Rating: 
Summary: A snooze
Review: I am a great McMurtry fan (Lonesome Dove, etc.). I also generally like the Penguin Lives books. But this is the worst McMurtry book and the worst Penguin Lives biography I've read. It seems shallow, completely lacking in energy and narrative drive.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely weak
Review: I bought this book after visiting the Crazy Horse monument in South Dakota, and I wanted to learn more about Crazy Horse.Do not waste you time or money on this book. The information in this book is extremely weak. Please E-mail me if you have questions or comments about my review. Two Bears. Wah doh Ogedoda "We give thanks Great Spirit"
Rating: 
Summary: Read to learn, not to entertain
Review: I bought this book to learn more about Crazy Horse, an Indian I remember reading about in high school. I've always wanted to learn more about him and about the struggle of Indians. This book satisfied that informational curiousity. This book reads clinically. It takes his life and tries to disspell rumors and exaggerations and find the truth. It's very sad how the life of Crazy Horse ended and you can't help feel for the plight of the Indians. I enjoyed reading this as a cultural study but not for a fun, enjoyable read. If you are looking for a typical novel, then don't buy this book. If you are looking information and want to learn about the plight of Indians, then this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: I did not have high expectations about this book given the rather small size of it, but it was on sale so I gave it a try. The first thing the reader comes away with is the impression that the author has a very high regard for Crazy Horse and American Indians as a whole. Because of this esteem the reader is brought along the story believing that Crazy Horse was to the American Indian what Abe Lincoln, George Washington and FDR are to the average American. The story is a little light on overall factual stories, but I think that comes more from the lack of written records by the American Indians and the type of life Crazy Horse lived. From the traditional political leader as we know it today, there are reams of information on the everyday life and the job they held plus an ever increasing schedule and "to do" list that does not end. In contrast, the American Indians lead a much simpler (not to say less civilized) existence that handled problems with far less bureaucracy. Given that this was the case, this fact explains the volume of know facts about Crazy Horse. Overall this is a very good book that lets you know as much about the man as it also provides the basis for a learned respect for him. If you are interested in this topic I would suggest that this book is a very good first step.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: I did not have high expectations about this book given the rather small size of it, but it was on sale so I gave it a try. The first thing the reader comes away with is the impression that the author has a very high regard for Crazy Horse and American Indians as a whole. Because of this esteem the reader is brought along the story believing that Crazy Horse was to the American Indian what Abe Lincoln, George Washington and FDR are to the average American. The story is a little light on overall factual stories, but I think that comes more from the lack of written records by the American Indians and the type of life Crazy Horse lived. From the traditional political leader as we know it today, there are reams of information on the everyday life and the job they held plus an ever increasing schedule and "to do" list that does not end. In contrast, the American Indians lead a much simpler (not to say less civilized) existence that handled problems with far less bureaucracy. Given that this was the case, this fact explains the volume of know facts about Crazy Horse. Overall this is a very good book that lets you know as much about the man as it also provides the basis for a learned respect for him. If you are interested in this topic I would suggest that this book is a very good first step.
Rating:
Summary: Mcmurtry seemed almost flippant regarding Lakota issues.
Review: I did not like this book much at all. I think McMurtry needed to do much more research regarding Lakotas, Crazy Horse, and the Plains Indian Wars of the mid 1900s. I wonder if he spoke or consulted with any Lakota people regarding this work. It would seem he did not. This book doesn't do justice for the topic.
Rating:
Summary: brief encounter
Review: I have not previously read a Penguin Lives book so I don't have a point of reference on how much to expect from one of these biographies. I have noted that none of the volumes seem to be any thicker than McMurtry's "Crazy Horse". I will assume that the purpose of this series is that the reader gets a brief overview of the highlights in the lives of an important historical person. That sounds like a nice idea but the question I have regarding "Crazy Horse" is this; Does it half to be THIS brief? I was inclined to accept McMurtry's observation that little factual information exists on Crazy Horse. In fact, I think he's soured me somewhat on reading Mari Sandoz's much lengthier biography. However, this book goes in some strange directions dealing with this paucity of information. For example, in trying to describe the great gathering of Indians at the Ft. Laramie Council of 1851, McMurtry inexplicably quotes Wilfred Thesiger's account of an Ethiopian gathering of African tribesmen. Shortly thereafter, he describes the tribal warfare of the Sioux by quoting Peter Matthiessen's description of tribal warfare in New Guinea in the early 1960's. Well, the primary resources on Native Americans may be limited but not so much that we must wander to other continents for our facts. (On second thought, maybe I WILL read Sandoz's book). McMurtry suggests at one point that it would be "hubris" to think that we can read Crazy Horse's mind. He momentarily passes on speculation of Crazy Horse's thoughts and motives and then spends much of the remainder of the book doing just that. So much of these 141 pages are devoted to events that happened during the time of Crazy Horse that little space is left to the man himself. As a biography of facts this work seems more along the lines of Charlie Browns Christmas vacation book report. However, Larry McMurtry's talent is spinning a tale rather than reporting the facts. This is the saving grace of "Crazy Horse". It reads like a well-written short novel and will leave the reader exasperated but sensing nonetheless that he has just read a good story.
Rating:
Summary: brief encounter
Review: I have not previously read a Penguin Lives book so I don't have a point of reference on how much to expect from one of these biographies. I have noted that none of the volumes seem to be any thicker than McMurtry's "Crazy Horse". I will assume that the purpose of this series is that the reader gets a brief overview of the highlights in the lives of an important historical person. That sounds like a nice idea but the question I have regarding "Crazy Horse" is this; Does it half to be THIS brief? I was inclined to accept McMurtry's observation that little factual information exists on Crazy Horse. In fact, I think he's soured me somewhat on reading Mari Sandoz's much lengthier biography. However, this book goes in some strange directions dealing with this paucity of information. For example, in trying to describe the great gathering of Indians at the Ft. Laramie Council of 1851, McMurtry inexplicably quotes Wilfred Thesiger's account of an Ethiopian gathering of African tribesmen. Shortly thereafter, he describes the tribal warfare of the Sioux by quoting Peter Matthiessen's description of tribal warfare in New Guinea in the early 1960's. Well, the primary resources on Native Americans may be limited but not so much that we must wander to other continents for our facts. (On second thought, maybe I WILL read Sandoz's book). McMurtry suggests at one point that it would be "hubris" to think that we can read Crazy Horse's mind. He momentarily passes on speculation of Crazy Horse's thoughts and motives and then spends much of the remainder of the book doing just that. So much of these 141 pages are devoted to events that happened during the time of Crazy Horse that little space is left to the man himself. As a biography of facts this work seems more along the lines of Charlie Browns Christmas vacation book report. However, Larry McMurtry's talent is spinning a tale rather than reporting the facts. This is the saving grace of "Crazy Horse". It reads like a well-written short novel and will leave the reader exasperated but sensing nonetheless that he has just read a good story.
Rating: 
Summary: Good in patches, oddly organized, surprisingly bland.
Review: I love this guy; Lonesome Dove is one of the most enjoyable novels I've encountered. He wrote about cowboys and Indians with amazing passion and insight. So why is his book on Crazy Horse so dull? Some of the writing is sharp and nicely conversational. But why does it seem like he didn't make an outline? And why must he tell us in every single chapter how little is actually known about CH -- and how All The Other Authors have guessed their way through thousands of pages? It almost seems like his goal is to convince us that CH's life -- about which there is, really, shockingly little in the book -- isn't worth a book. And damned if he doesn't almost convince you. A real shame. Did I just read about the Battle of Little Bighorn, or just Larry McMurtry's essay on how lame all the stuff written about Crazy Horse is?
Rating:
Summary: Carrie from Kansas
Review: I read this book for an English class. I thought that it was a kind of interesting to read about the different stories about Crazy Horse.It gave alot of interesting information about him. For someone who hasn't ever really been exposed to stuff like that I found it rather interesting.
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