Rescued from a concentration camp, the young survivor Reb Michael Klimrod works his way to America, where along the way, he takes vengeance on his former Nazi persecutors, and continues his education of survival in the brutal conditions of the Amazon.

His rise from rags to riches is a credible panorama of sense, perseverance and courage. While Sulitzer too commonly weighs his books with sexual content, its appearance here finds perfect harmony in the physical and spiritual power of wealth among its several characters, as a vital component of Klimrod's sheer will.

A human book as well, with Klimrod's struggle with his emotions, his ambitions, his beliefs and his dreams, all are quite human in their embrace.

This book satisfies on a number of levels. An excellent read, a great translation, and a considerable testimonial of human effort. 5 stars is only an understatement - a wonderful book.

The Green King is my all-time favorite book. I read it for the first time when on vacation in Aruba in '85 and have read it at least three times since. I found a first print in hardcover and it is the jewel of my book collection.

Reb Michael Klimrod's journey from a nazi death camp to the richest man in the world without anyone knowing him is remarkable. The detail that Sulitzer maintains in his book of the men that kept this secret is breath taking; the web of financial companies and transactions is exhilarating. This is a great book for anyone that enjoys high finance and a desire to fulfill a dream. 5 Stars are not enough for this book.

Ever have that opprotunity to take a long read along on a vacation... The Green King is a story of a man and his dream, a dream to build a nation where there once was none. In his quest he faces Nazis and beuraucrats, two great evils and defies the first but not the latter. A reclusive Multi-millionaire/billionaire it brings to mind Howard Hughes eccentric legacy and crosses it with Broffman ambition. A book strikingly similar to a Archer or Clancy in it's ability to make the character and the idea come to life. If you see this book snatch it up. It may be a long read, but one of the most enjoyable and enticing of any I have ever had. A true treasure.

Enemy pie is a terrific story told through the eyes of a young boy. It is a story about how to make friends, and how enemies are unmade. The illustrations successfully complement the intention of the book. As suburban america grows, we need to have stories that show our children how to relate to others, especially to newcomers to our neighborhoods. Munson is an elegant and creative author... I look forward to his next offerings.

Enemy Pie is a book about how to make enemies your friend.One summer a kid named Jeremy Ross moved into the neighborhood. One personal kid had Jeremy on his first and only enemy list. The reasons were that when the kid struck out in baseball Jeremy would laugh at him. When Jeremy had a party on his trampoline the kid was not invited but his best friend was. One day the kids dad heard about Jermy Ross. So he brought out an old recipe called ENEMY PIE. The adventure goes on with the kid and Jeremy and then something good happens.

I really do recommend this book because it has great illustrations and it also tells you what to do with your enemies. This book is a picture fiction book.

A kid that the author doesn't name (so you can pretend it is you) was having a perfect summer until a boy named Jeremy Ross moved into a house down the street and became enemy #1. Find out how the boy gets over Jeremy in Enemy Pie.
I realy liked this book because this Washington state author used detail and really described the characters. The illustrator really brought the characters to life with bright colors. And the morale of the book is don't judge a book by its cover. On a scale of 1-10 I Would give this book an 8.

I remember picking this book up off the shelf when I was in fourth grade... that was a long time ago. Back then, I chose to read books by what their covers looked like. I know, don't judge a book by its cover, but when you read so much all the time, you start to be able to tell which are going to be the really good ones by what is on them. So, I picked this book up for some free reading, and it has taken me all these years to find it again. Unfortuantely, as some have pointed out, it is out of print. I really think that this is one of the best books that I had read when I was in elementary school. The entirety of it made a young girl's dream on the way to school come true. It is really powerful and timeless, a true work of art for minds of all ages. I just wish that I could find a copy of it...

I've had this book since grade 3 or 4 (don't remember)and I love it!! I can't believe it's been almost 15 years since I read it. I'm proud to say that it's in mint condition. ...It's a great book, lots of magic spells, wizardry and castles. I'm so happy that it's going to be printed again. It's a must for every young girl, I highly recommend it.

Jenny's a normal girl having a normal day on a normal school bus. Then she closes her eyes and wakes up in a...carriage. In a strange land. Where she is adopted by the king and named a princess.

But she isn't just any princess. She's the seventh princess of a line of five other adopted princesses who were turned into harpies by an evil witch. If she doesn't want the same thing to happen to her, she's gotta do something about it.

This was my favorite book in the fourth grade. A definite keeper, which I still remember almost a decade later. A girl can really relate to Jenny's predicament, can really believe that maybe she herself could be in Jenny's place. As for the adventure...unbelievable. The only strange part was the simpleness of the counterspell--it was a little weak for me. Still, it's all part of the fantasy.

Magic, switch from the normal world into the magical world, hapries, spells, witches, royalty, and good old fashioned school buses.

A great, great book.

I can't tell you how many times I've read this book. When I first started reading it, I was disapointed because it seemed like a total toddler's book. But the more I read, the more absorbed I became. So many things happen so quickly that you want to keep reading just to find out what's coming next. Jules Feiffer doesn't write like other writers; he plays around with his work, and you can tell he was having a good time writing this book. And although the book is very fun and light reading, I think there are also some hidden meanings and life lessons to be learned from it. I plan to read this book many times more. I also think this book would appeal to the "Phantom Tollbooth" audience, and vice versa.

