Ridgeline -- Michael Punke

<p><b>The thrilling, long-awaited return of the #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>The Revenant</i></b> <p/><b>Winner of the 2022 Spur Award for Best Western Historical Novel</b><br><b>Winner of the 2021 David. J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction</b><br><b>2021 Montana Book Award Honoree <p/></b>In 1866, with the country barely recovered from the Civil War, new war breaks out on the western frontier--a clash of cultures between the Native tribes who have lived on the land for centuries and a young, ambitious nation. Colonel Henry Carrington arrives in Wyoming's Powder River Valley to lead the US Army in defending the opening of a new road for gold miners and settlers. Carrington intends to build a fort in the middle of critical hunting grounds, the home of the Lakota. Red Cloud, one of the Lakota's most respected chiefs, and Crazy Horse, a young but visionary warrior, understand full well the implications of this invasion. For the Lakota, the stakes are their home, their culture, their lives. <p/>As fall bleeds into winter, Crazy Horse leads a small war party that confronts Colonel Carrington's soldiers with near constant attacks. Red Cloud, meanwhile, wants to build the tribal alliances that he knows will be necessary to defeat the soldiers. Colonel Carrington seeks to hold together a US Army beset with internal discord. Carrington's officers are skeptical of their commander's strategy, none more so than Lieutenant George Washington Grummond,