This book is the first published volume in a series prepared by the historians of the National Park Service for The National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings. Based upon exhaustive field work and consultation with many experts, it is divided into two distinct sections. Part One is a compact history of Indian-White relations in the 19th century trans-Mississippi West. Part Two is a comprehensive guide to the forts, trading posts, and battlefields which were the scenes of the tragic clash between the two cultures, with directions on how to find these historic spots today, and what to look for in them. The second part is a perfect handbook, insofar as it accomplishes its vowed purpose with a minimum of commentary; archeologists, historians, and tourists should all find it extremely useful. But the earlier section is too concise and if anything too authoritative. The bare outline of one of the most shameful chapters of American history is here, but the human and dramatic elements which are so important to any real understanding of what was, in effect if not conscious intent, a violent and terrible act of genocide- these elements are missing and the result is an example of leak official whitewashing. Somehow, somewhere, pity or regret should have been stilled.