This is an awesome book that is well written and an excellent guidebook for the outdoorsman. The photographs are outstanding. The trail maps are very helpful.

This book is one of the best books ever written. It is very easy to read and there are many illustrations to help understand. I really enjoyed this book then I'm planning to give a present to my nephew. If you think you are a biker, Hiram's book is a must. Thanks.

Great reference for someone new to BH. Includes topo maps and clear directions on how to get to the trails. Also has good writeups on each area, with details on the specific trail to follow. When checking ratings, keep in mind these are experienced hikers... you may have a hard time if you're new or out of shape. I take it with me every time I head out.

Descriptive words of Ghost Dancing, joined with the timeless wisdom contained in the words of Native America. Couple this with the paintings of JD Challenger and you have an opportunity to not read about but really feel. This is not a book just narrating the past but speaks volumes to the future. This book called to me from the library shelf and I have ordered to place in a prominent place on my shelf. This is a book to share with others and come back to often.

JD challengers work was the first original art that I have purchased. When I saw his work in a gallery in Santa Fe, I was mesmorized by the character of his subjects. Ghost Dancing provides a good overview of many of his prints that are available.

The text of this book is extremely informative on the Ghost Dance Religion of Native Americans. It covers the origins of the religion, its climax and the results thereof. Adding to this educational context is the Beautifully compelling work of artist JD Challenger. His riviting paintings jump from the pages virtually reaching out from the book and pulling you in. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about Native Americans and most assuredly to anyone who loves art that emits emtional impact. I constantly go back to this book as a source of inspiration and to gain understanding of Native American's plight.

I have read several books about the Sioux Wars so i wasnt really sure i wanted to read another one, but Mr Robinson's book is fantastic.He writes taking in consideration that the reader doesnt know anything about the topic so he explains with good accuracy terms and places like no other author. The author is bold and right on the money when it comes to point a finger at somebody, like for example the stupidity of the Army officers.I found that the interviews and research the author made for this book are very good, especially from the indians perspective.The only thing i didnt like is the fact that Mr Robinson doesnt go into details when it comes to Crazy Horse.I would have loved to read more about Crazy Horse part in this Wars.Otherwise this is an excelente book!

This is by far the best book on the Army's conflict with Native Americans since "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee". It treats the material as a campaign rather than a series of seperate battles, so that Little Big Horn is treated as part of a whole. The author also describes the personalities and deeds of several Indian characters, not just Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. This is an eye-opening recounting of an important part of US history and a look at one of the greatest guerilla forces ever to wage war against the American Army.

Rather than concentrate on one battle or campaign, Robinson sets the stage for the reader to follow the movement of all the actors playing a role in the drama across the seasons of the war. I used this book as an orientation to the conflicts of 1876 prior to a trip to Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas to visit battle sites while on vacation. My trip was greatly enriched by reading this volume first. You can find more concentrated studies of particular engagements and the biographies of the participants that will offer deeper insights into the war, but for one overall narrative that provides the reader with the flavor of the contemporary army and Indian experience, here's my choice.

Gary C. Anderson is an expert on Dakota/Sioux history. His doctoral dissertation, published under the title "Kinsmen of Another Kind," discussed Dakota/White relations from the 17th to the 19th century. In "Through Dakota Eyes," Anderson collected dozens of Indian narratives concerning the 1862 Dakota uprising in Southeastern Minnesota. This book, "Little Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux," finds Anderson delving deep into the archives in order to present a better picture of that enigmatic Dakota chief Taoyateduta, known to history as Little Crow.

The main thesis of Anderson's "Kinsmen of Another Kind" was the importance of kinship ties within the Dakota tribes as well as with outsiders. Traders formed kinship ties with the Dakota because the ties allowed the traders to use the Dakotas to gather furs for them. Dakotas benefited from kinship ties because the ties involved gift giving. Whites had to give gifts to the Dakotas if they wanted to maintain trade and relations. As more and more whites moved into the region, kinship ties slowly disintegrated because whites no longer needed to deal with the Dakotas on an equal basis. It is important to understand these kinship ties when reading "Little Crow," as Anderson again makes these relationships central to his study.

Anderson begins his biographical analysis of Little Crow with an overview of Dakota culture. According to Anderson, it is impossible to understand anything about Little Crow's life and actions unless we understand his cultural underpinnings. Anderson discusses hunting, gift giving, medicine sacks and medicine societies, Dakota religion, and the role of a chief in Dakota society (chiefs, according to Anderson, held little actual power over the warriors; it was the position of speaker that held greater power, something Little Crow found out when he led the Dakota warriors during the 1862 uprising).

