Indian Books

I just did not want this book to end, so I tried to take it slower then I normally do. That was NOT easy, as this book race's along, keeping you hooked and needing to pick it back up. Thank goodness there is another one coming soon. As like the first book in their series, you try to figure out where "it is going", but you will not be able to. Since there was such an incredible review by the Seminole Tribune (Freelance writer Ms. Kiyoshk) I will not give detail's away about the plot. The Munson's have again put relationship's "on the line" and character's that honestly I found myself "laughing out loud" quite a number of time's. What a treat for a "legal and suspense thriller" and to also have some of the character's as such "missfit's". All of this kept me on the edge and thoroughly involved in the personal relationship's of the different couple's and their extended famlies's, AND as they tried to work through their problem's. All of this taking place in the middle of the biggest bunch of secret's, lie's, and back stabbing in the crime and judicial system...AND with it's politic's. (still don't know "who" some of the bad guy's are, but maybe in the next book)???? Thank you Diane and David. I would be remiss not to say how many time's you could see God working with each person, even the "misfit's", me included. I feel truly blessed with each book I read by the Munson's. What a rare combination in a book!!!! Mary from Keizer, Oregon

This is the second book I've read by the Munsons. They have an impressive resume' for writing a legal thriller due to David Munson being a former Federal undercover agent and Diane Munson who is a former Federal prosecutor. While Grisham does well in courtroom scences and Clancy is good with the law enforcement side, the Munsons make both the legal and agent action work. In Confirming Justice the Munsons create characters and situations that are realistic and believable. A must read!

Seminole Tribune commissioned free lance writer Ramona Kiyoshk to write a review of "Confirming Justice." Ms. Kiyoshk, who also writes reviews for the New York Times, wrote the following review which appeared in the Seminole Tribune on 10/13/06. It is provided by the authors in its entirety. WARNING!! "Confirming Justice" is a legal thriller. Ms. Kiyoshk's review may tell you more than you want to know about how the book ends.

"The latest book by husband-and-wife writing team Diane and David Munson is an exciting romp in American political intrigue that takes the reader from the gleaming halls of justice in Washington, D.C., to the gator-infested swamps of southern Florida and points in between. The Munson team draws on their expertise and insight as former inside players in the high-stakes and dicey game of White House law enforcement. Diane Munson has been an attorney for twenty years, and is a former Federal Prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Her husband, David, is a retired Federal Special Agent, whose career included positions in the DEA, U.S. Customs, and the Naval Investigative Services, often undercover.

Their understanding of human nature, and especially the criminal mind, gives their writing depth, heart and velocity. Their keen knowledge of their subject matter and their skill as suspense writers, make for a truly delightful read. I am a fan of the mystery and suspense genre, but I find that many books are simply clones of each other. This book is made memorable by the very believable characters that are developed as the story moves along. Their plights elicit sympathy, rage, laughter and curiosity. You want to join them on their quests for justice, peace, love, happiness, or whatever. In Confirming Justice, the players feel like old friends by the end of the book, something rare in the modern pulp fiction novel.

The central story is about Dwight Pendergast, a judge who is nominated for Justice of the Supreme Court by the President after another candidate is bullied into withdrawing by a vicious press and Opposition members hostile to his beliefs. The book opens with Judge Pendergast trying a Cabinet member¹s son for conspiracy to bribe and embezzle when a key witness disappears. FBI Agent Griff Topping, who is sent to recover the AWOL witness, finds himself in a quagmire that includes former Soviet spies, restless Native Americans, a deal-making petty felon with big ideas, and family skeletons that insist on popping out of long-locked closets. One thing is certain: If you want every detail of your life dragged before the public, become a candidate in a Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

The chase scenes are fast and filled with surprises. This is refreshing in a world where almost everything has been done at least once somewhere else. Small-time criminal Skeeter's leap through a pane of glass when he recognizes an FBI undercover agent and his subsequent trek through the swamp with alligators and manatees is too real. The houses and the landscapes are described through textures, smells, and senses rather that just adjectives. This has the effect of drawing the reader into the locale. It becomes very authentic.

