Joseph Marshall III's the Dance House: Stories from Rosebud relates knowledgeable insight from the Sicangu Lakota Sioux's point of view, using everyday incidents as well as historical events. A Lakota Sioux historian who was raised on the Rosebud reservation, the author's simple yet harmonious language creates a memorable collection of eight short stories and five essays that present a truthful representation of Native Americans. Using the underlying theme that heritage is important to one's identity. Marshall is adamant in erasing the white man's barbaric, ignorant image of the Indian.

In the title story, after the tribe's dance house was ordered burned by the United States Government which seized the Black Hills land where the house stood, Jacob Little Thunder and others, outwitting the white "boss farmer" and defying the Dawes Act, build a house of happiness where the people of Grass Valley could come together to remember "the old days and traditional way."

Gus Pretty Crow, through his unwavering honesty, brought the demise of the haughty sheriff in "1965 Continental." One rainy night a stranger appears at Gus' door requesting mechanical help. When Gus recommends that the man wait until the next morning and call the local wrecker "that runs, sometimes," the stranger propositions him: "Sell me your [1950] truck and I'll give you that 1965 Lincoln Continental." After Gus explains that an Indian owning a new luxury vehicle would create problems for him, the stranger promises that just a phone call to him would fix any problem that would occur. Reluctantly Gus agrees to the transaction and soon after the harassment by the local sheriff begins.

Jon Marichale educates his grandfather during a reminiscent outing about the petrifaction process of a stone turtle the grandfather had discovered years before.

The Dance House is necessary reading for anyone who is interested in the truth about Native American culture, or simply enjoys gifted storytelling.

READ ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING BY THIS MAN YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON....HIS ESSAYS AND STORIES IN THIS COLLECTION ARE WELL WRITTEN AND EXCEPTIONALLY PROFOUND...THE ANSWERS TO A HARMONIOUS AND BALANCED LIFE LIE IN THESE PAGES....COME FIND THEM.

Lakota Sioux historian and novelist Marshall proves himself a triple threat with these powerful essays and short stories. As the subtitle suggests, the nine pieces collected here all deal with life on the author's home reservation of Rosebud, SD, and it is a credit to Marshall's ability as a storyteller that the fictional stories are nearly indistinguishable from the factual essays. Subject to changes brought in by Euro-American culture that surrounds it, Marshall's Rosebud is nevertheless a timeless place where the Sioux insist on maintaining their identity. Readers will be grateful to Marshall for building a dance house of the mind, one that draws on autobiography, nature writing, legend and the day-to-day adventures and misadventures of his own family and neighbors.

I think this book is a very useful guide for US stamps. The only thing that I was a little unhappy about with this book is I thought this would be the spiral bound copy like you see in the stores, but it is not. Otherwise this book is great! I use it to identify US stamps. It is much easier to use than a Scott Catalogue because under the picture of each stamp is a list of possible Scott numbers that the design corresponds with.

Great quick reference book (and cheaper than Scotts Catalogue)...but the spiral version has two big advantages in my mind

1) You can tear out the pages that you don't need to make the book smaller and easier to use. For example I remove the United Nations, 1st day cover, famous autographs, duck stamps, Canadian trust terrritory and postal stationary sections.

2) It is easier to use the book balanced on your knee while checking eBay or folded in half next to your Stamp Album.

Chief vs. Casino
I read Heart of a Chief. It is about a boy named Chris Nicloa. Chris is nervous because he is about to start his first day of middle school. Chris, to his surprise, becomes class leader and is very popular to the people in the school. He discovers that his town leaders have decided to place a casino on his island Penacock Indian Reservation. He decides to stand up for himself and class mates for what he believes in and to get the casino built somewhere off the island.
I think this a very good book because it shows someone with a lot of courage doing what he believes in. This book gives the mind encouragement in doing what's right. It makes you think anything is possible and worth trying. Chris is really bright and smart and does things that most people would be too scared to do. This is a heart-warming story that I think everyone can relate to in the end.

Joseph Bruchac presents a vivid and heart-warming story about the life of a contemporary Native American boy living between the wrenching descrimination and exploitation of his People and the beauty and peace of his home. I do not profess to know much about the Native American lifestyle, but I would trust any book Bruchac writes. His book has given me an authentic and sensitive picture of one boy's struggle to balance his heritage with the pressures of life on and off the reservation. I can now only imagine how this story is familiar to many people in the U.S. Beautifully written.

