It is a surprising pleasure to find a work of art that brings to life the old words and actions whispered in spatterings of historical documents. The first section of 13 Moons is powerful enough to hook and entice you to slow your reading to savor each paragraph with new understanding of this period in history. Unfortunately, after that first ten-year lifespan recorded in the first part, the story loses its power and wanders into retelling stories of the Cherokee, reflecting and interjecting things that aren't right for the moment (author-interruptus), and dragging prose. I love the first part which came in like a lion, but I would love to see the second part edited to bring back the lion. That said, I would still buy this book for the first part - it's magical in the way it brings to life a painful time in American history.