Little Crow's life is truly fascinating. Anderson discusses in great depth the role of Little Crow's grandfather and father in their relations with the Americans at Fort Snelling. Little Crow's grandfather and father took an accommodationist stance towards white encroachment on Dakota lands, trying to toe the fine line between keeping the Dakota people happy while dealing with the whites. Anderson argues that Little Crow, despite the bad reputation he earned due to the uprising, was an accommodationist just like his father and grandfather. Time and time again, Little Crow worked with the white Indian agents and soldiers to try and benefit his people. Little Crow was intimately involved in signing several treaties with the government, worked hard to placate the government after the Inkpaduta affair of 1857, and tried to prevent war in 1862. That Little Crow failed in his dealings with the government and failed to stop the uprising is certainly a tragedy, but should not overshadow his attempts to do the right thing for his people. Ultimately, no Dakota leader could have prevented the coming doom.

Little Crow is best known for the destructive war against whites in 1862. Anderson covers the war and its aftermath in succinct detail. Actually, this may be the best account of the war I have read. Anderson discusses Little Crow's failure to successfully organize his warriors, his failure to gain support with mixed-blood and Upper Agency Indians, and his failure to form an Indian alliance during his exile in North Dakota and Canada. When Little Crow returned to Minnesota in 1863, he knew his time was short. Little Crow died from a gunshot wound while picking berries with his son. Little Crow's remains, horribly mutilated by angry whites, ended up on display at the Minnesota Historical Society until the 1970's, when they were finally given a proper burial.

Anderson claims that Little Crow was an opportunist, a scheming sort of politician who always helped out because he wanted to elevate his own position within Dakota society. Anderson cites as evidence newspaper interviews with Little Crow which revealed Little Crow's propensity for pithy statements and his need for constant attention. That Little Crow had a knack for oratory should come as no surprise; he was a chief, and chiefs constantly debated issues with other leaders in the tribe. But is Little Crow a politician? I don't think so, at least not in the way we perceive the term. Is it possible that newspaper and other white accounts of the time framed Little Crow in terms whites understood? After all, documents show that many whites had no real conception about the true nature of Indians in the 19th century. White relations with Indians were based on a fundamental set of assumptions, most of them racist and false. To paint Little Crow as a sort of Huey Long type teeters dangerously close to error. After all, Dakota culture emphasized communitarian values, not the sort of individualistic elevation Anderson says Little Crow sought.

Anderson ends the book with an appendix discussing Little Crow's genealogy. This section is the most difficult part of the book due to the intricate relationships within Indian families and tribes. Terms like "father" and "cousin" do not carry the same connotation in Indian culture as they do in ours. A father's brothers can all be "fathers" to an Indian, and "cousins" are even more convoluted. A genealogical chart of Little Crow's family at the back of the book makes a medieval royal house look like a nuclear family. These genealogies are necessary to back up Anderson's claim that kinship is central to tribal life.

This is a scholarly book that manages to entertain while it teaches. It is definitely a must have for those seeking a deeper understanding of the Dakota tribes, or for those interested in the Minnesota uprising of 1862. If you don't come away with some sense of admiration for Little Crow, despite his failures, you did not read the same book I did.

Little Crow, Spokesman For the Sioux is a reissuing of a well-researched biography of the famous Mdewakanton chief from Kaposia (Minnesota), presented complete with period drawings, illustrations, and maps as well as an exhaustive genealogy of Little Crow (Appendix 2) which helps to explain his complicated series of alliances and growth to power. Little Crow, or Ta-o-ya-te-du-ta is presented as a reluctant war leader and a persistent accommodater, politician and tribal spokesman, a position earned partly by blood and good alliances and partly by sacrifice and risk. The Mdewakanton's experience of betrayal, disillusionment, cultural displacement and dissolution in the war of 1862 is central to the life experience of Little Crow. His death is presented as a metaphor for his life and that of his people. In "The Last Campaign" it is asked why Little crow returned to the Minnesota Frontier in September of 1862, where it was almost certain that he would be killed. Though he spoke of obtaining a horse for each of his children, it seems more plausible that he willingly headed towards his death as a deliberate sacrifice, being blamed for the war by both whites and Mdewakanton Sioux.

This is the tragedy of Little Crow's life.

Faithful to the conclusions suggested by his richly varied sources, Anderson presents a realistic yet compassionate portrayal of a great Mdewakanton chief. This is a scholarly work that reads smoothly and gives good tapestry detail. Colored plates of paintings enrich the text.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

I live in the city of Hutchinson, MN in McLeod County. Six miles north of this city is a marker identifying the site where Little Crow was shot by a local farmer. The farmer had no idea who he was shooting at, just that it was an Indian and he would collect a bounty for his scalp.

