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Traders and Raiders: The Indigenous World of the Colorado Basin, 1540–1859. By Natale A. Zappia. (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2014. Pp. xii, 240. $39.95.)

widely from a variety of primary sources and insightfully from the work of other historians. The book’s only weakness is that Wills does not offer a clear microtactical view of the battle itself, which he describes as a “short, sharp fight” (107). A short, sharp summary would have been useful. But his larger view is spot-on. “Men died at Fort Pillow who should not have been killed given the circumstances of their demise,” the author states. “These deaths were reprehensible, a regrettable corollary to the heat of battle, the social and racial hostilities many felt toward their opponents, and the decisions of the officers and men of both sides under the stresses and strains of battle. Chaos and panic were key factors in exacerbating the conditions that led to excesses” (6). Wills does an extraordinary job of carefully unpacking that statement. “Of course, such explanations do not excuse the excesses, diminish their existence, or exonerate Forrest of any responsibility for them,” he cautions, “but rather they place them in a context from which they can be examined and better understood” (208). In the end, Wills does not serve as an advocate for “that devil Forrest,” but he does him justice by providing a clearer understanding.