The loving relationship between Judge Pendergast and his wife, Christine, is developed through action and flashbacks. This gives the reader a better understanding of the strength of their commitment to each other and to their children and their goals. The President's Special Assistant, Barbara Jo Houston as she conspires to topple anyone in her path, could be modeled after any number of angry, ambitious people in politics today. Bernie Spritzer, Pendergast's former law partner, is a brooding foil for the rising star and his wife, Rita, with a festering paranoia about an imagined love affair, could be any Washington wife who has been too long in her husband's shadow.

My favorite character is the FBI agent, Griff Topping. His role is to keep the story tied together as he moves in and out every situation. He is a widower and a loner who flies small airplanes for fun. His friends are always trying to match him up with a mate. He is also a skilled investigator, and is approached by Judge Pendergast to find his long-lost siblings, who were sent to foster homes when their parents died. Pendergast himself was adopted and his search for his family is instigated by his need for a kidney transplant.

The search for the lost siblings places Agent Topping face to face with cocaine smuggling desperadoes in the Gulf of Mexico. Skeeter¹s shrimp boat is recruited to move a load of cocaine, and a seizure by agents from the FBI, DEA and Customs, is engineered. This is presented with all the tension and logistics gleaned from David Munson's experience in the field. By now, Topping has determined that Skeeter, who was raised in foster homes and lives off petty crime, is really Pendergast¹s brother. Hyper and insecure, Skeeter is a perfect foil for the self-contained FBI professional.

With the drug bust wrapped up, Topping and Skeeter travel to the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation where they meet the last lost sibling, a sister, Eleanor. From here on, except for a few hair-raising twists, you can bet there will be a happy - and very satisfying ending.

The Munsons obviously are spiritual people and this is evident throughout the book. There are numerous references to the Scriptures and to the relationship of the characters to their Christian God. Volatile issues hinted at include abortion, eminent domain and creationism vs. evolution. This is done tastefully, without the battering ram effect present in many Christian publications. I also noticed they seem to promote the belief that good Indians are Christian Indians. There are those who might find the support for the Christian Right a bit obvious, but it is personal and should not detract from the story itself. If it bothers you, ignore it. After all this is America and FaithWalk Publishing is a printer of Christian books."

Rarely do we get history from more than one point of view. Here, William Sanders (Cherokee) chronicles the journey of Hernando de Soto from "Florida" (as the Spanish denominated all of the north American continent they knew about) to the Mississippi River,and the continuation of the remnants of his command to their rescue in what we now call Texas. Sanders examines the mindset of the Spanish, explaining how they justified their behavior to the natives they encountered--the first such explanation I have seen that really sets the context for cruelty--and also relates some of the natives' belief systems that interpret their reactions to the Spaniards.
In particular, Sanders interprets the natives' reactions to the horse, which usually comes out as "wow, they were simply baffled by an animal they had never seen before" in a thoroughly believable way. These people had encountered many large and interesting animals in their lives, and seeing one more would not surprise them. Having an animal apparently allowing a human to sit on his back--and then, who was managing which?--was indeed not only surprising but a violation of their world view. Another item largely overlooked in history is the introduction of the pig to the Americas, quite as important as the horse (along with all the infectious diseases that the pig transmits, though this is not a major part of Sanders' tale).
This work of history, with its careful research, its novelistic descriptions, and its fascinating insights (garnered in part through Sanders' connections with oral history) makes the book must-read for anyone who cares about the early days of our culture.

Conquest: Hernando De Soto And The Indians 1539-1543 is an absorbing account of the first major European invasion of the North American mainland. It is not intended as a scholarly dissertation, but rather a general introduction for the lay reader to these fascinating events. Documentation and evidence of what truly happened remains maddeningly incomplete to this day, yet Conquest assembles all it can from primary and secondary sources to present a plausible picture of an army of six hundred that lost nearly half its men during a four-year trek through inhospitable wilderness. A thorough, sometimes harsh or even grisly account, compelling in its raw rendition of history.