Our city has a bronze statue of Little Crow looking out over the Crow River near the dam on the Main Street. Up until the time that I read this book, that summed up most of what I knew of Little Crow, the Sioux legend. We choose to drop the name Sioux that was given this people by our own ancestors, the Ojibwe. In our language it means "Snake". Their word for themselves is Dakota. It means "Friend".

Now I feel as though I know him as a man. I know of his character, his integrity, his family, his people. I know a great wrong was done.

At the present time there is a group of people involved in planning and hosting a reconciliation and restitution concerning the events that touched this city in regards to Taoyateduta (Little Crow) and his people. A direct descendant of Taoyateduta (meaning His Red Nation) and a direct descendant of the man who shot him will be part of the event, asking forgiveness of one another. It is never too late to say, "I'm sorry. Will you forgive?"

This book has been instrumental in opening the door to the healing of this ancient wound that is still alive in many hearts.

Originally published under the title 'Apartments for the Affluent,' this book is aimed at a very narrow audience indeed. Alpern takes us through 75 luxury Manhattan apartment houses in chronological order, from 1869 to 1974. Each building has a full-page b&w photograph, a diagram of a typical floor plan, and a quarter-page-or-so description. Alpern explains the reasoning behind the various room arrangements, and how that reasoning evolved over the years. I enjoyed this book immensely, but it's not for everyone. If you ever walked by an older high-rise apartment building and wondered how the rooms were arranged and why, this slender volume will fascinate you. Otherwise, you may prefer a book that's a more general survey of the topic (including some by the same author).

Finally I got a hold of this book! Great floor plans; but as usual, I would have liked more interior pics (hardly any).

This book provides excellent descriptions and floor plans of many of New York's finest apartments. It proved to be a great guide book on a recent trip to the city.

I was so impressed with this book - it struck so close to home - that I could not read it all at once. Like Mohatt, I lived with these people, I Sundanced with Joe Eagle Elk's father, ceremonied, got drunk, into trouble & rose again to help people. Mohatt's text is so close to the actual truth of the conditions on the reservation it literally scared me. That's why I had to stop reading from time to time. The Price of a Gift is the equal of Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions, which is one of the great books about Lakota spirituality.

This is a remarkable work that honors the true voice of a Lakota medicine man and the voices of his people. Mohatt's labor is not to analyze or interpret so much as present an experience which can only begin to be appreciated or understood when the suffering, missteps, fears, and clowning of the healer are shown along with their transcendence. Eagle Elk was an ordinary man who resisted but finally gave himself over to his calling. There are many books that romanticize tokens of Native cultures or presume to make use of them; this is not that sort of book. Like Fadiman's, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, this is a work of great reverence.

The story of Joseph Eagle Elk, Lakota Healer (1931-91), as told to Gerald Mohatt, cross-cultural psychologist, is simply and beautifully told.The effect of many mirrors of the gift of Joseph Eagle Elk derives in part from testimonials by people who he knew and helped to heal themselves. The sacrifice, persecution, and exhausting , demanding life of the traditional Lakota healer are fully portrayed. But the beauty that sings through in Price of a Gift is undeniable. Just to read such a book, just to know such a person lived and touched others, is profound and impacting in itself. An awareness of the core value of our lives radiates through the stories of the life of Eagle Elk. It is impossible to avoid the basic message of this book, with all its humble compassion. Without distortion, greed, evil, or pettiness, the matter of spiritual healing both as duty and joy is its glorious burden. Black Elk's vision included an awareness that the Lakota legacy would include an intrument of healing. The Price Of A Gift is evidence of that legacy. What a gift it is, to us all.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

I enjoyed reading this book. It gave me an indepth insight into the world of Native American spirituality. I especially liked the way Win Blevins shifted from the present to the past. He didn't make you confused by the shift. There was a lot of information about the massacre at Wounded Knee that I didn't even know. Imagine being a Lakota and not knowing much about your ancestors. That was Joseph Blue Crow. He didn't know anything about his ancestors or why Wounded Knee was so difficult to be near. When he finally understood where his family came from, and how what happened to them at Wounded Knee, he was able to overcome the problem with alcoholism. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Native American history and ways. I rate it at 5 stars.

This is a wonderfully rich story, a personal journey that everyone will be able to relate to. I couldn't put it down.

