Son of the Silvery Waters (Hardcover)

Son of the Silvery Waters is a sweeping historical novel that chronicles the life of a Native American man caught between two worlds as a new nation emerges in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War.

Though the difficult war years are over, the Cayugas, one of the six tribes of the Iroquois Nation, are only beginning to feel the devastating repercussions of their former alliance with the British. As they struggle against the punitive treaties imposed by the new American government, they are forced ever father away from their ancestral lands located in what is now western New York State. Despite the ill treatment suffered by the Cayuga, one inquisitive young tribesman is irresistibly drawn to the white settlement that has usurped their territory, and so Sosoenodus abandons his own people so that he might learn more about the newcomers.

Even as a boy Sosoenodus was remarkably skilled at hunting and fishing, showing his promise as a future leader of the Cayugas. But when in despair the tribe is finally forced to flee their lands, Soseondodus chooses to live among the white settlers. As he assimilates into a foreign society, he offers an enduring allegiance to his adopted community and shares with them the knowledge of his rich heritage. Yet Soseondodus will never live among the whites without feeling the dehumanizing sting of bigotry, and those experiences will one day motivate him to risk his own life to free others through the Underground Railroad.

Set in a unique region of America, Sosoendodus's very human story is woven into the complex tapestry of history to create a dramatically compelling saga. Alan Firstone vividly depicts the lives of the resolute men and women who carved anew way of life out of a majestic wilderness.