near-new condition—a rare state for a book that could so easily have been thumped around in a rucksack on a road trip through Montana or abandoned on a cabin shelf next to a stack of yellowing Louis L’Amours. Instead, it has survived with dignity: the spine is uncreased, the pages are clean, and the whole book looks ready to march into another hundred years without losing its composure.

Inside, Grinnell brings together oral history, first-hand accounts, and his own research to tell the story of the Cheyennes’ resistance in the 19th century—from early conflicts through the Sand Creek Massacre and the long years of warfare that followed. It’s detailed, vivid, and deeply humanising, capturing both the ferocity of battle and the cultural richness of the people involved. While the title might suggest endless warfare, the book is also about resilience, survival, and the enduring identity of the Cheyenne nation.

For history buffs, this is a classic of Native American studies. For casual readers, it’s an unexpectedly gripping page-turner: politics, betrayal, bravery, and tragedy, all wrapped in prose that balances scholarship with story. And for collectors? It’s a handsome 1995 reprint in near-mint condition—ready to impress anyone scanning your bookshelf for signs of rugged intellectualism.

So here it is: The Fighting Cheyennes, a book about struggle and survival, preserved in near-new condition, and ready to remind you that history is always more complex—and more human—than the Hollywood version.

Crappy Old Books: because even the toughest battles deserve a fine-condition paperback.

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