The Pequot Indian intellectual, author, and itinerant preacher William Apess (1798-1839) was one the most important voices of the nineteenth century. Here, Philip F. Gura offers the first book-length chronicle of Apess's fascinating and consequential life. After an impoverished childhood marked by abuse, Apess soldiered with American troops during the War of 1812, converted to Methodism, and rose to fame as a lecturer who lifted a powerful voice of protest against the plight of Native Americans in New England and beyond. His 1829 autobiography, A Son of the Forest, stands as the first published by a Native American writer. Placing Apess's activism on behalf of Native American people in the context of the era's rising tide of abolitionism, Gura argues that this founding figure of Native intellectual history deserves greater recognition in the pantheon of antebellum reformers. Following Apess from his early life through the development of his political radicalism to his tragic early death and enduring legacy, this much-needed biography showcases the accomplishments of an extraordinary Native American.
Philip F. Gura is William S. Newman Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His many books include Truth's Ragged Edge: The Early American Novel and American Transcendentalism: A History, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
An accessible, deeply researched, and learned account of the life of William Apess and his times"". - H-Net Reviews
""This outstanding biography is essential reading for those interested in either Native American studies or American literature"". - Library Journal, starred review
""Meticulously researched and engaging. . . . Chronicles Apess's life from his impoverished childhood to his peripatetic adolescence and conversion to Methodism to his activism on behalf of Native Americans"". - Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
""[An] important and timely biography. . . . Contributes significantly to the rediscovery of Apess"". - American Indian Culture and Research Journal
""Engaging and well researched. . . . Sophisticated and accessible, especially as a work of Indian-white history"". - Reviews in American History
""Well-researched and enlightening."" - Booklist
""Gura helps readers understand the intersections of forms of racial prejudice, discrimination, and oppression in early America"". - Common-place: The Journal of Early American Life
""Gura makes a compelling case for ranking Apess among well-known nineteenth-century figures who shared his commitment to what we might now call social justice. . . . Make[s] the most of limited historical evidence to bring a truly exceptional figure to life"". - Journal of the Early Republic
""A readable book that belongs in all undergraduate collections"". - CHOICE
""Well written, and meticulously researched, Gura has provided here a masterfully written biography that should be the interest of scholars, and non-academics alike, to this truly fascinating individual"". - Historical Journal of Massachusetts
