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: A little balance perhaps
Review: I am a fan of the Pengin Lives books. I'll say that up front. But Mr. McMurtry's book on Crazy Horse falls short of the standard the series sets with other works like the book on Rosa Parks. The author has clearly done a great deal of reading and researching to prepare for his task, however, through that he seems to have become bitter about the amount of speculation there has been to fill in the unknown holes of Crazy Horse's story. So he sets out to write a book with just the facts. Nothin' but the facts. And he clings to his effort by breezing past events of the day that were influencing Crazy Horse's life both directly and indirectly. He drops names and dates and places as if we had all done the research with him. In the end the writing and tone of McMurtry's work culminates in a dud of a biography that is lacking in richness. I won't go so far as to say that there is nothing to be learned from reading this book (as some other reviewers have said); I learned a thing or two. I am just left with the feeling that Mr. McMurtry has squandered a great opportunity by pinning himself to flimsy rules out of seeming contempt for other authors on the subject. For shame.
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 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: 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
Rating:
Summary: Fine Meditation on a Life
Review: This is the third Penguin Lives volume I've read and I find the series is holding up to positive first impressions. The Lives books are short, averaging around 200 pages each, but are saved from being mere outlines by creative matchmaking of subject with author. In CRAZY HORSE, Larry McMurtry, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Lonesome Dove, takes on one of the legendary Indians of the 19th century American west. Like the as yet unfinished monument of him that is being carved out of the Black Hills of the Dakotas, Crazy Horse looms large in oral tradition and is the subject of some weighty tomes, including a biography by controversial historian Stephen Ambrose. Despite the heft of the Crazy Horse canon, McMurtry says that the actual facts of his life are wispy and he chooses to devote his book to sorting the man from the fiction. In doing so, he offers up a lucid picture of the changing state of Indian culture as Manifest Destiny chewed its way across the plains. What facts do come to light reveal Crazy Horse as better suited to his culture's past, a reluctant though dutiful leader who preferred wandering alone in the hills. At one point, McMurtry makes a quiet observation of dust kicked up on a latterday trail ride, an image that becomes a central metaphor expressing the problem of retrieving a truth that has been filtered through so many biases. Some readers may be at a slight disadvantage because McMurtry assumes the reader possesses a certain amount of familiarity with the facts of Little Big Horn and the legends. Some may be disappointed that this book offers less about the man then about politics, both Indian and white, and the process of historical investigation and perspective. I think it is a fine meditation on all subjects. McMurtry is unafraid to express a controversial opinion.
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