Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Book Review: Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
Summary: 5 Stars
I was given this book by my Grandfather nearly 30 years ago, but it was misplaced before I got a chance to begin reading. Recently I purchased two copies, one for my Fiance' in Virginia and one for myself in Denver. We spend a great deal of time on the phone and really enjoy reading this to each other! Fascinating True History of the Native Americans. This book will change the way you think about the First Americans! AMAZING BOOK! I recommend this book to everyone I know!!Book Review: Life Changing..... its that good
Summary: 5 Stars
I never read 'populist' books, but in this case I was so glad I ignored my silly rule.
This is truly a book which changes perspectives and life views. Its extremely well written and I won't go over the other reviews here on this site, but just want to say this is a MUST read book.
I've not been able to watch a 'cowboy & Indian' film since without a tear in my eye for the pain and suffering of such a wonderful people and nation.
Book Review: Incredible stories of the American Indians
Summary: 5 Stars
This was an incredible book and far better than I honestly anticipated. Each chapter tells of a struggle between one group of Indians and the US government, covering the years between 1860 and 1890. Perhaps the only drawback is the lack of maps, which leads to a lot of confusion. I found it best to print out a copy of this map (http://bradnelson.com/images/indian_wars_1860-1890.jpg) to continually reference whilst reading. If you're so inclined, I also bought a copy of Brown's The American West, a more general history of the frontier, which includes several maps, including some detailed battle maps.
Perhaps what is most unique about this book, and why is has received so much praise, is that it is told from the point of view of the Indians. Months are given seasonal names and American soldiers are referenced by their Indian names. The book is certainly sympathetic to the Indians and of course only chronicles the stories of the Indians who fought to keep their homeland and freedom.
For anyone interested in understanding the fall of the American Indian, this is a must-read.
Book Review: A Shocking, Monumental Work
Summary: 5 Stars
I have known about Dee Brown's classic history of the Western Indian Wars, for some thirty-five years. I can remember it being discussed, when I was in Middle School, between the years 1971 and 1974. Adults would mention it. You heard them talk about it on the radio, and on TV. This was about the time that Marlon Brando refused his Oscar for The Godfather, in protest of the treatment of Native Americans by the government.
It was very much talked about at the time.
Finally, years later, I picked up the book and began reading it. Not only was it in my list of books on American History that I want to read, but recently, it fits into my passion for understanding the history of my own family. My great-great grandmother, Mattie Clemons, was a Creek or Choctaw Indian from Alabama. She was very likely the illegitimate child of a white man named Clemons and an unidentified Native American woman. As a very young girl, perhaps three or for years old, I believe that she was forced west in the Trail of Tears. She spent her life hiding her Indian identity, seeking to blend in with the whites. This rejection of her Creek/Choctaw heritage was passed on to the next one or two generations, and only recently have we begun searching for answers.
For people like me, books like Bury My Heart provide some answers. Our ancestors, that lived only 150 years ago, have vanished into historical thin air. Records are few. Their names are not known. But thankfully, Dee Brown gives us more than perhaps we realize at first glance. I may not know the names, or the places, of my Native American ancestors. But I know more about their lifesyle, and what happened to them, than I do of even my Polish great-grandparents on the other side!
The book is shocking, saddening, sickening, enlightening, and riveting. It is peppered with occasional comic moments, mostly at the expense of the white idiots that dominated the formulation of Indian policy. Our heroes on one side of the American History tome: Jackson, Grant, Sheridan, Sherman, and Schurz, are transformed into near Nazi-like villains on the other.
This mixed bag of human nobility and shame makes the story of Wounded Knee authentically American.
I will never forget some of the book's moments: Of a visit to Chicago by one chief, who noted that the whites tended to go back and forth, hurriedly, like ants, with no particular purpose except to keep on the move; of Chief Joseph's comments about schools and church (he didn't want churches because all they did was taught you how to argue about God); of one chief handing to an Indian Bureau agent a handful of dirt, saying "Here, take this - it is all that's left of our land"; of the Indian Messiah that ushered in the Ghost Dance movement, and generated hope that the Indians would make a comeback; of the final massacre at Wounded Knee, where women and children were slaughtered along with the adult males.
The Indian Wars were a shameful chapter in American History. I would argue, with my grandfather, that our horrible treatment of the Indians surpassed even that of the African American slaves. Most likely both are on a par.
American policy was to make the Indians into white people. But those that did, by converting to Christianity and building houses and farms, still were forced onto reservations.
I would recommend this troubling book to any that have not yet read it. We still can, and should, learn much from our Native American brothers and sisters. And if we can have a hand in reviving all that was noble and decent in their culture, it would be a good thing.
Book Review: COWBOYS AND INDIANS
Summary: 5 Stars
Have you ever played cowbow and indians when you were a boy? I did and always wanted to be the cowboy. After reading this book I'd like to be a good cowboy not the ones portrayed here. Introduction-"This is not a cheerful book, but history has a way of intruding upon the present, and perhaps those who read it will have a clearer understanding of what the American Indian is, by knowing what he was. And if the readers of this book should ever chance to see the poverty, the hopelessness, and the squalor of a modern Indian reservation, they may find it possible to truly understand the reasons why. What adds a lot of value to this already exceptional book is the full page black & white pictures of Indians such as Geronimo,Sitting Bull-who killed Custard, Cochise, Lone Wolf, Red Cloud, Young-Man-Afraid-Of-His-Horses, White Horse,Little Crow,Crazy Bear, Little Big Man, and more. What is also added value is at the start of each chapter is a one page historical event calendar such as Chapter 17: 1880-June 1, population of United States is 50,155,783, 1881 Mar 4, James Garfield inaugurated as President, 1882-April 3, Jesse James shot and killed at St. Joseph, Missiouri. Sep 4, Edison switches on first commercial electric lights in New York Central Station. Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn published. and much more! There were many different tribes of Indians such as Apaches, Sioux, Brules, Sans Arcs, Blackfoot Sioux, Cheyennes, Arapahos, and more which the author effectively writes about. To me, the killing of women, little children, and babies was unfathomable. Who do you think did this? Read the book and find out! You won't be able to put it down. It took me one day to read it and I'm now going to Blockbuster to look for the DVD.
Highly recommend anything on or about Robert E. Howard the creator of Conan The Barbarian, Kull, Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane, and more! The Life & Art of REH, The Last of the Trunk, and Selected Letters.