Dr. Sherry's unique humor and his insighful wit made this book a pleasure to read. It's obvious that Dr. Sherry is a man of values, courage, and spontaneity. I applaud Dr. Sherry for his efforts in really bringing to light the activism portrayed in the chronicle. While Sherry's other works were "farcicle," this one has all the makings of a gem.

My only concern is that this book is repetitive and obligatory at times. Dr. Sherry, you might want to be aware of this in future publications.

Excellent read on fascinating topic. Kudos to Mr. Sherry on writing a book that is academically rigorous yet accessible at the same time.

The 5-star review is entirely correct. Also gives descriptions of appearances at higher and lower elevations. The thinnish book is a bit large (9"x8") for a hiker to keep handy.Our Navajo guide in Canyon de Chelly only knew the Navajo names of the plants; this book gives Latin, common American, and Navajo names, with indices only for the first two.

This carefully produced book contains a wealth of information for those interested in plants used by the Navajo people in their everyday life on the Reservation and elsewhere. Fine color photographs are provided for the 100 plants, and outstanding black-and-white sketches are provided too. Medicinal, spiritual, and common domestic uses of each plant are listed. A good companion publication for those wanting to know more about what plants grow on the Navajo Reservation is NAVAJOLAND PLANT CATALOG, written by Vernon O. Mayes and James M. Rominger and published in 1994 by National Woodlands Publishing Company (e-mail address: nwpc@traverse.com)

Just briefly, I am an historian so perhaps I am not the general reader. But I found Rebecca Kugel's account of the Ojibwe (Chippewa) struggle to adapt to the rush of Euro-American settlement utterly absorbing. It makes the choices faced by Native Americans, and the factional divisions among themselves, clearer than anything else I've read.

I am impressed enough with the book that I intend to use it as a textbook in my college class next semester. We'll see if my Minnesota students are equally impressed.

This is one of the most compelling stories that I have read on the Indians experience with the Europeans. My son brought this home, it was one of his college books, and I could not put it down after I picked it up.

This picks up some characters from Alexie's earlier works: Thomas Builds-the-Fire and Victor Joseph. They were the main characters in Alexie's movie "Smoke Signals" were also in his collection of stories "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven." Now, they are the lead singer and guitar player in a would-be Indian rock and roll band. The story itself is fairly straightforward, but it is woven through with elements of mysticism, magic, and deals with the devil. I keep wondering how Alexie will translate this to the screen. Following simply the story line, there is plenty to show: humor, hope, despair, addiction, love, hate, racism, and of course the commercial music world. But then there are the characters and incidents which push the story into the "wooo-wooo" world. How did Victor suddenly gain the ability to play the guitar? Who is Big Mom and where does she get her powers? There are also a great many dream sequences, which I found getting old after a while. Alexie has written a number of poems/songs supposedly created by Thomas, and there is of course also the challenge of providing the music for the soundtrack. It will be interesting to see what makes it to the screen.Alexie's skill as a poet is evident all through this book, as is his wit.

Alexie's book about Coyote Springs all Indian band is contemporary and he does not lose any of the flavor of being "Indian" with his storytelling (so much like Thomas'). The humor, sadness, love, fame, groupies, experiences he depicts in this tale of the band members and Robert Johnson and how their lives become intertwined with the Spokane Indian Reservation is a masterpiece! I can't wait for the film and to find out who will play the characters! Keep writing, Sherman, because you have been making people like me laugh, cry and continue to be connected with other Indian people who have grown up on reservations to leave for a "better life" in the urban cities (S.F. Bay Area) but who always return "home" (Wind River Reservation, Wyoming).

The blues, unlike any other music I've ever heard, has the astonishing ability to yank your heart out of your chest while making you laugh at the same time. In his first full-length novel, Alexie brings that same quality to his story about five Indians and a rock and roll dream.

It's been said that there are two stories in the world: one, someone sets out on a journey, and two, a stranger knocks on the door. In "Reservation Blues", a stranger arrives on the Spokane Indian Reservation at the end of a long journey. The stranger turns out to be the legendary bluesman Robert Johnson, who made a scant 29 recordings before dying of poison in 1938. In the novel, it turns out that Johnson faked his death in an attempt to escape the "Gentleman", an enigmatic figure that anyone familiar with the Robert Johnson mythos will recognize.

Johnson leaves his guitar in the back of storyteller Thomas Builds-the-Fire's van, which sends the plot rolling through themes of identity, alienation, tragedy and redemption. All of this, with a liberal sprinkling of the deft comic twist that is a hallmark of Alexie's style, and of the blues itself.

