Ridgeline: A Story of Justice with Michael Punke

The Extreme History Project: The Dirt on the Past

Join us for our conversation with author Michael Punke on his new book, Ridgeline, a novel that details the story of the Fetterman fight or the Battle of One-Hundred-in-the-Hands. In 1866, with the country still reeling from the Civil War, the U.S. Army established Fort Phil Kearny in the home of the Lakota Nation. In his book, Punke tells the story of the months leading up to this battle between the U.S. Army and the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe. The result was what we now know as the Battle of One-Hundred-in-the-Hands. Michael talks with us about the book, his processes, the characters, the diversity of the west at this time, and why this story is still important today. Michael is the author of several books including The Revenant, a #1 New York Times bestseller and basis for the Academy Award–winning film. To Learn More: We highly recommend Michael's other books including The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge, Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, The Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West, and Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917.