The American Indian perspective, mystically set out in the eyes of a contemporary, educated Native American. The author uses impartial and even handed brush strokes to describe the war within the man and the richness of the red road vs. the poverty of the reservation, and the nearly impossible campaign for balance. The struggles and lapses are well chronicled, as are the historical references. Glimpses of humor, and thoughtful and deliberate weaving of facts, make this a bit more than just a novel. Thought provoking and intense, this reader was enriched by the experience.

This was without a doubt the best book I've ever read. I could not put this book down and read it in one day. The book is very descriptive and well written. I highly recommend this book.

I first read this book a number of years ago. I've re-read it now, about five times. It never fails to break my heart.

I have been reading loads of books on Indians and whites. Lots of them I enjoy. This one I could not put down. I ordered all of Manfred's other books - those that I could - since they are hard to get. You will not regret this book. I recommend it highly! And actually, I hate this day and age --- I would have been much happier as Judith. Carol King - not the singer - East Fallowfield, Pa.

I am the son of Ike Blasingame the author. This is not a fiction book. Every event and place are true. On the map all the creeks and places are in their correct places as well as the tributaries which run into the Moreau River, and Missouri River. There are 3 million acres of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation leased by the Matador Land & Cattle Co. of Texas who then sub leased to 10 other New Mexico and Texas cattle ranches, all having seperate brands, (like L7, Turkey Track, and DZ). Chief Sitting Bull died in 1899 but Ike Blasingame bought horse from Sitting Bull's brothers, One Bull and Lone Bull.

Ray Blasingame - Paisley, OR

Dakota Cowboy is an excellent and authentic depiction of the turn-of-the-century livestock industry. The text is well constructed and provides the reader a true sense of time and space. Every facet of running cattle on the vast Dakota range is documented in full. The description of corporate structure, reliance on horses, theories and general management practices, and other pertinant characteristics of day to day duties make for facinating reading. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the practice of ranching, past, present, or future.

This book was amazing. The detail on how things were done in those days was amazing. I could not skip one word in this step by step account of Ike's life. He was an amazing cowboy and the drawings that are in this book are truly wonderful and add so much to an already terriffic book. This book is made for a the cowboy and is the best re-ride story I have "heard" in many years.

This book tells a WONDERFUL story of a white medical doctor caring for an indian child with pneumonia. When the child began his recovery; the boy's father tried to pay the doctor, and Dr. Brown refused payment because of the way the indians had been cheated and mistreated by the government that made treaties and habitually broke them, and white settlers.

The boy's father was stunned by the doctors kindness, and insisted on giving him a pipe bag with bead and quill work. (A pipe bag is traditionaly made from leather with two segments or pockets if you prefer. Traditionaly; the pipe bowl, and stem are kept separate, and are only put together when you pray with the pipe.). This book tells the story of this pipe bag (allegedly belonging to Crazy Horse), and the story of the three people that cared for this pipe bag before returning it the Sioux.

This book also tells the story of Lionel Little Eagle (the third keeper of the pipe bag), and his beloved wife "Tammy" that was dying of cancer.

This book takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. In some places you will laugh hystericaly (as in 'Hey You' on page 37, 'Old Coyote's encounter with the kitchen boss' on page 46 and others. In other places prepare to find tears welling up in your eyes where Mr. Little Eagle relates the story of his wife's passing. and teaching "Trapper" (the son of Mr. Little Eagle, and Tammy" why they use the pipe (like making a telephone call to God), and Trapper picks up the pipe and puts it to his ear like a phone and wants to talk to his mom.

There are many nice illustrations.

On pages 59-62; Mr. Little Eagle relates one of the best versions I have seen of the White Buffalo Woman legend that I have seen.

In my humble opinion; if this book does not reach you; you do not have an open mind and heart.

However; with the platitudes mentioned above; I am disappointed with some portions of this book.

1. On page 47-48 Mr. Little Eagle relates the words of an elder that states in olden times the pipe was much larger about the size of a child's head, and his anger about non indians having the pipe. Mr. Little Eagle does not seem to share the attitudes of the elder because on page 9; he refers to himself as "a simple member of the human race" which is quite similar to mine "A human being; doing the best I can."

a. I know a gentlman that mines the sacred stone in the pipestone quarries (He sent me a photocopy of his permit to mine the stone). According to my acquaintance; it is extremely unusual to find veins of pipestone (Catlinite) more than 3 inches thick, and in order to get the sacred stone; they sometimes have to go through veins of quartzite up to 8 feet thick to reach the three inch vein.

b. Attitudes of anger and bigotry as expressed by the elder is making the problem worse not better. I want to see Nick Black Elk's vision of the flowering tree, and people living together in peace and harmony come to pass. People (indian or not, elder or not that have anger and hatred for non indians carrying the pipe in a sacred manner is causing disharmony. Evelyn Eaton the author of "I Send A Voice" relates her encounter with Native American anger and bigotry that was directed toward her because she carried a pipe. I have received many vitriolic comments from alleged indians after reading some of my reviews.

