Crazy Horse: A Lakota Life: The Civilization of the American Indian Series

As of this writing I have completed the first four chapters but wanted to put down my initial impressions. Sadly, I am somewhat disappointed. I was expecting the text to contain an analytical study of the life and times of Crazy Horse in which the author presented multiple views and reminiscences relating to Crazy Horse and tried to arrive at a reasonable conclusion. However, what the author has done is present unsubstantiated details as facts in the text and even tries to tell us what Crazy Horse was thinking during certain events. How can he know this? This is really what Mari Sandoz did, but updated with a lot more details added to the story.Another example is in chapter 4. Bray supplies a quote and declares the speaker to be Man Afraid of His Horse. But in the footnote at the end of the book, he states that the quote came from an unidentified speaker, but in his opinion, it was Man Afraid. My opinion is, he should have written the words "perhaps spoken by Man Afraid of His Horse" in the text of the book. As it is, others will now quote Bray and follow his lead, until the speaker becomes Man Afraid in future books, with the "perhaps" being all but forgotten. Maybe I'm too sensitive to this, but it irks me.Overall, this book is fun to read, but has not, at this point, met my expectations.Update--I have now finished the first 8 chapters.At the close of chapter 6 Bray makes it clear he is suffering from hero worship when he writes: The career of the Lakota people's greatest warrior had begun.Perhaps "one of the greatest" would have been more realistic.On page 77 he states that the Lakota declared "open war" on the Americans [1864]. He goes on to state that it was a "major offensive." Further down the page we find that this "open war" and "major offensive" never amounted too much more than stealing stock and killing an occasional straggler. He should have put this entire episode into better perspective and pointed out that despite the big talk, their initiative was rather lacking and uncoordinated.On p. 78 he states that the emigrants and militia were "trigger-happy." Well, after reading the preceding pages and understanding the danger then existing, this "negative" [as the author presents it] comes across as perfectly understandable. You'd have been "trigger-happy" too, under the same conditions, not knowing who was friend and who was foe.Based on the above examples, Mr. Bray appears to be losing all objectivity. And considering the amount of work that he put into this book it is really too bad. I don't mean to sound too harsh. But this manuscript could have used some more editing and critiquing.01-16-07I have now finished the first 10 chapters. Bray likes to write things like "Crazy Horse's warriors," without explaining how he knows this. On pp. 113-114 he provides a quote by Louis Simonin (The Rocky Mountain West in 1867) and CREATES a scenario that involves Crazy Horse and Man Afraid of His Horse. He is certainly reading into it, as the original mentions neither man. This is called creative writing and there is LOTS OF IT in this book.Another MAJOR complaint about this book is the author's failure to provide a chart to help the reader keep track of all the bands, leaders, and their relation to one another. It is almost impossible to follow unless you start writing it down yourself at the beginning. This is a major distraction. He just keeps throwing names (both bands and people) at the reader like it was nothing.This book could have been a masterpiece and the last word on Crazy Horse. I think Bray should go back and rework the book.A more appropriate title for this book is "Speculations on the Life of Crazy Horse."2-1-07I am not commenting on every detail of this book. But I frequently spot-check footnotes for accuracy. This exmaple is typical of this book and why this book crosses the line of history and novel (which is not how it is marketed): On p. 220 Bray quotes John G. Bourke (author of On the Border with Crook). Bourke, p. 415 (Bison Book edition), relates a very brief story about Crazy Horse and his participation in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Bray takes this story and places it at a precise point in the battle and even supplies the scenario in which it occurred. None of this is alluded to in Bourke's account. Bray takes constant liberties with his source material. Creative, sure...but is it history or one man's imagination? This is very dangerous from an historical perspective. If this book was presented as a novel, it would be a great one and get 5 stars. But as it is, I can only give it 2.5 to 3. And the book is not user friendly. I don't like having to keep flipping to the back to read the footnotes. And I find all the Lakota political goings on quite impossible to follow. It actually comes off as rather snobbish.3-1-07It took a long time, but I finally finished this book. Bray is consistently overly wordy and this book could have been 100 pages shorter. Many of his paragraphs could have been condensed. Overall, it was a lousy editing job, assuming the book was read/edited at all.Also, for some reason Bray fails to speak about why Crazy Horse was so obessesed with going on a buffalo hunt once on the reservation, as if this would set everything right in his life. It wasn't so important for the other leaders and headmen, but for Crazy Horse this was of MAJOR importance. Everything was riding on it. Bray fails to attempt to analyze this very obvious topic. Also, towards the end of the book there is a footnote where he says to see an old Chicago newspaper account for alternative details to Crazy Horse's death, as if this is such a simple thing to do. In a book that is already too long with repetitive sentence structure that only serves to bog down the reader, would it have mattered to include this bit of useful information?Having said all that, this is the best book currently available on Crazy Horse, it's just not the best book that could have been written. Unfortunately, it will probably be a long time, if ever, that someone attempts to do this again.