In 1539 Hernando de Soto invaded North America, looking for new civilizations to conquer. Instead, the trackless wilderness and the people of what would later be known as the southern United States conquered him.

William Sanders is best known for his award winning alternate histories, but with CONQUEST he has turned his meticulous research and engaging narrative style to straight history. The result is a work detailed enough to satisfy the fussiest historian, but with enough of the storyteller's art to keep the average reader turning pages. Sanders approaches de Soto's invasion as a story to be told, not dry facts to be laid out, and he succeeds admirably, even managing to turn up something of an amusing surprise twist at the end.

At 213 pages, not counting endnotes and appendices, CONQUEST is no ponderous historical tome. The narrative moves along briskly, sketching in just enough background for the reader to understand what the conquistadores were like, and the world they lived in, then on to the expedition itself. The Spaniards' meandering route across the American South, and the Indians they enslaved and robbed -- and eventually fled from -- are described in as much detail as has come down to us over the centuries, and with as much humor as can be found in an essentially tragic tale.

CONQUEST is a worthwhile read for the history buff or anyone interested in a fascinating story of failed ambition.

The story told in Conquest by Law could be the Enron scandal of the 19th Century...the irony is that it is all true and that you wouldn't have imagined it in your wildest dreams. We are used to a context in which the Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court of the land. It is implicit today that when the Supreme Court says what the law "is"...that is it, 'the final word'! However, when this story began there was no such confidence and no history of Supreme Court precedent! The Supreme Court was just another forum for speculation and that is what the protagonists do in Conquest by Law.

The speculation on land and the profiteering that was the underlying motive was not originally designed to marginalize or dispossess Native Americans...but that is quickly what it became... It was, as so many scandals are, all about money. The King and then later the Congress implusively protected Indian Land, but not for the Indians, for themselves. And that is where the conflict begins, with a tug of war over who had the right to buy land directly from the Tribes. The nation's first and arguably, most important jurist eventually crafted the answer...an answer that created a "legitimate" dispossession of Indian Land, a legal conquest that remains the most devastating defeat in the history of Native Americans.

Prof. Robertson exposes the scandal and legal manuevering behind Chief Justice Marshall's answer. The truth is a story of lies, bribery, politics, and and scandal that reads like a cross between McCullough and Grisham.

This is a great read if you are interested in legal scandal, Native American History, the Supreme Court and/or corporate intrigue. Enjoy!!!

I love a good mystery--and the resolving of the twists and turns that led to it. This book is not only a good "who dunnit" but is also a serious study of a fascinating subject of interest to all English speaking people in the world. I enjoyed the book from cover to cover--it is well written, sprightly, serious, detailed, and generally a good read.

It is not granted to every historian to discover a trunkful of old documents up in an attic somewhere. The fact that the Illinois-Wabash papers, which fortuitously fell into the capable hands of this particular historian, were located in a basement instead, hardly alters the aura surrounding this discovery, nor does it affect the drama of the issues involved. In sifting through the evidence brought to light by this remarkable find, Lindsay G. Robertson has provided more than a mere tale of "olden days" which might be of interest to a cloistered few: he has produced a revolutionary document which may have far-reaching consequences on the "history" of the future, as well as on our reading of the past.

Mr. Robertson's capable exposition of a complex history, and the drawing out of the major themes and undercurrents informing the events of the period makes this work of interest to a broader public than just those who may find themselves involved professionally, or by association, or in the case of Native Americans and aboriginal peoples elsewhere, because it is very much part of their own story. Indeed, the wider ramifications of the judgment in the case of Johnson v. M'Intosh for both Canada and Australia and the indigenous peoples of those far-flung lands, heighten the importance of the decision itself and extend the range of interest of this original work of historical detection and analysis.