Being a musician, or any kind of artist, requires sacrifice--whether it's not getting enough sleep because you have to get up for your day job no matter how late you played the night before, or making a choice that results in losing something you care deeply about for the sake of your art. "Reservation Blues" shows how well Alexie understands this, and how even failure can be turned into success.

I first heard of this book in a review journal put out by a science fiction/fantasy bookstore, but Alexie integrates the fantastic elements of his story far more deftly than most writers of fantastic fiction can manage. Although the construction of the story is non-linear, Alexie never loses track of the threads of the tale, and the result is a great read that I've enjoyed over and over again.

"On the Rez," by Ian Frazier, is a captivating book should you be interested in learning more about one interpretation of what life might be like on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Many do not understand what goes through the minds of many Native Americans on the "rez" as they are stereotyped as being poor, lazy and less than "civilized." In general, many can't see why these people can't seem to "get with the program." Frazier strives to give a different point of view through the insight he gains from his close friend of more than 20 years, Le War Lance, an Oglala Sioux native.

The book is almost like a journal of their adventures and time together but it is much more than that. It's about a friendship that lasts through triumphs and disappointments and seems to have thrived deeper throughout the years. It's also about a white man's view and interpretation on what he experiences when learning about this culture. If you go into the book understanding that this is not fact, but a good and genuine view of one man's view, you'll enjoy it. If not, you'll be biased.

Culture is difficult to understand if you don't live it. The Oglala Sioux have a much different culture than mainstream America and it's all relative to what is important to you. Just because Le War Lance sees things in one light does not mean that he is the spokesperson for all Native Americans, Sioux, Oglala Sioux or his own family. It is just his view, one human, which happens to coincide with others. I think that Frazier is mindful of this but it doesn't always seem implied.

I fail giving this book a full five stars because it is my opinion that Frazier mixes facts with a feel-good story toward the last third of the book when discussing the heartbreaking story of SuAnne Big Crow. It is an important part of the book but it is a little longer than necessary to achieve what he wanted to say. However, it does denote how important her story is to him in his vision of the Oglala Sioux. While the scenarios of SuAnne are great recollections put together from his interviews, I get the impression that she is put too high up on a pedastal as a great warrior when she doesn't necessarily have to be. However, I also think that I am observant enough to know that it is a very human trait and quite a normal phenomenon among all cultures. We all need our heroes to put up on a pedastal. So, I'll not sit here and say it is right or wrong. It is a touching story, but I wonder how much is manufactured versus realistic. Regardless, I did enjoy it and it does have much merit.

Again, I recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down. I gained some insight from it and what's most important to me is that it had me wanting to learn even more about various Native American tribal cultures and experiences. I have since purchased more books and am swamped with reading material. Perhaps I'll write a book of my own some day based upon my research and discuss the proud Mandan tribe (Sioux) that a mother-in-law of mine is 100% native. Do yourself a favor, check it out!

I have read quite a bit of Native American history, but very little on contemporary Native Americans. This book filled that gap splendidly, particularly insofar as the Oglala Sioux are concerned. Ian Frazier is a wonderful author. His easy to read, conversational style reminds me a lot of John McPhee. Like McPhee, he has researched his topic thoroughly. His time spent on the Pine Ridge reservation and his intimate friendship with several tribal members allows the reader to experience a perspective that few writers could achieve. He lays out his topic in unvarnished terms. Native Americans face an extraordinarily unique set of problems to which no other ethnic group can lay claim. The picture can be dark and somber, but Frazier also manages to instill a sense of history, nobility and pride that can cut through the gloom. He conveys his fascination with the Sioux people and their struggle in an infectious and involving manner. Very highly recommended.

I admit I came to Ian Frazier's "On the Rez" hoping it would be more like "On the Road," that is, a 300-page story of drunken chaos and ripe descriptions of decadence. But Frazier's respectful historical review of how Indians have shaped our lives and their continued desecration at the hands of a well-meaning but ineffectual government gave me a renewed sense of wonder about these people. Like Frazier did as a child, we all share the belief of Indians as these mystical, spiritual folks saying things like "You are very wise, Little Flower." What Frazier does instead is take us inside the Oglala Sioux reservation--really an internment camp--and shares his journey amongh the families and stories and daily life he encounters there.

