Rating: 
Summary: Facinating info about native american life and culture
Review: . An amazing amount of material on the wildlife of North America and, the "wild" lives of American Indians and captured settlers. The book includes firsthand accounts of Indian life, gruesome conflicts, brutal torture, spectacular escapes, and spirited pursuits. The Indians killed, tortured, and sometimes adopted white settlers. Some were made into slaves, some fully adopted as family members, and other slated for, and escaped sure death. I was particularly facinated by descriptions of the wildlife. The size and age of trees. The abundance of wild animals--particularly the bears. I've read this book twice and found every story interesting. Not often do we get glimses of the past through ordinary people, placed in extra-ordinary situations. Many of these people could not read or write but told their stories which were dutifully recorded. The feeling of authenticity of the stories is strong. Everyone should read this book to fully understand the capabilites of humans, both in brutality and in kindness and understanding. An unforgettable book.
Rating:
Summary: Facinating info about native american life and culture
Review: . An amazing amount of material on the wildlife of North America and, the "wild" lives of American Indians and captured settlers. The book includes firsthand accounts of Indian life, gruesome conflicts, brutal torture, spectacular escapes, and spirited pursuits. The Indians killed, tortured, and sometimes adopted white settlers. Some were made into slaves, some fully adopted as family members, and other slated for, and escaped sure death. I was particularly facinated by descriptions of the wildlife. The size and age of trees. The abundance of wild animals--particularly the bears. I've read this book twice and found every story interesting. Not often do we get glimses of the past through ordinary people, placed in extra-ordinary situations. Many of these people could not read or write but told their stories which were dutifully recorded. The feeling of authenticity of the stories is strong. Everyone should read this book to fully understand the capabilites of humans, both in brutality and in kindness and understanding. An unforgettable book.
Rating:
Summary: Facinating info about native american life and culture
Review: . An amazing amount of material on the wildlife of North America and, the "wild" lives of American Indians and captured settlers. The book includes firsthand accounts of Indian life, gruesome conflicts, brutal torture, spectacular escapes, and spirited pursuits. The Indians killed, tortured, and sometimes adopted white settlers. Some were made into slaves, some fully adopted as family members, and other slated for, and escaped sure death. I was particularly facinated by descriptions of the wildlife. The size and age of trees. The abundance of wild animals--particularly the bears. I've read this book twice and found every story interesting. Not often do we get glimses of the past through ordinary people, placed in extra-ordinary situations. Many of these people could not read or write but told their stories which were dutifully recorded. The feeling of authenticity of the stories is strong. Everyone should read this book to fully understand the capabilites of humans, both in brutality and in kindness and understanding. An unforgettable book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great read!
Review: I concur with most of the reviews below. These accounts are interesting & varied, both from timescale & geography of captures. I often felt myself brought into the sufferings of the unfortunates concerned. Suffering being the overriding theme of the book. Whilst some captives eventually receive more decent treatment & even adoption into the tribe, all have to deal with initial ill-treatment & most, a series of torture, deprivation & cruelty. Not sure whether this is a tribute to the author, or the original story-teller, but the accounts are direct, unfussy & immediate. This is a great way to find out more about the Native American psyche & it's also a great read!
Rating:
Summary: Great view into the daily lives of Native Americans
Review: One of my favorite history books. Exciting, true life accounts of life among American Indians from the 1600's thru the 1800's. The customs and challanges of life in the wild are revealed in the stories of a number of captives who live to tell about it.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating accounts
Review: Only reason it's not a five is they are a little hard to read. All stories were written in the 17 or 1800's and as the saying goes, "them there folk talks funny....." They say things like, "I would prevail upon you, kind sir, to remain silent," when what they really mean is "Shut up" . This is a good book to read in between other books because all accounts are 10 to 30 pages and each is a story unto itself, so when you finish one, the next one is like reading a whole new book, so putting it down to read something else doesn't interfere with the story.
Rating:
Summary: A harrowing, politically incorrect view of indians.
Review: This book is a good antidote to the politically correct view of Indians that has been promulgated by revisionist historians, the media (e.g., movies such as "Dances with Wolves"), etc., during the last few decades. It presents 15 accounts, most of which are written by those who actually experienced the events, of the slaughter and capture of whites by Indians. Who were the whites whom the Indians attacked and what did they do to warrant such treatment? In many cases the bulk of the victims were women and children who were doing nothing more than searching for a place to call home. Must reading for liberals who've been brainwashed into swallowing the myth of "The Noble Savage".
Rating:
Summary: Riveting stories told by real Indian captives!
Review: This book is such a find! Each 'chapter' in this book is an actual real-life historical narrative of someone that was captured by Indians and returned to 'civilization' to tell their tale. It's interesting to read that quite a few of the stories paint the 'savages' in actually a sympathetic, even likeable light. Goes to show that one man's savage is another man's hero, doesn't it? At any rate, if you're a fan of historical drama, even if you don't normally read non-fiction, I still recommend picking up this book. It's a fascinating look into history.
Rating:
Summary: The best book written describing daily indian life
Review: This book should be manditory reading for all high school kids. It is probably the most revealing book regarding the everyday life of the various tribes across the North American Continent ever written. From the earliest days of discovery to the times of the western expansion. If you want to know the truth about the way it was in indian tribes like the Mohawk of the East or the Apache of the West , then this is the book to read. No fiction or make believe. This is the real thing. You get an insight into the mind of the native indian and what they actually did on a day to day basis. If you think that living like a native indian was idealistic, then getting up in the morning and hunting for food day in and day out is the life for you. You will learn in this book that life was difficult for the indian. It will leave you with a better appreciation of those things that are taken for granted and which seem like luxuries compared to the hardships suffered by indian life.
Rating:
Summary: A rare view of what Native Americans were really like
Review: This is a fantastic read - hard to put down. These actual accounts of people taken hostage by Indians provides a rare glimps into indian culture. It brilliantly illustrates the curious mixture of sophistication, honor, order, and savagery of ancient Native American culture. These accounts span several generations and several different tribes, yet we see clear similaries among all American Indians.
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