It is not an easy story to come to grips with, and our thanks must go to the author for his careful unravelling and clear explanation of the facts surrounding what has partly been obscured by the mists of time, and partly intentionally covered up by many of the original participants. We live in age which has much to consider in the way of recognizing past faults. Much is owed to exploited populations in many lands: from the time of Cortez, no treaties have been signed in South America, and those lands have been subject to plunder for centuries. That the native peoples on our own continent have been herded and exploited perhaps to a lesser extent is no reason for not now attempting to reconcile the historical faults of which all Americans and Canadians now living are the heirs. Mr. Robertson's sensitive review of how the legal foundations for the transfer of Indian land into the hands of speculators, prospectors and other worthies of the period came into being, deserves our full attention.

All in all, Mr. Robertson has produced an eloquent, eminently readable text that ought to foster much debate within the United States and abroad. It is a commendable work of scholarship which should not, must not, go unnoticed. It can, should we decide to take heed, contribute greatly to the furthering of better relations between communities in North America and around the globe - and, in a world which stands in dire need of developing governmental systems that take a diversity of communities into account (Liberia, Rwanda, and the Balkans come to mind at once, but the problem is widespread), that is no small accomplishment.

This book is one of the best, I own on the subject matter. Very well done and extreemely detailed. I bought a second copy and gave it away as a Christmas gift this year, at my company Christmas party. It was a great success. Everyone wanted it. I'm glad Matt got to keep it.

I must say that very few texts on this subject are as well done as Conklin's. I highly recomend it to anyone interested in "Compassionate Cannibalism" through history.

I looked into this book a source for a term paper I was writing on Ritual Cannibalism, but then chose to buy if as my summer reading material. The book is very well written and easy to understand, which make it ideal for professionals, students, and lay-people alike. Coklin does a great job letting the reader into the mind of Wari' peoples; the testemonials are engaging and thought-provoking. I must warn that if you are looking for material that is critical of cannibalism, or argues that it does not exist, this isn't it. "Consuming Grief" makes cannibalism seem rational, and makes you feel sad that these peoples customs and culture were forced away. Coklin is biased in the sense that she is an anthropologist, in that I mean she does not pass any judgement on the peoples she is studying.

This book is one of the best, I own on the subject matter. Very well done and extreemely detailed. I bought a second copy and gave it away as a Christmas gift this year, at my company Christmas party. It was a great success. Everyone wanted it. I'm glad Matt got to keep it.

I must say that very few texts on this subject are as well done as Conklin's. I highly recomend it to anyone interested in "Compassionate Cannibalism" through history.

Idealistic and Frustrated with the world, Native American Jim Utze seeks to join the New York Police Department, the NYPD. In "The Copper Indian", his story is told, of how he longs for the past where the law was there to help the weak and downtrodden, and not having to deal with all of this gray area ends justify the means that his co-officers so often do to push themselves to do impure things. Even his lover, an Israeli, becomes mired in confusion, as he suspects her of dirty deeds. Faced with the overwhelming corruption of the force, what is Jim to do, who only came into this job to help others? "The Copper Indian" is a deftly written and highly recommended historical fiction and mystery novel, and lovers of any of those genres will be sure to find a treat.

What happens when a young man with high ideals encounters the harsh realities of everyday law enforcement? Jim Utze faced these questions more often than he had ever dreamed in his career in the late 50's and early 60's with New York Police Department's Narcotics Bureau. Jim Utze began life in the Bronx of the 1930's, born of a Native American father and Irish mother. His favorite hero was Tonto, the loyal friend of the Lone Ranger. In his duties as a detective he experienced many things that initially conflicted with his long nurtured sense of right and wrong. Was he able to rationalize these conflicts? How did he handle the great temptations he faced on a daily basis? What about his girlfriend Ruth who claimed to be an employee of the Israeli airline El Al, but had connections that rose to the heights of the Israeli government? Was Jim cruelly used in an international game in which he had no part? Only by reading this book can one find out.

The main author, J.P. Morgan has a storied career in law enforcement and the science of criminology that spans 40 years culminating in a doctorate in theology. His accomplishments include being a municipal police chief, a Special Agent Supervisor with the FBI, and a tenured faculty member in the area of Police Management. It is this wide realm of experience that makes for the ability to write so well as to create a book of this high caliber.

