I picked this book up in the NPS bookstore at the Badlands National Park visitor center, which had (as of 2023) a relatively small but very well curated selection. When I bought the book I expected it to be a biography but it is actually a lot closer to what we would today describe as historical fiction. That is not, of course, to denigrate it in any way; like the best historical fiction it is deeply and thoroughly researched but adds to the research a level of wisdom and insight that allows an author to inhabit the story and create plausible connective tissue to fill in the gaps and bridge the inconsistencies in historical accounts. I mention this because I agree with other reviewers who have mentioned that if this book was published today it would probably garner a much broader audience. It isn't just that Sandoz unapologetically takes the side of Native Americans that ensured the book was largely ignored when it was first published. It is also her style, her willingness to fully commit to a style of storytelling that was outside of her time but is perhaps much closer to her own.

Of course, it was only outside of her time in terms of expectations of white readers. A fascinating perspective is provided by the foreword contributed by noted Native American activist and author, Vine Deloria Jr. He admits that he panned the book when it first came out; while finding it informative, he was resentful of the attempt by a white woman to tell the story from the Indian perspective and even to attempt to write in a way that mimicked--as he saw it then--in an "Indian" style. When he came back to it years later, after many years doing his own research, it was like reading a different book. In her depiction not just of major events but the day-to-day lives of Native Americans, she "captured nuances that only a few would know and understand," a fact he attributed not simply to her research, or the fact that she had grown up in close proximity to the Siioux, many of whom had been alive during these events (a reminder how relatively recent all this "history" is, especially when measured on the time scale of human settlement in the Americas) but her deep understanding of the region itself.

For that reason, anyone expecting a simple narrative of "good Indians and evil Whites" will be disappointed. Sandoz is extremely attentive to the infighting and politicking among the various tribes and factions. Some of this was historical and geographical and almost ritualistic in nature. But it was also the result of the very typical divide-and-conquer strategy of colonialist powers everywhere. The final couple of chapters that detail the cloud of lies and deceit that swirled around the encampments around Fort Robinson in the days before Crazy Horse's death as whites and various Indian factions maneuvered for advantage is captured in nuanced if depressing detail.

I've read a lot of books about the Plains Wars and I can't remember being as immersed and moved by one since William Vollman's The Dying Grass. If you have any interest in this period and place, this book is a must-have. As Deloria notes, it is a book for "the careful reader who savors the well-written word who can see in this book history as biography and biography as history." ( )

The native Americans were screwed time and again by the European intruders on there lands. This book, like so many other histories, clearly illustrates how this came to be. Treaty after treaty was ignored as Europeans pushed westward, indigenous people fought against this taking of their homes, as any people would. In the end, they became victims of racist propaganda that almost exterminated them. ( )

This biography of the Oglala Sioux known as Crazy Horse is a biography ahead of its time. It was published in 1942 from source material collected in the 1920's and 30's by the Nebraska Sand Hills native author Mari Sandoz and a friend of hers. It was panned by critics when it was published, my guess is, because it was not done in the accepted writing style of the time. I think that if this book were published today it would find a wide audience, due to its depiction of the Indian side the story of the Sioux Wars.

It is clear that the author's sympathies are with Crazy Horse and the Native Americans, as a reading of the source material indicates a majority of the sources for the narrative are from Native American sources. The use of this type of material would have been unusual and probably suspect back in 1942, hence the poor reception of this work at that time. Subsequent reviews and interpretations of the source material has been much more sympathetic to the viewpoint of the Native Americans regarding the events that took place in the Sioux Wars. There has also been a greater acceptance of the role inter-tribal politics played in the affairs of the Sioux and its wars over time. Back in the 1870's the Native Americans were seen as one hegemonious group with one hegemonious agenda. That viewpoint is severely contested today - with good reason - and inter-tribal politics has ben given a greater place in the history of the times. This later view probably gives us a better picture of what was going on at the time. Readers, amateur historians, and historians of today should be thankful for writers like Sandoz who took the time to gather this primary information and preserve it for people today.

This biography reads like a work of narrative oral history. That takes some work to become accustom to, but it is worth it. It is a very thorough and satisfying biography of a very important figure in America History. ( )

Summary: Crazy Horse was a military leader who was considered "strange" but also fought in many famous battles, including the battle at the Little Bighorn. He set out against the government and their efforts to confine Indians on reservations. While he surrendered peacefully, he was met with a violent and untimely death.

Personal connection: I did not have a lot of background knowledge, but this book made me interested in finding out more information.

Class use: Teach students about the history of Native American culture. ( )

I'm probably not the target audience for this book. What IS the target audience anyway? My guess is that Sandoz did not actually write with any one reader in mind, choosing to focus instead on relating the life of Crazy Horse with as much authenticity as possible--authenticity as distinct from but without detriment to accuracy. Hence the tone of an oral history, and idiosyncrasies of language that are meant to reflect the Lakota way of speaking.

Whatever, this story is awesome! ( )