Now, one wonders what Frazier was looking for when he set out on this years-long journey. Friendship? Kinship? Closeness with other men? I was confounded by his repeated attempts to ally himself with his Indian friends, particularly Le War Lance (a/k/a Leonard Thomas Walks Out--some Indians really do have cool last names just like we imagined as children). Le provides a narrative focus for the book, and we see him at his drifting, alcoholic worst throughout. He and his brother, Floyd John, spend their days doing things like travelling a hundred miles to find a spare part for their car, then spending the rest of the day tinkering with it and drinking Budweiser. One of the funniest scenes in the book is when Frazier, driving Le and Floyd John to a propane storage facility on some godforsaken errand, almost gets blown to bits when something goes wrong near one of the immense tanks. Le and Floyd John get so joyfully wrapped up in this--chattering endlessly on the long drive home--that Frazier is moved to note that he's never seen them so happy.

Although Frazier is careful to avoid the stereotypes propagated by the media that modern Indian life is bleak, one can't help but feel the bleakness, boredom and sense of hopelessness reservations can inflict on their young. The rez is just a ghetto in the great outdoors, with all the problems facing urban ghettos today--high crime, drug use, alocoholism, unemployment, and the horrific sense of lazy entitlement that comes when generations of people depend on government intervention and provision.

After spending days and countless dollars on the likes of Le and Floyd John--Frazier readily hands the fellas money like a cuddly, human ATM--the book finds its hero. Her name is Sue Ann Big Crow, a high school freshman who's the shining star for the Oglala tribe. She's bright, articulate, funny, a friend to all and a brilliant, daring athlete. In other words, you know she's doomed from the moment you meet her. Frazier takes us through her short, strong life and wonderfully wrenches every emotion from the story of this hopeful girl and her supportive family. Thanks to Frazier, Sue Ann is a hero for the ages. And when we finally re-hookup with Le, the man seems bitter and irrelevant, going so far as to telling Frazier that Sue Ann is a phony. We don't believe a word of this. (In fact, Le's own niece disclaims the story as bull.)

I liked Frazier's style of writing--it's clear, thoughtful, funny when the situation calls for it--and I can say that, beyond learning about Le, Sue Ann, Floyd John and the rest, Frazier excellently shed light on the permeating influence of Indian culture on our society. Frazier even goes so far as to expose himself as a fussbudget, when Le drops by his home for the first and only time, unnanounced, and sets Frazier and his cute kids into a dazed tizzy. Le's drunken, sloppy intrusion into Frazier's neat world is palpable and memorable. Like the book itself.

Officer Bernadette Manuelito had become a full-fledged member of Tony Hillerman's cast of characters, allowing us to see events through her eyes as well as those of Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn and expanding the range of emotions and insights to be explored. The story of "The Wailing Woman" is not terribly complex -- a white man has been found shot to death on the Navajo reservation and circumstances tie the crime to an older unsolved mystery: why did the beautiful young wife of a wealthy local oil man disappear at the same time her husband killed a conman who was trying to cheat him over information about a long-lost fabled gold mine? It was a mystery which troubled Leaphorn even in retirement, and he cannot resist the opportunity to again try to find the answer.

This novel does not delve so deep into Indian religion and culture as some of Hillerman's books, but as usual his characters are complex and subtle. And, as has been the case with most of the novels in this series for several years, the personal stories of his characters evolve a little further.

Tony Hillerman is back in form with The Wailing Wind. As with most Hillerman mysteries, this book follows the same formula. First, a crime has occurred on Native American lands due to the exploitation of Native American resources. Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn again work together to solve a crime, although they seem to be less adversarial with each book. Both characters have budding romantic interests, although things are still unresolved at the end. Ineffective FBI agents still try to wrestle control of criminal investigations from the Tribal Police. And the Tribal Police still try to do their jobs within the parameters of their Indian (mostly Navajo) beliefs. Hillerman's mysteries are fascinating in that they educate the reader about Native American cultures, lands, life on the reservation, religious beliefs and a host of other topics. However, I would recommend that a reader new to Hillerman skip this book for now, and start with his earliest mysteries which give more background into Native American beliefs and vocabulary. It will also be helpful in that the personal lives of his characters continue to develop in each novel. Still, The Wailing Wind is an entertaining mystery for Hillerman fans and I found it much better than his last effort.

'The Wailing Wind' by Tony Hillerman, Copyright 2002, Harper Audio Books, 4 Cassettes, read by George Guidall.

Tony Hillerman has reached a new pinnacle in his writing, as he deals with three distinct protagonists in this murder mystery. There is the 'old hand', the legendary Lieutant Leaphorn (sort of retired), the up and coming middle manager in Jim Chee and the 'rookie' in Officer Bernadette Manuelito. Each of them plays a significant part in the solving of the mystery of the missing wife, Linda Denton.

