Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull
"Sitting Bull, leader of the largest Indian nation on the continent, the strongest, boldest, most stubborn opponent of European influence, was the very heart and soul of the frontier. When the true history of the New World is written, he will receive his chapter. For Sitting Bull was one of the makers of America." --Stanley Vestal One night, long ago, Tatanka Iyotanka--Sitting Bull--stepped into the faint light of a kerosene lantern. Jerome Stillson of the New York Herald looked into the eyes of the world's most famous American Indian--and living mystery. "Your face is dark," Stillson told him. "My people do not see it." What Stillson said remains true to this day. Sitting Bull's name is still the best known of any American Indian leader, but his life and legacy remain shrouded with misinformation and half-truths. Sitting Bull's life spanned the entire clash of cultures and ultimate destruction of the Plains Indian way of life. He was a powerful leader and a respected shaman, but neither fully captures the enigma of Sitting Bull. He was a good friend of Buffalo Bill and skillful negotiator with the American government, yet erroneously credited with both murdering Custer at the Little Big Horn and with being the chief instigator of the Ghost Dance movement. The reality of his life, as Bill Yenne reveals in his absorbing new portrait, Sitting Bull, is far more intricate and compelling. Tracing Sitting Bull's history from a headstrong youth and his first contact with encroaching settlers, through his ascension as the spiritual and military leader of the Lakota, friendship with a Swiss-American widow from New York, and death at the hands of the Indian police on the eve of the massacre at Wounded Knee, Yenne scoured rare contemporary records and consulted Sitting Bull's own "Hieroglyphic Autobiography" in the course of his research. While Sitting Bull was the leading figure of Plains Indian resistance his message, as Yenne explains, was of self-reliance, not violence. At the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull was not confronting Custer as popular myth would have it, but riding through the Lakota camp making sure the most defenseless of his tribe--the children--were safe. In Sitting Bull we find a man who, in the face of an uncertain future, helped ensure the survival of his people. Amazon.com Review From Publishers Weekly Review A Good Book That Needed A Proofreader Very good content - poorly published No really new information.Product Details
Editorial Reviews
Amazon Significant Seven, April 2008: As a celebrated warrior, shaman, and leader of the Lakota tribe, Sitting Bull was both a fascinating and frightening icon to the expanding United States, a 19th-century cross-cultural superstar who was at once a friend to Buffalo Bill and the emblem of Native American resistance in the face of the westward settlement. In Sitting Bull, Bill Yenne has produced a fascinating and exhaustively researched biography, drawing from contemporary sources as well as the iconic leader's own "Hieroglyphic Autobiography" (a series of pictographs depicting pivotal events in his life) to create an informal and relaxed account that still packs an amazing amount of detail. Recounting the exploits of the budding warrior known as Jumping Badger, his misunderstood role in the Battle of Little Big Horn, and his death on the eve of the massacre at Wounded Knee, Sitting Bull cuts through legend to place the Lakota leader square into his own cultural context, spurning the usual wasichu filters or biases. --Jon Foro
Starred Review. In this stirring biography, Yenne, author of numerous books on the history of the American West (Indian Wars, On the Trail of Lewis and Clark, etc.), captures the extraordinary life of Plains Indian leader Sitting Bull while providing new insight into the nomadic culture of the Lakota. Born in 1831, Sitting Bull witnessed the downfall of his people's way of life nearly from start to finish-despite some clashes, "the Lakota supremacy on the northern Plains remained essentially unchallenged" until the 1850s. Yenne describes how hostilities increased after the 1849 California gold rush, and were exacerbated by the opening of the railroad; conflicts and broken treaties would harden many Lakota against the colonists, including Sitting Bull. A high point is Yenne's account of how celebrity journalism created the myth of Custer's Last Stand, casting the general as hero and Sitting Bull as the villain, and how the US cavalry's defeat was used to justify forcing Indians off their land and onto reservations. The last half of the book describes Sitting Bull's unsuccessful attempts to defend the Lakota's land and culture through negotiation and peaceful resistance, alongside a dismal record of government betrayal and neglect. In this remarkable, tragic portrait, Sitting Bull emerges as a thoughtful, passionate and very human figure. 60 illustrations.
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"Stirring . . . . Yenne captures the extraordinary life of Sitting Bull while providing new insight . . . . In this remarkable, tragic portrait, Sitting Bull emerges as a thoughtful, passionate and very human figure." -- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)Customer Reviews
I enjoyed this effort by author Bill Yenne on the life of Sitting Bull. However, as others have stated, typographical errors abound throughout the book. As an example I found the word "contingent" spelled "continent" twice. The part that was new, at least to me, was the section relating to Buffalo Bill Cody's attempt to meet with Sitting Bull during the ghost dance craze in December of 1890. Sitting Bull took part in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and Nelson Miles requested Cody's assistance in talking with Sitting Bull and gave him the authority to meet with him at the Standing Rock agency. James McLaughlin made up the excuse that Cody's life may be in danger if he be permitted to meet with Sitting Bull. McLaughlin felt insulted to think a non-military man such as Cody be permitted to intervene. Perhaps things would have turned out differently had Cody met with Sitting Bull who was made to be the scapegoat for the ghost dancing. Sitting Bull may not have been killed on December 15th of 1890, and the massacre at Wounded Knee may not have taken place on the 29th of December. I found the part on the burial of Sitting Bull's remains to be interesting, and the maps and photos were helpful. However, those annoying typographical errors throughout the book has to knock it down a notch.
The critic's review of this book is right on: the book is well researched and written. The maps and photographs were much appreciated.
However, I found the abundance of typographical errors absolutely maddening. It's not unusual to find one, perhaps two type-set errors in any book, but the number of misspelled words and mangled sentences here was ridiculous. Not only are typos a discredit to the author's hard work, but they disrupt the flow of reading. As a reader, I want to interpret the author's sentence, not the typesetters mistakes.
While I recommend this book for content, I suggest waiting for a second print run which will hopefully correct the too numerous errors. As someone who enjoys collecting hard bound books for my library and supporting an author by paying the hard bound price, I was very disappointed that a book retailing at $30.00 was so poorly printed.
Was not impressed. Seemed to be repeating what every other writer said about Sitting Bull.
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