Rating: 
Summary: A Good Beginning Book About Crazy Horse, the Man
Review: Crazy Horse has been puzzled over by genertions of historians. Larry McMurtry gives a sensitive portrait of the great Sioux warrior who became a reluctant leader at the battle of the Little Big Horn. It is a short biography with a wonderful story teller's touch! It's worth the read.
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl Books One - Three
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: 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: 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: 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.
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 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: 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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