This book, Copper Indian, is incredibly readable and always leaves the reader looking forward to the next chapter. I am eagerly awaiting the next volume and wonder how my questions will be answered and what new questions shall arise. I do highly recommend this book to readers of almost any arena. In fact, this book goes a long way to show that all that glitters is not gold, and that copper has a sheen and luster of its own.
Reviewer: John Helman, Allbooks Reviews.

From domestic disputes to drug busts to robbery Jim Utze has responded to them all. Early in his career with the NYPD, he deliberately failed to mention his college degree because a degree in the eyes of a typical New York cop looked rather suspicious. When interviewed for a a job to be included on an elite task force which would supply man power in high crime areas, he *did* include this bit of information on his resumé which got the attention of his interviewer, only because Utze never mentioned it in his letter of application. After Jim replied to his questions about this ommission, Jim was hired on the spot, when he said, he wanted to be judged and selected on the merits of his accomplishments as an officer not by his diploma. Yes, Jim Utze was definitely *not* your typical New York cop. For starters, he looked rather Hispanic or Puerto Rican which in the mid-1950s was atypical, paticularly in his chosen profession. When asked about his cultural origins, he did not hesitate to reply that his father was a Pima Indian from Arizona who left the reservation looking for better economic opportunities to live in New York and his mother was Irish to the core, having been born and bred in Dublin.

Jim had been a seasoned cop in the Narcotics Bureau for several years when he decided to go back to night school to get a law degree. He was ambushed in his car by a young black man carrying a bayonet. This was the one time he regreted hiding his gun underneath the car seat. While deliberating how to reach it, the young man sensed a compliant victim and demanded his money and wallet. This gave Jim the opening he was looking for to reach under the car seat, allegedly for his wallet, he pulled out his gun and shot his assailant ... rendering him out cold. He called for back up and Officer Sullivan and a couple of fellow officers who responded, took down the story and examined the evidence, reassuring him, not to worry, it was a routine investigation. He was sent to the ER to deal with a cut which needed stitches. He was told he was being put in for a commendation based on the shooting position which warranted a medal. He was not to be concerned whether or not the assailant survived, the evidence was clear cut. However, twenty four hours later, the incident and its implications suddenly changed - when it was discovered, the sixteen year old assailant was the son of an African ambassador to the United Nations. And worse, the "alleged bayonet" was missing. No one thought to confiscate it at the time, it had gotten kicked around and forgotten in the after event fracas. Jim was now the center of attention and under investigation by Internal Affairs. The ambassador had claimed his son never owned a bayonet, had never been in trouble, and would not hurt anyone. The story hit the news and the headlines ...

"The Copper Indian" is a great novel which presents working out on the streets of New York in tough, high crime areas with humor and amusing detail as well as seriousness. For instance, the reader learns that a couple making love behind closed doors in a run down apartment building ... sounds exactly like a criminal snorting cocaine. Putting a potatoe in the exhaust pipe of a car standing idly by a bank, can stop the suspected get-away car ... which is waiting for the bank robbers to emerge with their stash. And then, if the cop is mistaken, he can walk around the car, bend over and remove the potatoe, then open the hood, fiddle with some wires for a bit and come out of the pickle looking like a real hero who knows how to fix a car engine. The author uses his many years of experience in law enforcement and his degree in theology to present some unique view points of ethical dilemmas which arise in the line of duty. The author is a highly effective writer. He presents interesting personalities and eccentricities of behavior within the law enforcement field by describing events and situations which are realistic and fascinating. His special attention to detail leaves little to the imagination as the stories unfold.

