The Education of Little Tree

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Summary: Buyer beware...
Review: People should read this book just so that they are aware of what a hoax looks like. Before the controversy erupted about this book, I'll bet many politically correct people read it and marveled at the truth of it all. This book points out that you can't believe everything you see in print. Things are not always what they seem to be. Aside from all that, I don't think the book is well written either. Read it just so that you can take a reasonable point of view when your friends discuss the controversy.

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Summary: Carter a Documented KKK leader-Why it matters
Review: Author Asa Carter (Forrest Carter) was not just a KKK member, he was a leader who wrote Gov. Wallace's speech: "segregation now, segregation forever", supporting banning blacks from attending the University of Alabama (Look it up, it's at the library--Time, Newsweek, etc. Don't pretend to love books and not do your homework.) I don't advocate banning any books--just know that it is NOT an autobiography, as printed on most editions. By the way, Carter probably chose his pseudonym, Forrest, after Nathan Forrest, the founder of the KKK, which believes in the supremacy of whites above ALL other "races" (as if "white" was a race and not a color). So he was not a repentant man. He made his profession in speechwriting and radio. Go ahead and read this book, but if you'd actually like to learn about Native Americans, try a different one.

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Summary: Education of Little Tree is one of my all time favorite book
Review: I submitted a review a little while ago. It may not have been saved. I read the online comments on this book and feel that the persons who have downgraded it are profoundly prejudiced. They have let what they have heard or read about the author (which may or may not be true) obscure the value of the book in question. Little Tree is a resounding affirmation of family values and of the value of the Cherokee philosophy, including, in fact, an implied condemnation of the Protestant Christian effort to "civilize" the Indians. Anyone who condemns this book because of Carter's purported KKK connection is as short-sighted as those who condemn Huckleberry Finn because the "n-word" is used, without noticing that the black Jim is the hero of the novel. One shoud be careful how one denigrates what is inspirational to another reader. Save your comments for some really retrograde publication - there are plenty of them available.

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Summary: Read, didn't know, now I do, put it in it's correct place.
Review: This is not the first time the wool has been pulled over the eyes of many. I read the book last year and was totally unaware of the author and his political views, because the Univ. of New Mexico would not lie about it being a true story. So, it drops down a notch. It is still a moving story. However, it leaves a knot in my stomach, thinking that it was true. Of course, I feel these events are too well described not to have happened in some way, shape or form to Mr. Carter. Look Homeward Angel was fiction, yet had been experienced. The same can be said for all of the books of Hemingway. Mr. Carter either saw these events or was a great listner of stories, and judging from his politics, I doubt he listened to non-whites much. But, for a good fictional short read, give it a try.

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Summary: Should be read by new parents or people planning parenthood.
Review: I read this book after rearing two kids. I wish that I had read it before my first was born. The book offers insights into how a child sees the adult world around him/her. As to the political correctness or lack thereof because of Carter's supposed KKK affiliation, I wonder if scorners remember what the "Buffalo Soldiers" did under the flag of the U.S. of A? If Carter really did have some Cherokee blood or if he was a child of children of Reconstruction, that might explain his social affiliations. What does that have to do with his literary genius? When I worked on a Reservation in the SouthWest back in the early '70s, I noted subtle Indian animosity towards Blacks/African-Americans. It was explained to me by Indians that Indians were the "third-rate" U.S. citizens, Blacks being the "second-rate." Among several points of clarification was the one that Indians got the "vote" years after all other classes/races of Americans. Personally, I saw no racism towards Blacks, Jews or other minorities in Carter's books "Education of Little Tree", "Watch For Me On the Mountian" or "Josey Wales." If there is any racism, it may well be transferred by the reader's prejudice. Carter's works (in my opinion)question "institutions" not people. From my own viewpoint, I am not offended. I am, like many Americans, mixed race. The surname I carry is from Scotland. My father's "people" came from eastern Kentucky and Tennessee. They are classed as Melungeon. I know that my great-grandmother was Cherokee and I have been told that her heritage included "Black" blood. I have read "The Education of Little Tree" and given it away several times, only to buy it again. Whether or not it is an autobiography is a moot point in my mind. It includes universal truths about how the child interprets the adult world. There are lessons in the book that will point the parent of a young child in the direction of love and patience. Sadly, there is not enough of love or patience in the small world of many of our children today. It makes no difference to me whether or not the book is an autobiography. What matters to me are the lessons in the book for those who will recognize those lessons for what they are.

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Summary: A simple story about a simple life.
Review: Read this book and enjoy its simplicity. This is a wonderful story that teaches us the value of family and frugality. Many valuable lessons to learn for this too-often consumer-driven society. The author's associations are irrelevent. This is simply a gorgeous book.

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Summary: This is a book of great heart and greater humor
Review: This is a book to be read aloud. We have given at least a half dozen copies away and are always buying more. There is real knowledge here, a glimpse into a way of life almost vanished. Don't get hung up on the chronology of events or issues with the author's personal life. Suspend disbelief and take this journey. You may pass your own copy of Little Tree along as a treasured gift but the story will remain with you, always living in your affection.

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Summary: Heart-warming? Ha!
Review: I hated it! As it was a required book for my English class, I had to read through all agonizing 216 pages. The plot was amazingly random and I felt sickened by the 'dialect' used throughout the book. I also feel it completely inappropriate for a five-year-old to be swearing in that great a volume. The ending was the most mismatched series of ridiculous events I have ever read! If those events were ever to happen, they would happen over many years -maybe a lifetime- as opposed to the year or two alotted in the book. I hope never to read another book by Carter again

Rating:
Summary: excellently written and emotionally wonderful
Review: Even after having read the reviews that point to it as a false story, it doesn't change my mind about how I feel about the book. Perhaps they should change the "true story" for the next printing; I hope there will be many more done. No matter Carter's background though, it doesn't change the sensitive way he wrote the book that has touched so many lives so deeply. It was first given to me by my grandmother. She has passed it on to many others and I have also recommended it to friends and classmates; I will continue to rave about it

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Summary: Truly heart-warming and human, despite author "fake"
Review: I loved this book, a truly hearwarming story about the pain and joy of being human. I had no knowledge of the author's politics and racism until I read the other Amazon reviews. If the author truly is a KKKer, you can't guess it from the text, as he treats people from diverse backgrounds with gentleness and respect. Yes, I am troubled by the author's supposed background. Yes, I abhor the KKK, racism in any form, and the very idea that this author would claim that this work is autobiographical. But, this is a forum for a BOOK review, not a soap box to critique the life of authors. Get off your soap box, Paula. P.S. I'll bet this isn't the first time a book was written/ published for money!! What a silly,irrelevant point to make about this book.