2. On page 142; Mr. Little Eagle tells of his meeting Wallace Black Elk the "grandson" of Sioux Holy Man Nick Black Elk. Wallace Black Elk is NOT the grandson of Nick Black Elk. I have VERY much respect for wicasa wakan (holy man) Nick Black Elk. I have NO respect for this new age flim flam man that inflates his ancestry to make himself look better. I know a man that was named by Ben Black Elk (the son of Nick Black Elk), and I know the real family of Nick Black Elk have been confronting this myth for years. Nick, and Wallace are not even member of the same Sioux sub tribe. Ben Black Elk acted as the interpreter for the two authors (Joseph Epes Brown "The Sacred Pipe", and John G. Neihart "Black Elk Speaks" because his father spoke almost no english, and the authors did not speak the Sioux language.

3. on page 209 another bigoted elder states "The people who blindly and deliberately scar and hurt Mother Earth. who line our sacred Black Hills with black pavement. They are the enemy! That is where our fight lies. (Isn't this inciting people to riot and commit violence? In my humble opinion; the BEST way to reach harmony is to put the past behind us, and go forward into the future; there all races teach one another, and explain why things are considered sacred, and what it means to use a pipe in a sacred manner. We can only do this if we open our hearts and minds, and allow the past injustices to remain in the past. I walk the red road because this path answers my spiritual questions and works for me.

Other than these problems; the book conveys a wonderful story, and shares some Native American Philosophy.

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

"Greengrass Pipe Dancers" starts out with an intriguing story of how the author came to be the caretaker of Crazy Horse's pipe bag, and continues with a powerful story of Lionel Little Eagle's journey to return the pipe bag and to seek spiritual guidance dealing with his wife's cancer. The reader will join Little Eagle in Native American ceremonies both fascinating and uplifting. A sense of family and belonging in a community is strong throughout this book. Many emotions surface as Little Eagle searches for the next caretakers of the holy pipe bag while separating the pain of losing his wife from the realization that she also is to return to her spiritual beginning, just as the pipe bag must. Ultimately, the wonderful cycle of life vividly described here leaves you wishing Little Eagle will write again soon.

Greengrass Pipe Dancers is both a story of pain and death and a search for healing and transformation. The first focus is on the history, safekeeping and restoration of a holy pipe bag, perhaps once belonging to Crazy Horse. The underlying text is the author's experience of healing and acceptance in mourning the passing of his beloved young wife Tammy through witnessing the rite of the Sun Dance and pipe dancers with the Lakota of Greengrass, South Dakota. Lionel Little Eagle sees his own totem animal and receives his sacred message from the experience. Straight from the heart, Greengrass Pipe Dancers is the author's testament to the power and beauty of Lakota spirituality, and the miraculous healing essence of the beautiful pipe bag he is given to carry and protect until a sacred resting place is found.

The true story of the pipe bag is recounted according to Lionel Little Eagle's wife Tamara and other traditional sources. The pipe bag was originally given by a Lakota chief to Dr. H. A. Brown (Tamara Brown's grandfather) in 1895 after he saved his son from pneumonia. This tale has been told in another book, Warriors of the Rainbow, written by Dr. Brown's son, Vinson. In Greengrass Pipe Dancers, Lionel Little Eagle, a Micmac Native American, continues the sacred obligation of being the pipe bag bearer while presenting its history and his wife's story. The wonderful thing about the pipe bag history is it is directly connected to the founding of Naturegraph, a publishing house founded by Vinson Brown to publish Warriors of the Rainbow. Naturegraph continues to publish works on Native American history, spirituality and culture, thus fulfilling the dreams of both the original Oglala chieftain pipe bag bearer and Dr. Brown.

The author introduces the main elements of the story simply. They are Tammy, the Healing, the People, the Pipe Bag, and the Dance. Each element is key, but it is their interplay, the dance of words, visions, and songs that emblazons the heart of the book. Greengrass Pipe Dancers is voiced from the essence of sacred enlightenment, which includes death, pain, and deep celebration of life. Partly because of its simple, unassuming style, Greengrass Pipe Dancers may be read as a sort of personal journal of seeking spiritual enlightenment. The subtext is clear and undeniable, a brilliant witnessing of light and healing.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer