Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable Read
Review: I realize that this is not a book of facts. It is short, concise, and entertaining. It is an introductory to the Indian leader, "Crazy Horse." McMurtry makes all of his characters believable (in both fiction and nonfiction), and it was good enough for me to want to follow up on the subject matter. It definitely spurred an interest in the Penguin Lives Series. I've already purchased the book on Mozart.
Rating: 
Summary: I really liked it!!!
Review: I think this was a really good book. Some of the reveiws for this book make me sad. All those people are saying "It was the worst book I've ever read, and Larry McMurtry's books aren't ever right in terms of history, and blah, blah, blah." Thats ok, Larry McMurtry is a wonderful author, and his books don't have to be historically correct for them to be great literary works. I love the way he writes, and I could really give less of a damn wether they are historically correct or not. If you want historical facts from one of the time periods from his books, go get a history book, and stop complaining about the books not being right. Thery're still WONDERFUL books!!!!!!!!!!!! I would DEFINATELY recommend ANY of Larry McMurtry's books, it's not a waste of time or money, I promise.
Rating: 
Summary: A Lousy Book
Review: If "Crazy Horse" is indicative of the quality of the Penguin Lives series, perhaps readers would be better off staying away. The book is dominated as much by McMurtry's towering ego (endless use of "I" and "me" in a book about someone else) as by the title character. McMurtry even uses descriptions from Africa to describe events in America, as if there weren't first-person accounts from the American West.Had the editor taken the time to do some serious cutting this would have been a decent book. That didn't happen, though, and the result is more than disappointing. If I could get my money back, I would. I expected more from McMurtry and from Penguin's Lives.
Rating: 
Summary: If you like McMurtry...
Review: Larry McMurtry is, in my mind, one of the greatest living authors. His novels make Texas come alive for anyone who reads them. His most famous works, like Lonesome Dove and The Last Picture Show, deserve all of the praise they get, and even his less famous works, like Zeke and Ned, and Boone's Lick, are worth a read. However, he does not often turn his pen to nonfiction, as with his biography of Crazy Horse. It was a tough subject to tackle, due almost entirely to the shortage of facts regarding the legendary Indian leader. This may seem a daunting setback, but McMurtry perseveres, writing a thoroughly engaging biography. Particularly enjoyable are McMurtry's quips at Ambrose.
Rating:
Summary: Superbly written, though somewhat imaginative.
Review: Let it be clear from the outset that this is a highly positive review! McMurtry is a wonderful writer, and those not too concerned with the precision of historic detail will find this book a great read. It is entertaining and informative at the same time, and does much to remind us of a part of history we're not particularly proud of. As one who has written Native American history as seen through contemporary eyes, I know how difficult it is to find an accurate record. But McMurtry demonstrates that the detail that may be lacking isn't necessary to provide a full and no doubt highly accurate account of the larger context into which heroes--Native American or otherwise--must be viewed. This is authentic, and if it attracts a wide following it will have performed a valuable service: We all need to know this story better.
Rating:
Summary: Economic & abbreviated...but lacks compassion
Review: McMurtry has created a lean novella from the minimal amount of factual knowledge known about this Strange Man of the Oglalas. He cuts efficiently through the lengthy & speculative romanticism that weighed down previous biographies. We see Crazy Horse before the legend muddied the waters. We see more of the man. But McMurtry seems to completely disregard the Lakota oral tradition and removes his subject from that perspective...a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation. If you're looking for an intimate portrait of the man...wade through Mari Sandoz' excellent biography...tempered with McMurtry's clarity. But if you're looking for "just the facts, ma'am", then I suggest a quick three hour session with Larry McMurtry.
Rating:
Summary: A very poor disertation on both Crazy Horse and the West.
Review: McMurtry should stick to fiction. He spends as much time taking the Army generally, and George Custer specifically, to task as he devotes to Crazy Horse. Very little, if any, new information is learned about Crazy Horse. Again, he spends much of his time trying to sully the reputations of the Military leaders of the period.When one looks at his references it is evident that he spent little time searching for a balanced view of the period.
Rating:
Summary: Good -- but not timeless
Review: McMurtry's writing is smooth and compelling, and he does a fine job reconstructing a biography of Crazy Horse. My problem with the book, however, is that it doesn't really contribute much of anything new to the published scholarship on Crazy Horse. Furthermore, his use of 1990s slang and odd metaphors does not serve the respectful tone with which he gives his subject -- nor will these turns of phrase survive the changing tastes of vernacular literary expression. As a result, McMurtry's slang in the book will look "nerdish, square, unhip, and not-with-it" in, oh, about 3 years. But if you haven't read anything about Crazy Horse, McMurty's book is one good starting place.
Rating:
Summary: Flimsy
Review: McMurty starts off by saying not much was know about Crazy Horse and then goes on to tell the reader exactly that, not much. The book is only 140 pages but McMurty could have told his story in 20 pages. I get the distinct feeling he doesn't even like native Americans, at least not this one.
Rating: 
Summary: bloodless and frightened
Review: Near the beginning of "Crazy Horse" Larry McMurtry points how little is known about Crazy Horse. A loner in a non-literate community, even the stories of Crazy Horse's sparse interactions with whites were often based on speculation and conjecture. I did find this book to provide an interesting narrative of the life and warfare of the Plains Indians in the period after the Civil war. In this book we see the Indians as very individualistic. The Indian Chiefs, of which Crazy Horse was not one, while exercising considerable influence, could not, in many cases, control the actions of individual braves. While we often tend to think of the Indians as a monolithic nation opposing white expansion, they consisted, in fact, of independent, autonomous bands which would fight limited struggles against whites over specific territories or grievances. The struggle by the Indians under Red Cloud over the forts on the Bozeman trail was one instance in which the Indians were successful in turning back the tide of white expansion for several years. Individual battles, such as the Fetterman massacre, are described in interesting detail. As for Crazy Horse himself, such details of his life as are known are related. The details of his names, his dream experience, his romantic entanglements and finally his death from stabbing by a soldier while being held by an Indian, are described in detail. The obscurity of Crazy Horse's life may be one of his most alluring qualities, for by permitting each of us to impute to this Indian hero the attributes which seem most attractive to us, he grows from a man to a legend. As he rides out of the mists of history, Crazy Horse can be seen as the heroic warrior who never compromised or surrendered. That is the Crazy Horse portrayed by Larry McMurtry and the legend who, when his statue is completed, will ride forever over his Black Hills home.
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