In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Matthiessen
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Book Reviews of In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
Book Review: Leonard Peltier!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very in depth look at Leonard Peltier and the continuing plight of the people on the Plains. In 1975 members of AIM shot and killed 2 FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Four men were accused one man Leonard Peltier went to prison for it. Peltier is considered a political prisoner. He is still imprisoned. This is the story about the political events surrounding this case. This book walks you through the timeline and events surrounding what happened on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1975 and takes you through a very botched up trial.
"Silence, they say, is the voice of complicity.
But silence is impossible.
Silence screams.
Silence is a message,
just as doing nothing is an act." Leonard Peltier
At very rare times the books content was dry, it had to give you facts, so not the fault of the author. Overall, I think that it reads very well, it is a history and it is about Leonard Peltier and his trial. My copy is completely worn out!
Book Review: A DETAILED Account of "The Incident At Ogalala"
Summary: 5 Stars
During the American Civil Rights Movement there is an area that most of the country refuses to study or examine; the struggle for civil rights among and for the native peoples. In that movement there was an organization called AIM (American Indian Movement), I guess you'd call them the Black Panthers of our movement. They did some things that I do not agree with, but their motives can't be argued with. The United States Government did some very wrong things to these civil rights activists and one of them, Leonard Peltier, is still in prison. This is a DETAILED account of the incident he is imprisoned over. I may not agree with everything this man did; but hey, looking back at my own life I don't agree with everything that I've done. That doesn't meen he did what the FBI has accused him of. And this book is the proof that he didn't. If you are a student of the American Civil Rights Movement or of Native History, or even of the History of the F.B.I., you should have this case study as a reference.
Book Review: Best History of AIM
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a sweeping history of the American Indian Movement and Indian activism in the 1960s and 1970s. It covers the major events such as the siege of Wounded Knee and the arrest of Leonard Peltier. It examines in detail the Oglala Sioux reservation at Pine Ridge and its chairman Dick Wilson and his battle with AIM and Russel Means. Other AIM leaders such as Dennis Banks are examined as are the various trials sourounding AIM activism. Those are the books strengths, its weakness is that it does not give a good overview of the state of Native Americans in the U.S in thsoe two decades, concentrating instead on the places where activism took place and where shots were fired. However their were another hundred reservations where such things did not take place, including large reservations such as the Navajos and it would have be nice to learn more about politics and economies in these places.Book Review: Distressing, Anger-provoking; Violent Repression by the USA
Summary: 5 Stars
EVERYONE should read this book. I find Matthiessen's writing style to be exceptionally readable and entertaining strictly on literary merits, and the topic here is riveting and disturbing. Matthiessen's pro-Indian bias in this book will be apparent to many, but nevertheless, this book's presentation of well documented evidence speaks for itself, and for Peltier's obvious railroading in a sham 'trial'. Admittedly, it may take two reads of this book to fully absorb all the information - there is a lot in there.When I first learned of Peltier's case, I was very skeptical (actually, disbelieving) of his claims. But my associates with Amnesty International encouraged me to check into the facts, the court records, legal documents, etc, and I was so utterly shocked at what I discovered, I had to change my position 180 degrees.
Book Review: What a great book!
Summary: 5 Stars
Having assumed that I had read countless volumes of Native American history, here I find another compelling book that brings anger and frustration. All I can say is that I am on a mission to learn more and more about Mr. Peltier. Many books that I have read before this one did not shed the kind of light on him that was deserved. I have to admit that other AIM followers had different views of him and it only makes me courious, and again I'll find another story. But that is the greatest thing about our American History, it has never been written with the truth at the heart of the writers pen. I can only hope that one day Mr. Peltier will be free, and whatever occurred during that day of confusion will be the truth, but by then it will only be another 100 years of history gone wrong. We will probably never know the truth.