The author cleverly solves the unique dilemma of the missing bayonet, removing all suspicion and doubt about Jim while he was under investigation. It is discovered through unusual circumstances and turned in by Ruth Wolfson and identified by Jim as the one used by his assailant. Ruth Wolfson is an attractive Israeli citizen ... When they met, Jim smiled as he told her his ancestors roamed the desert looking for a place to plant corn, while the white man took the good land. Their evolving romance was sealed when Ruth replied, her ancestors wandered in the desert looking for the promised land. The reader will eagerly stay awake at night reading this book to find out why she is a widow and why she shot her husband. This is a most highly recommended book. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

Criminally out of print, this is nominally a biography of Cortes, but the vast majority of this book focuses on his expedition. This is the kind of story that is too incredible to be fiction, it could only be the product of real people and real events. There are other versions of this tale of course, but this is among the best if you can get a hold of a copy. It is simply absurd that the book is no longer available new, but there are used copies floating around -- get one. This book will glue you to your chair.

A better book on the topic could not have been written. I have read 6 books on this topic, and this was the best. A stunning story that finally finds an author that captures its details and emotions.

...and doesn't have more reviews, as it is a damn good book, and drives home what a ballsy swashbuckler and crafty statesman Cortes really was. It's also pretty refreshing in the it doesn't present him as a monster and the Aztecs as innocent victims. The book also disputes the standard notion that Montezuma thought that the Spaniards were gods, and instead maintains that Montezuma was trying to put together a partnership with them, willing to trade the gold that the Spanish wanted for weapons/technology. Interesting and to me,
very plausible.

Coyote and the laughing Butterflies is a magical book about a coyote adn his duty to bring salt to his wife from a huge salt lake. It hooked my attention right away and I didn't want to put it down until I was done. The illustrations in this book are grogeous and since I'm an animal lover teh cover and title attracted me right away.
In the book because of teh vivid word choice i could imagine everything the author was telling me in my mind. It was wonderfully written and was very descriptive during parts of the story. i loved the way the author described the beautiful butterflies and teh huge salt lake. Even at times were i couldn't picture sections of teh book in my head the illustrations definately helped me. i highly recommend this book to young kids who liek animals and adventures. Don't pass this wonderful book up!

Coyote and the Laughing Butterflies is a very amusing bit ofNative American folklore that can be enjoyed by all ages. It is abeautifully illustrated work in vivid color, written in explanation of why butterflies always fly in an erratic, fluttering way. It is funny, interesting, and compassionate. It is delightful light reading to be lovingly shared with your children to introduce them to Native American folk stories.

As a children's librarian, I am always tooking for folk tales from around the world to read or tell to children in the 4-8 year old group. This tale is fun to tell, but reading it and showing the colorful illustrations of the Southwestern United States is a good way to show children in Maine a different region of our country. The listeners loved having the coyote outwitted by butterflies, and many were able to re-tell the tale to parents. I used a coyote puppet to tell the tale, and the children did a butterfly color page after story time. I would highly recommend it to children's librarians and to parents.

I think this is Dr. Mehl-Madrona's best book yet. As a registered nurse, Zen Shiatsu therapist and shaman-in-training, I to have witnessed the power of the story in healing...even when all else fails. I'm looking forward to the next book!

This book gives perspective to illness in ways that balance Western medicine with healing stories based in a variety of traditions but primarily Native American creation stories. I value that the author offers credentials from both backgrounds and appreciate the wisdom one gains from understanding that so much of what we bring to the mentality of illness is based upon the opinions and attitudes that we have been exposed to in medical text or taken on board through our own environmental coping mechanisms. The stories radiate hope when we realize that we alone can be empowered through fresh perspectives to create our own story for health and well being.

Lewis Mehl-Madrona is certified in family practice, geriatrics and psychiatry, and includes Native American traditions in his practice. Healing through storytelling is the principal approach he shares in this book - of the various Native American ceremonial treatments that he uses.

Mehl-Madrona's storytelling is rich with the wisdom of his Cherokee grandmother. He seems to have stories available for every possible circumstance and occasion. These tales provide insights into a person's hidden fears and hurts that often underlie and contribute to or even cause the development of many physical and psychological problems. The stories also suggest a variety of solutions and inspire hope that change is possible.

Through these stories, he helps people discover the inner healing resources that can transform their lives, including their illnesses. He reports dramatic successes - often with people who have struggled for many years with their health issues - including anorexia, lupus (a chronic form of arthritis), victimization through emotional and physical abuse, panic disorder, and more.