The central mystery, however, is the missing 'Golden Calf' mine, sought for years by the gruff and somewhat eccentric millionaire, Wiley Denton. The book opens with Officer Manuelito discovering a dead body in the cab of a pick-up truck. It is obvious that the murder did not occur at the truck's location, and Officer Bernadette is in trouble with the FBI (it is a new agent this time) for disturbing the crime scene. Manuelito is 'suspended' and she spends that time tracking down the place where the crime actually took place ... which is probably the location of the 'Golden Calf'.

Tony Hillerman has all three characters contributing to the solution of the murder, the 'Golden Calf' and to the discovery of the missing wife, Linda Denton. Early on, you get an inkling of what happened to Mrs. Denton, and as you progress through the book, your worst fears are confirmed. But, even as you go along, you say 'Oh no! Hillerman would never write that! It is too horrible.'

Again, George Guidall displays excellent characterization, with his voice rising and falling as required by the wide range of characters. This book helped immensely as I commuted on I-495, the ring road around Boston.

Jeff Benedict's book has touched a raw nerve. The "average customer review" of 3-1/2 stars masks individual reviewer ratings, which are almost entirely 5 stars versus 1 star, depending on where readers stand on the highly emotional issue of tribal recognition and Indian casinos.

This book rasies some serious flaws in the recognition process that supporters of the Mashantucket Tribe would rather not have come to light. Indeed, there are already calls for a Congressional investigation as a result of Benedict's expose. No wonder some folks rate this book only one star.

On the other hand, residents of the host towns surrounding the Mashantucket Pequot reservation (where this book is a best seller) who have confronted first hand the issues Benedict describes, give the book Amazon's highest five star rating.

The book reads like a novel but it is by no means fiction. The people Benedict writes about are real and so are the events. This book is essential reading for people throughout the United States whose communities face the prospect of Indian casinos or tribal recognition.

In his well written and well researched book "Without Reservation," author Jeff Benedict traces the history of the formation and rise to tremendous wealth of the "modern day" Western Mashantucket Pequot "Indian" tribe of southeastern Connecticut. It is the incredible story of a fraud perpetrated upon the taxpayers of our nation. It is the story of how state and federal government officials were duped into believing that a handful of ordinary citizens were the remnants of the ancient Pequot Indian tribe. It is a story of opportunism, greed, and abuse of astronomical proportions. A flawed system designed to help poor tribal members of American Indian tribes is cleverly manipulated to serve a handful of opportunistic and undeserving people. After reading the book, two adjectives come immediately to mind: "astonishing" and "outrageous." A more perfect example of the insanity that is today's Federal Indian Policy cannot be imagined.

Attorney Tom Tureen had masterminded Indian land claims against several New England states based on their alleged violations of federal statutes known as the Trade & Intercourse Acts. Among other things, the Acts forbid the purchase of Indian lands without federal approval, but the applicability of the Acts within the 13 original colonies was and is an ongoing unsettled controversy. Under the direction of attorney Tureen, a handful of relatives of the last surviving resident of the 200 acre Pequot reservation, Elizabeth George, decide to form the new tribe in order to join the land claim litigation. To accomplish this "They needed to come together and start acting like a tribe," and "most importantly, the group had to establish residency on the reservation," writes Benedict. Regardless of the fact that tribal membership was completely foreign to them and that they knew little or nothing about the culture or history of the Pequots, the group proceeded with its charade. Elizabeth George however, the one person upon which the tribe was basing its ancestry, had only a faint connection to Indian ancestry, but to the Narragansett Indians and not the Western Pequots asserts Benedict.

The newly manufactured "tribe," with the help of Tureen and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), files a land claim against the state of Connecticut and wins their claim by forcing an out of court settlement. Tureen is quoted in the book as describing these Indian land claims as "something we made up" and were based on "an utterly untested theory." Tureen states, "If the Supreme Court ever tested the issue, it would say that the Nonintercourse Act did not apply to any of these tribes. So settlement was critically important to our strategy in all of these cases." Incredibly, against the protestations of the Bureau of Indian Affairs(BIA), Congress ratifies the Pequot land claim settlement without knowing whether or not the people claiming to be the Western Mashantucket Pequot tribe are indeed the genuine descendants of the historic tribe, since the "tribe" had thus far successfully avoided the BIA's tribal recognition process. The settlement awards the "Pequots" $900,000 and allows them to expand their reservation to some 2,000 acres. The tribe then proceeds down a road leading from high stakes bingo to the riches of their Foxwoods casino - all made possible by the special laws, perks, and privileges created for Indian tribes by federal Indian policy.

