Rating: 
Summary: From Man to Mountain
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.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended Concise Biography
Review: Stark but not simple, this book focuses on Crazy Horse the man as opposed to the myth. While it appealed to my intellect, it also moved my emotions, and for that reason I recommend it without hesitation.
Rating:
Summary: A novelist's literary take on history.
Review: The Sioux Christ Crazy Horse was perhaps the most enigmatic - and celebrated - Indian leader. He was neither a chief nor a frequent combatant in the wars that emptied the West for white settlement. He was a loner and even a bit of an oddball. In the end, his own people despised him - and took part in his murder. Yet among Indians today, Crazy Horse is considered the greatest of warriors, a man who defiantly resisted white intrusion, who was so charitable he earned the nickname "Sioux Christ." Larry McMurtry embraces the unenviable task of distilling this man in "Crazy Horse," part of the Penguin Lives series. It's a rather interesting project, in which famed authors study the great figures of our past. (Jane Smiley, for example, will soon publish a biography of Charles Dickens.) McMurtry ("Lonesome Dove," "Terms of Endearment") isn't a historian. That's what makes this book compelling. Instead of the trudging prose of academia, we're treated to a more literary take on Crazy Horse - part storytelling, part analysis. This wasn't an easy job. Crazy Horse spent much of his life shunning whites. He also shunned most of his tribe, preferring to be alone. Hence, there's little documentation on his life. And most of what's been written since is wracked by speculation. Where McMurtry excels in dissecting the many myths. Unlike many Indian biographers, he doesn't fall for the idyllic "noble savage" viewpoint. He condenses Crazy Horse down to a good man, perhaps a great man, confused by an era of rapid change. McMurtry doesn't have a historian's zeal. He spends much of the book dissecting the work of others instead of producing his own. At 140 pages, this is something of a Cliff Notes biography - not commensurate with the $19.95 retail price.
Rating: 
Summary: A weak biography written by an arrogant author
Review: There are more swipes at other authors in this written over a weekend booklet than relevant observations on Crazy Horse. The author states that there are few "verifiable facts" (facts are facts, hypotheses are verifiable) about Crazy Horse, and then proceeds to attempt a biography. When encountering weak spots, he quotes descriptins of tribal warfare observed in New Guinea in the 1960's. Skip this brochure and read something by Ambrose.
Rating:
Summary: a very politically correct view
Review: There is too much political correctness in this book to really get a good view of Crazy Horse other than some mythic figure of the Great Plains. At this discount it's a good read; the book is lite on facts and has allot of speculation & one gets the feeling that Larry rushed this out just to have his say & not really research this Ogalla warrior or his life and times.
It just has a rushed feeling to it. In the end, it's really just a preface to the Ambrose book, though a little long for one.
Rating:
Summary: a very politically correct view
Review: There is too much political correctness in this book to really get a good view of Crazy Horse other than some mythic figure of the Great Plains. At this discount it's a good read; the book is lite on facts and has allot of speculation & one gets the feeling that Larry rushed this out just to have his say & not really research this Ogalla warrior or his life and times.
It just has a rushed feeling to it. In the end, it's really just a preface to the Ambrose book, though a little long for one.
Rating:
Summary: A waste of time
Review: This book was absolutely pathetic. For anyone seeking any understanding of Crazy Horse, Lakota culture, the history of the American West, look elsewhere. I find it hard to believe that anyone would publish such a flimsy and insubstantial piece of writing. This book contributes absolutely nothing to our understanding of Native Americans or of our history.What an insult to the intelligence of any reader.
Rating:
Summary: An exciting book on the life of Crazy Horse
Review: This is a very interesting biography of Crazy Horse, a Native American who had great love for his people and defending their honor during the American-Indian War. He was also loved by his people the Sioux for fighting the Americanss with great courage. He was involved in the Battle of Little Bighorn where Custer and his army was slaughtered by thousands of Native Americans. Wherever the major fights would be, Crazy Horse would be there. The author, Larry McMurtry, explained the life of Crazy Horse in great detail. He would use words like Picassoesque to desribe the scenery out West. He used facts in his book and some hearsay, but reckognized it for being hearsay and not facts. It was very hard for him to put the book together because Crazy Horse was a very solitary man and the few that knew him well died in battle. But there was a few that survived and died of natural causes in the thirties. It was hard for their documented words to be translated. He described Crazy Horse's life from many points of view, though. Crazy Horse, toward the end of the wars was killed by his own people which is quite ironic because so many whites were out for his blood. The indians that killed him were jealous of him because he was looked up to by some whites for his courage in war.
Rating: 
Summary: Very nice quick overview of the whole thing
Review: This is my first run at Crazy Horse, so I have nothing to compare it to. While McMurchy does an excellent job of giving only the facts, this book was more about the Sioux then of Crazy Horse. This book is a great overview, but that's it. I would recommend this book as a primer, then maybe some other historical account of his life
Rating:
Summary: Very nice quick overview of the whole thing
Review: This is my first run at Crazy Horse, so I have nothing to compare it to. While McMurchy does an excellent job of giving only the facts, this book was more about the Sioux then of Crazy Horse. This book is a great overview, but that's it. I would recommend this book as a primer, then maybe some other historical account of his life
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