The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History

Mr. Marshall's history of Crazy Horse and the upheavals in the Lakota culture make for a spell-binding book. It is very interesting to view history from a Lakota perspective, as opposed to the white-written history books many of us were force-fed in school. The people who lived on the plains in the 1800's were not the "savage and untamed" monsters depicted in many history books, just as the white forefathers (Washington, Jefferson, etc.) were not the "holy saints" they were portrayed as being. Mr. Marshall shows how words can be twisted to suit an agenda; Indians killing white soldiers in battle was called a "massacre," while white soldiers killing women and children in cold blood was called a "great victory." Indians defending their land and way of life were said to be "uprising," while whites invading the Indian lands were said to be "taming the wilderness." Be prepared to have your eyes opened as you read this well-written and fascinating book!

Finally a book that tells the story of Crazy Horse from the sources that should have been used all along - the Lakota oral tradition. Mr. Marshall has achieved quite a feat here. This is THE book on Crazy Horse and is not likely to be outdone, I think it puts Ms. Sandoz's book to shame.

I really enjoyed this book and learned loads from it. The Author is himself Lakota and, as such, is able to give the reader a clear insight into Crazy Horse and his world. His writing style is excellent, and engages the reader throughout. I am now reading another of his books and loving that too. >

This book was very insightful about the Lakota way of life and their values. I thoroughly enjoyed this reading about Crazy Horse, his experiences, family, etc..
I wish I could have met this person.

I love history and growing up the stories of crazy heart were my absolute favorite. It was so intriguing....this book was exactly the same. I was able to read more about the journey of him and what he went through. Its a great read!

Pretty interesting story of Crazy Horse told from a Lakota point of view. Surprised by how little of the book dealt with Battle of Little Bighorn,
about 2 pages. Other than that, it provided good insight into the life of Crazy Horse and those around him.

I think not.

A line from the Introduction summarizes the nature of this (somewhat) interesting tale. "Like any Lakota boy that heard of Crazy Horse's exploits on the battlefield, I was awestruck, and immediately made him larger than life, thus setting him apart from reality."

I bought his after reading "The Heart of Everything That Is" which is mainly about Red Cloud and a lot of well documented history. Excellent read. Crazy Horse was highly rated by the reviewers and I wanted to read more about Crazy Horse so I bought it. It was an OK read but not the 4 plus stars it is rated in my opinion. I gave it 2 stars which says I didn't like it which isn't really true but given the inflated ratings it has gotten I felt it was appropriate. It wasn't that well written and has a strong bias towards the Indian viewpoint. No question many atrocities were done by the whites and the treaties were broken but this book doesn't give a fair and unbiased view from both sides. Very little on the different major battles Crazy Horse led/participated in. I'll look for a better book on Crazy Horse's life.

My interest in Crazy Horse and the Lakota started while growing up on the Dakota Plains. My Father lived and worked on the White River in the late 1920's and 30's. He told me many stories of time spent around campfires with good men. It's very likely he spoke with men just a generation after Crazy Horse died.He himself was not Indian but he had great respect for them.
Reading this book was as close as I could come to how it must have been for my father to have listened to those stories around the campfires.
Marshall captures not only the man but the essence and tradition of storytelling. You can share the pain of a lost love, a dear warrior friend, and a daughter. The exhiliration of battle and the comfort of returing home.
Take the time to read this book, preferably next to a warm fire on a winters' eve or relaxing on a grassy hill with a gentle summer Dakota Plains breeze carrying your imagination along. Enjoy

Every culture has their legendary leaders who modeled what the ultimate leader should do in a crisis of unwanted change. Crazy Horse was the Lakota's leader. The history is inspirational and allows for people to learn the magnificence of a culture that was slaughtered simply for land. I am Irish and empathize with this historical event because it happened to the Irish and numerous other nations. It is a wonderful perspective to learn how to lead your people through a catastrophic event which was almost impossible to prevent. A historical lesson for numerous cultures throughout the world.

Poorly written book. The author pretends to know what Crazy Horse thought at various moments which is impossible. This book is very small; not worth the $10 price tag especially when mine has a $3.00 price tag stuck on the front cover.

This book presents a great perspective from the Lakota side on the events during the lifetime of Crazy Horse. Most books are written from a white ‘context’. It was great to read about events described in the Lakota way, to which the author sometimes added the better-known names and dates. The author also provides a lot of explanation on Lakota traditions and way of thinking and viewing the world. Of course, most of the pages are dedicated to Crazy Horse specifically in which is probably the best book about his life on this earth. Recommended!

This book is best described as fictionalized biography of Crazy Horse that draws from many oral histories in the Lakota tradition. The use of oral histories make this biography both distinctive and essential, providing a different interpretation of events, people, and societies than you will find in Euro-American histories.

Most important, Marshall is a natural story teller. His prose is simple and forceful, relying on action to develop character. He admires Crazy Horse very much, and that perspective also comes through.

Marshall is himself Lakota, and his many activities (traditional craftsman, actor, media consultant, author) seek both to preserve and to exalt traditional Lakota values. This is not an unbiased story, and it's not meant to be, but its values are out in the open.

Two aspects of the book bothered me. First, Marshall divides it into parts, with a "Reflections" chapter at the end of each part. These repeated much of the previous story, "translated" into the terms of Euro-Americans so that the battle of "Hundred in the Hand" became the "Fetterman Massacre," and so on. These were a completely unnecessary break in the narrative - - except for the very last one at the end of the book, which reflected on differences between his story and Euro-American histories.

Second, Marshall doesn't mark the "written history," "oral history," and "fictional" elements in his story. For example, he tells the story of Crazy Horse's childhood in terms of what a typical Lakota boy would have done at that time - - what games he would have played, when he would have received his first bow, and so forth. That's entirely appropriate in this biography but these passages are "historical fiction." On other occasions, Marshall tells a story of Crazy Horse playing a particular game with a particular friend at a particular time and place. Is this fictionalized? Or is this part of the oral history? For the narrative, it doesn't matter. But if I wanted to use this book as a *source*, I would need to know. Having a "notes" section on each chapter in an appendix would have met this concern.

Those issues aside, the real strength of this book is Marshall's story-telling. I'd love to hear him speak in person. It's a great read.

Joseph Marshall has done the greatest possible tribute to the legendary Crazy Horse by portraying him as he undoubtedly was--human, troubled, self doubting, and yet a magnetic and inspired leader of men. Marshall's prose is deeply moving, drawing the reader into life as it was then, letting us see the fear of impending disaster from the eyes of the Lakota as their hunting grounds disappeared and they were, bit by bit, stripped of their pride not by military force, but out of compassion for the weak and vulnerable among them.

Marshall demonstrates tremendous insight into the Lakota of the 19th century--he learned well. He described Crazy Horse brilliantly, thus: "He rose to leadership because he actually led. He didn't point to where others should go while he waited. He led." His last moments were a tragedy that should never be forgotten.

There is much more to this book than Crazy Horse. Marshall exhibits what appears to be a Lakota wisdom so needed today. "The fact that we can perform a task more quickly because we've improved on a tool proves that we...have become more efficient, but it doesn't necessarily mean that we've grown wiser."

Amen. One of the finest books I've read.