What I see as particularly helpful are the suggestions for change that Mehl-Madrona intersperses within the stories. These are very similar to the tales that Milton Erickson used to tell - in the process of hypnotic inductions, with imbedded suggestions that often slipped past the sentinel guardian defenses of his patients.

Mehl-Madrona is most remarkable for having gained a measure of acceptance for his methods within western medicine.

For a book that contains generous portions of wisdom, this book is an easy and enjoyable read.

See also Mehl-Madrona's earlier books: Coyote Healing and Coyote Medicine.

Creek Mary's Blood informs the reader about the good and bad of the Cherokee life. The reader becomes part of Mary's family and feels their pain.This is a book I will read over and over.I recommend this book if you have any interest in Native American history. I wish it was recommened reading for high school students.

I read this book for the first time in high school. I have read it a couple times since then. For as long as I can remember I have been interested in the Native-Americans, their beliefs and customs. In this novel, Dee Brown, captures all their feelings from betral of the white man for unmercifully taking their homelands and the fear of being wiped out like the buffalo to the pride in their people and their faith in spirits who guided them through those devastating years. The story pulls you in and you become one of the Native-Americans, experiencing every joy and pain.

This novel concerns Mary Musgrove who was the Creek wife of John Musgrove, an Indian Trader who had a trading post near the Savannah River when Oglethorpe brought the first settlers to Georgia in 1731. After Mary's husband was killed, she was eventually forced to abandon her home and people. The novel sets out the problems she encountered and follows her children (Mary's Blood) on the trail of tears westward and ends up with some of her decendants involved in the battle of Little Big Horn. This novel transports the reader into the person of Mary Musgrove and allows us to feel the pains endured by the natives of this country during a period of disgraceful acts committed by some of our forefathers in the name of patriotism.

Robert Lowie first published this book in 1935, from his research living with the Crow Indians. This is a detailed account of a fading lifestyle, soon to be gone. It is worth reading to get an idea of how Amerindians thought and lived.

Something I like about the book is that you can tell Lowie respected the Crow. In too many recent anthropology texts you feel that the researcher could be studying just any old group, has little real concern for them as people, and is in it mainly for tenure. I got the feeling that Lowie enjoyed being with the Crow. Also I like the way he relates their beliefs and concepts at face value, rather than qualifying by saying, "The X tribe believes that this and that," or "According to Y tribe superstition, this and that." He simply tells it as the Crow would.

I learned a lot from this book. Frankly, I know little about the Crow beyond the scope of this book, so I carefully read Phenocia Bauerle's excellent Introduction before and after I read the book. She is a Crow, an insider, so she pointed out some of Lowie's mistakes. Some were obvious even to me, such as the way he was using his own religious frame to understand the Crow: an understandable error. I think that even if Lowie did make some mistakes, the book still stands as a valuable record. Maybe the Crow could issue an annotated version, with their comments and corrections!

Back in the early 1900's, Robert Lowie lived with the Crow, listening to the elders, men & women, speak of the old times. Even though forced to stay on a tiny portion of the original Crow territory and no longer having any buffalo to hunt, the people still practiced their language, religion, beliefs & customs as always.
This is an excellent, book sized "glimpse" at the Crow or Absalooka worldview; clan relationships, marriage customs, religious ceremonies, warrior societies, coyote stories and more.

First published in 1935, and written by one of the most respected American anthropologists of the twentieth century, The Crow Indians is a classic, brief, and highly accessible introduction to Crow Indian culture, challenges, everyday life, traditions, and much more during the early nineteenth-century. Memorable anecdotes of individual Crow such as Grayboll the great visionary and Yellow-brow the gifted storyteller embellish the more general information drawn from the author's thorough fieldwork and interviews from 1907 to 1931. This superbly presented edition of a classic resource is very highly recommended for inclusion on Native American Studies reading lists and acadmeic library reference shelves, now offers a thoughtful introduction by Phenocia Bauerle, a member of the Crow Nation and the editor of The Way Of The Warrior.