This is a thoroughly researched book about an inspired Sioux leader who gained the respect of his people while helping his people try to achieve a preservation of their nomadic and hunter-gatherer way of life. The author helps us to understand the culture of the Sioux tribes, their history, how they migrated to the Black Hills and how they came to believe the Black Hills were the sacred place of their people. They were viewed by one military authority quoted in this book as "the best light cavalry in the world". Their battle strategy, mobility, courage, tenacity, defense of their families and the numbers of strong leaders they produced enabled the Sioux tribes and related allies to hold out against the overwhelming power of the United States Army for longer than anyone may have expected possible.The author first gives the reader a grounding in Sioux culture and history, in organization of the tribes, and in the way in which Crazy Horse became a brave and the most capable and daring warrior among his people.The we learn about the pressures placed upon the Sioux by the Western Push of the European easterners.The decimation of the buffalo. The disruption of the hunting grounds, food supply, of the Sioux. Battles are described in detail with maps which, while a bit difficult to follow, are adequate to support the text. Then, as now, greed and avarice combined with state power, can contrive to displace a people from their homeland.Today we call it "eminent domain" or urban growth or economic displacement. In the time of Crazy Horse, the displaced indigenous peoples had nowhere to go but to a reservation where they would be greatly diminished in terms of personal freedom and reduced from independency to dependency. Some chose to resist at the point of a rifle on their side and cannon on the side of the US Army. Others chose to accept settlement, annual stipends, and the reservation.The author presents us with the internal politics that took place among the Sioux leadership; those that favored peace at a price versus those that chose freedom at any cost. The book is full of surprises, things that I did not learn in school or in the popular press. The capability of the Sioux leadership in their negotiations was of interest. The impact of bias and prejudice and how it impacted upon choices made by US Army leaders is a theme we still see played out today in governments and countries around the world. Many of the Sioux chose to resist and many gave their lives in defense of their way of life. History tends to be written by the victors. The author gives the Sioux a chance to tell their side of the story. The ample photographs breathe further life into the narrative and there are plenty of good footnotes should a reader wish to explore further. Of course, the most important aspect of the book is that we get to see a lot of the action and the politics through the eyes of Crazy Horse and those close to him, many of whom would follow him into the fire.One might find some ideas in this book to help one with one's personal philosophy regarding modern times and how indigenous peoples are treated today, well and poorly, in many parts of the world, including the USA.

I purchased this book over a year ago and just recently took it down from my library to read it. (I do this regularly finding a book that interests me buying it and then setting it aside to read at a later time, when I feel I am in the proper mood.)Mr. Bray's book is everything I had hoped for and I am a bit surprised by some of the reviews stating disappointment mostly based on criticisms as to it not being a proper "history." Considering the oral traditions of the North American Indian any history/biography of this type must of necessity be replete in "opinion. " For without that it would be near impossible to move the story along. Mr. Bray has, as has many biographers, used the statements of others as sometimes-primary source material. While some may wish a better foundation, in the case of Crazy Horse (who's middle name must have been "reticence") one must make educated use of what is at hand. I believe the author has done a splendid job in doing just that.What I found compelling was the deep perusal of the Plains Indians religion, better stated perhaps as their spiritual existence. Everything about the day-to-day activities of Crazy Horse and his people were unified, in some way, to their belief in the world of the spirit. Mr. Bray explores this and brings the difference between Native American and European culture into sharp focus, at least in this one respect. All of us "white eyes" would benefit in attempting to understand more deeply the importance the life of the spirit played and still plays in Indian culture.In reading "Crazy Horse A Lakota Life" I was transported to the beautiful, never ending prairies of Wyoming and Montana, the fresh clean odor of prairie grass, hearing the burbling streams and the soft nicker of a Sioux warriors pony.

an excellent biography on Crazy Horse, a difficult subject as he was never photographed or really interviewed.to gather so much information on such an elusive man is truly admirable .an interesting and compelling read, thoroughly enjoyed it and will re-read many times.

This is a very detailed and enjoyable book. It covers areas that similar books on Crazy Horse don't. I have read just about every book on the subject of Crazy Horse. This book takes a slow, steady step by step journey through his life and gives great detail.Highly recommended.

Very good read with historic facts.

Cet ouvrage en anglais est le plus complet, à mon sens, sur les différentes étapes de la vie jusqu’à l’assassinat de Crazy Horse. En effet, l’auteur a utilisé la plupart des témoignages existants des militaires, scouts, civils ou Lakota, de leurs alliés les Cheyenne mais aussi les ennemis Crow ( Absalookee) vivants à l’époque, pour réaliser ce monument.Kingsley Bray a également pris en compte la tradition orale actuelle en rencontrant des Lakota sur les réserves, durant plusieurs années, en la recoupant avec « la mémoire sur papier » des blancs.L’histoire, la culture Lakota, les cérémonies face à l’avancée des blancs, y sont également présentées en parallèle.Tasunke Witko (Crazy Horse) apparaît ici comme un être humain, sans fioritures, avec ses zones d’ombres (le fait qu’il ait dû tuer une femme pour aller dans le sens de sa vision par exemple…) et ses qualités les plus respectés au sein des indiens des Plaines, comme chasseur, scout et guerrier. Ce rôle de modèle, suite à ses multiples exploits et de tacticien (Massacre de Fetterman, Little Big Horn…) est développé d’une manière très précise. Pas d’excès romantiques, d’envolées mystiques à la Mari Sandoz comme dans son « Crazy Horse ».Rien n’est laissé au hasard.Un ouvrage essentiel, loin du mythe pour se rapprocher au plus près du leader Oglala. Ps : à lire également en compléments : " Crazy Horse : Une vie de héros" par Joseph Marshall III , moins précis plus dans l'esprit de la tradition orale Lakota ; "The killing of Crazy Horse" par Thomas Powers, très bien documenté et moins ardu à lire que celui de Bray.

As a Crazy Horse fanatic, I can say with complete certainty that this is a truly great addition to the historical record of the greatest North American who ever lived.