An excellent book for high school students and above. It covers what we know, don't know, and are unsure of in the life of Crazy Horse. An accessible An excellent book for high school students and above. It covers what we know, don't know, and are unsure of in the life of Crazy Horse. An accessible biography.
An interesting symbiosis developed between tribes and traders. The English anthropologist and myth theorist Lord Raglan discussed the fragility of hunting cultures in his book How Came Civilization. He points out that people who had been adept for generations at making bone fishhooks lose this skill quickly once they are supplied with metal fishhooks. What a perceptive realization.
There never was and never would be a chief of all the Sioux. The government often misread this and tried to reach out to a leader who could sign a treaty for everyone.
The Army almost always overreacted and punished any Indian they could whenever something went wrong.
The railroads helped bring about the end of the Indians as much as the military. Buffalo hunters could ride into the heart of buffalo country. Within ten years of the railroads, the buffalo were all gone. And that, of course, spelled the end of the Plains Indians. ...more
I imagine this is my lowest rated McMurtry book. I still like it a lot. Had to force myself to be honest about it. I am a huge fan of this author. TheI imagine this is my lowest rated McMurtry book. I still like it a lot. Had to force myself to be honest about it. I am a huge fan of this author. The main problem here is the fictionalized account of Billy the Kid's final year. It also troubled me that the story is being told by a dime novelist from the East. I just didn't believe it. I only heard McMurtry. ...more
Just to give you an idea of McMurtry, here is a brief summary of Chapter 33: A Blackfoot name Antelope gets stabbed with a lance that goes right throuJust to give you an idea of McMurtry, here is a brief summary of Chapter 33: A Blackfoot name Antelope gets stabbed with a lance that goes right through him. To everyone's amazement, he survives. In fact, he did not seem to be feeling too bad. He could not run as fast as he used to, a quality which had made him quite attractive to the Blackfeet women. Surprisingly, they seemed to find him even more attractive now. With the lance in him, Antelope had to sleep on his side. He found that uncomfortable. He did not want to pull out the lance because he thought it would allow his soul to escape through the hole. So he sawed off both ends and changed his name to Man with a Plug in His Belly. I love that!...more
I love McMurtry. Like his other westerns, this one has everything you could possibly want in another fantastically entertaining story by him: humor, aI love McMurtry. Like his other westerns, this one has everything you could possibly want in another fantastically entertaining story by him: humor, action, sex, great characters. You name it. Moral values? Ehhhhhhhhh . . . I don't know about that one. But I do know that great westerns like great war stories strip people down to their bare bones. And they behave like you would expect them to behave, like animals. An occasional animal will know how to do the right thing. ...more
McMurtry discusses 6 massacres in the Old West: Sacramento River, Mountain Meadows, Sand Creek, Marias River, Camp Grant, and Wounded Knee. Along the McMurtry discusses 6 massacres in the Old West: Sacramento River, Mountain Meadows, Sand Creek, Marias River, Camp Grant, and Wounded Knee. Along the way he refers to other massacres leading up to the main one or that happened as a result. He tries to look behind the scenes to figure out why people commit massacres. He discusses the efforts to find out the truth, including body counts. He looks into whether or not perpetrators felt guilty later. I believe he is fair-minded in his approach. ...more
Howdy pardner. Reckon y'all wonderin' if this here book was any good. Well, dadgumit if this ain't one of the finest western books I ever listened to.Howdy pardner. Reckon y'all wonderin' if this here book was any good. Well, dadgumit if this ain't one of the finest western books I ever listened to. And if you ain't in cahoots with the Earp brothers, you'll probably like it too. Mr. McMurtry has written hisself another rootin' tootin' shoot 'em up. This time with a lady narrator. I know what you're thinkin'. What? A lady narrator? What in tarnation does a lady know about the ol' west? Well, this one, read by Miss Annie Potts, knows quite a bit. She's a telegraph lady who witnessed the gunfight at the OK Corral. She does a lotta kissin' and copulatin' alon' the way with some of the cowboys in her never endin' search for one who can provide her with some regular copulatin'. You know, with one of those guys who never use the letter G at the end of a word. We get to meet or hear about Buffalo Bill Cody, the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid, Annie Oakley, Lilian Gish, Katie Elder, Wild Bill Hickock, General William Tecumsah Sherman, and many others.
I think I figured why Mr. McMurtry is such a great writer. I listened carefully and I noticed he doesn't waste his time on any frivolous descriptions. Every sentence he writes adds to the story. Let's face it. Descriptions are for sissies. And there ain't no sissy cowboys....more
Now that I have a new car with an actual cd player, I can drive around not concentrating and missing all my exits. But it's all good because I get to Now that I have a new car with an actual cd player, I can drive around not concentrating and missing all my exits. But it's all good because I get to listen to tapes like this one read by Alfred Molina who handles several characters, male and female, of different ethnic groups with such ease. Terrific job by Molina. Any way, I haven't hit any pedestrians yet. That's a good thing, right?
I love McMurtry stories. His sex and violence are over the top, so he's not for everyone. I always imagine myself around a campfire asking Larry to tell me a story about the Old West. He does it, and I go for it in a big way. Always. ...more
Historical fiction with such historical names as Martha Jane Canary, Dora DuFran, Teddy Blue Abbott, William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Jack Omohundro, SHistorical fiction with such historical names as Martha Jane Canary, Dora DuFran, Teddy Blue Abbott, William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Jack Omohundro, Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley, the Countess of Warwick (Daisy), Russell of the Times, and Potato Creek Johnny. But the person who steals the whole book is a fictional ancient Indian scout named No Ears. When he's in the story, it's MacMurtry at his finest.
One flaw in the book for me were the letters from Calamity Jane to her daughter who is also called "Jane." It was a mistake having her tell us about events that MacMurty should have had happen in the story. ...more
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