Benedict's book is extremely important in that it reveals a controversy regarding an alleged fraud of monumental proportions that demands a just solution. The good news is that Benedict's allegations are readily verifiable. Television news program "60 Minutes" is reportedly in the process of taping a segment on Benedict's book and the municipalities surrounding the Pequot reservation and its Foxwoods casino are calling for a congressional investigation into the allegations brought forward in "Without Reservation." A forthcoming solution may well prove disastrous for the "Western Mashantucket Pequots."

"Without Reservation: The Making of America's Most Powerful Indian Tribe and Foxwoods, the World's Largest Casino" by Jeff Benedict is an absorbing portrait of an extraordinary phenomenon - the emergence from obscurity within the past three decades of the Mashantucket Pequot Indian tribe and their rapid climb to unparalleled wealth through their Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut. I am sure that many people view these events as a particularly gratifying example of a "rags to riches" story, given the justifiable sympathy now widely felt towards Native Americans after centuries of betrayal and injustice. However, as someone who has spent most of his adult life as a resident of southeastern Connecticut and who is personally acquainted with some of the people discussed in Benedict's book, I have been long aware that the story of the Pequots and their casino is more complex and perhaps less inspirational than might appear at first glance.

"Without Reservation" raises serious questions about whether the Mashantucket Pequots are who they claim to be, a legitimate tribe of Native Americans. Simply put, are they instead merely opportunists claiming an Indian identity to fraudulently cash in on laws and programs intended to help genuine Native Americans? Some historic tribes in the East after centuries of intermarriage with persons of European and/or African descent and through acculturation with the white society have ceased to exist. According to Benedict's research, Richard "Skip" Hayward, the leader who formulated and led the supposed resurrection of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe in the 1970's, has no traceable Pequot ancestry at all. Benedict contends that Hayward's entire Indian descent comes solely through his great-great-grandfather, a man who identified himself not as a Pequot, but as a Narragansett (ironically, the Narragansetts were one of the tribes who allied themselves with the English during the 17th Century war which destroyed the power of the original Pequot tribe). Records indicate that Hayward had consistently identified himself as being "white" until the mid-1970's when it suddenly became advantageous to claim he was a Native American to gain possession of the small "Western Pequot" reservation maintained by the State of Connecticut and to pursue a legal claim against neighboring properties. Benedict further asserts that the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, when granted Federal recognition by a special Act of Congress in 19XX, would have been wholly unable to meet the Bureau of Indian Affairs requirements for such Federal recognition. In his view, many people, sincere in their desire to help Native Americans obtain financial and cultural security, were deceived into supporting a fraudulent cause and unintentionally allowed a small group of imposters to gain extraordinary power by operating a gambling casino shielded from taxation and state regulation. The enormous quantity of dollars flowing through Foxwoods Casino has radically altered the economic structure of the region, for good or ill, and has given the Mashantuckets enormous clout through their frequent and heavy contributions to political parties and elected officials.

Hayward as presented in Benedict's book is a fascinating paradox. Is he a charismatic visionary who followed his dream to skillfully lead his people into wealth and independence, or is he a deceptive manipulator who lied and cheated nearly everyone en route to personal riches and influence? The answer supplied by Benedict's book seems to be that Hayward is both. "Without Reservation" does not stop with Skip Hayward's climb to wealth and power, but continues on through his subsequent fall from tribal leadership, overthrown by other Mashantuckets whose claim of Pequot identity is as suspect as that of Hayward himself. The picture which Benedict paints is one of naked greed and arrogance rising to the top.

I am certain that some people will dismiss Benedict's book as being "anti-Indian", but that is not the case. His contention is that the Mashantucket Pequots are simply not an Indian tribe in any genuine sense of the term, and that they have taken advantage of and have perverted situations created for the benefit of actual Native American peoples. I am equally certain that his claims will be vigorously denounced by the Mashantuckets, and I eagerly look forward to seeing what evidence, if any, can be produced to counter Benedict's arguments.

Jeff Benedict has written a book which tells a compelling story, although undoubtedly it will not be the final word on the subject. It is a story skillfully told in a gripping narrative which vividly depicts the actors in the drama: the Mashantuckets, the politicians, the ordinary citizens who woke up to find the world's largest casino springing to life in their rural community, and of course the ever-present lawyers, eager to distort and shade the truth in their roles of advocates (or in their chase of the big bucks).