A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears is a story about a prince named Roger who is makes everybody laugh no matter what he does. He is sent on a magical quest in which he goes through The Forever Forest, The Dastardly Divide, The Sea of Screams, and The Mountain of Malice. In the end, he ends up with a beautiful maiden. This book is not meant to be serious. It is meant to be comical and it succeeds. Jules Feiffer has written a comedy masterpiece. I recommend it to anyone ages 10 or up who is looking for a humorous book.

My son and I read this book together and couldn't help laughing at poor Roger and his "quest"! We loved this book and the illustrations!

This book is a very comprehensive account of the discovery of a revolutionary drug to treat breast cancer. Very pleasant to read, the author guides you through the process which goes from discovering the drug almost by chance, making the trials (from a very human point of view) to the final approval of the drug. If you want to read a very enjoyable book about science, drug development, Phase III trials and human hope, don not look further....

I wish I had read this book last year. I ordered while my sister was being treated with Herceptin for a recurrence of breast cancer. Unfortunately, she died before I could get the book.

This book give real insight into the politics of cancer treatment - the passiveness of some oncologists, how an executive's own personal experience with a disease can determine if drug development will go forward or not, and how women are becoming more aggressive in monitoring their own treatment.

Bazell talks about the frustrations of critically ill and dying women in trying to work through the medical, academic and managed care maze to get the treatment they need.

This drug has been the 'magic bullet' for many women. It has been called the start of a new era is disease treatment. It is essential for anyone involved in this disease to read this book, to understand what they are up against and how they can help themselves.

A heart breaking and powerful book about the women and scientists who are pioneers in the fight to cure breast cancer. One of the first compelling and accessible books about how scientific progress influences our lives. It's an important book, one which I recommend to any woman or any person who has dealt with this devastating disease. I was reminded of "The Band Played On" which also showed the workings of a health crisis from a human perspective. Robert Bazell has written a beautiful and important book. I couldn't put it down.

In his epic account of America during the Civil Rights Era, Taylor Branch provides a compelling portrait of the rise to prominence of Martin Luther King, Jr. This Pulitzer Prize winning book is historical narrative at its finest. Branch focuses on the life of King, the African American politics of the era, as well as the local, state, and national politics affecting the civil rights movement.

Michael Luther King, Jr., was born to an elite African-American family on January 15, 1929. At the age of five, his father would change his and his son's names to Martin Luther King, in honor of Martin Luther after the elder King traveled to Germany. The younger King was raised with the highest of expectations. Highly unusual in his time, the King family had the means, through their powerful position as a leading Atlanta black family and through the enterprising and industrious ways of MLK, Sr., to put MLK, Jr. through college up to the level of earning a P.H.D. from Boston University. This education both shaped the younger King in the traditional ways of learning, as well as through the social contacts he gained, and through the experience of living in the relatively liberal north.

In 1954 at the age of 25, two weeks after the Warren Supreme Court handed down the landmark decision in Brown, et al., v. Board of Education of Topeka, King gave his first sermon as pastor-designate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In taking this job, King was defying his father who wanted his son to eventually take over at his own church, Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church. Moving into the deep south, and away from the elite black community of Atlanta, King was in for a rude awakening as he was exposed to the depths and strengths of entrenched racism.

King soon rose to national prominence as the leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). With the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to a white man, the MIA mobilized the black community in Montgomery into what became the largest act of civil disobedience among blacks up to that time. Branch's account of the Montgomery bus boycott, like the entire book, is riveting. Through great bravery, hardship, and persecution, the blacks triumphed and the Montgomery buses were finally integrated. King was just one of many blacks who provided leadership and showed courage through this ordeal, but because of his skills as an orator and his position as the leader of the MIA, he found himself thrust into the national spotlight.

The book culminates with the march on Washington in 1963, and the assassination of President Kennedy that same year. Throughout, King is portrayed as a brilliant leader, a fiery orator, a man willing to go to jail for what he believes in, and a man who is successfully and brilliantly riding the tides and changing currents of his times. However, Branch does not portray King as a solo operator. The events of the Civil Rights Era, starting roughly with the Brown decision, and going through the assassination of King in 1968, are a series of events with multiple personalities and acts of bravery against institutionalized persecution and entrenched bigotry. The southern mayors, governors, police chiefs, policemen, firemen, and the angry white southern mobs are shown as the villains of a racist society. President Eisenhower and to a lesser degree President Kennedy were reluctant participants in the inflammatory racial politics of their time. Attorney General Robert Kennedy took a more active role in civil rights than any of his predecessors at the Department of Justice, but he too was hemmed in by the politics of his own party. Richard Nixon, Ike's vice president and the Republican candidate in 1960, was more in tune with the plight of blacks than Eisenhower was, but Branch portrays Nixon, along with the other leading politicians of both parties as always acting out of political calculation. The most sinister man on the national level was J. Edgar Hoover, the entrenched FBI chief who would stop at nothing in his sick plots of snooping into the private lives of anyone he deemed of interest. King ranked high on that list.

"Parting the Waters" is a long book, but it is an easy and quick read. Branch brilliantly gives the reader a taste of America during the years of 1954 to 1963 from the perspective of the civil rights issue. He also portrays Martin Luther King, Jr., now a national martyr and hero to blacks and whites alike, as an extraordinary human being who rose to the challenges of his times and helped lead all Americans closer to the promised land of equal opportunity.

This book - the first in a projected series of three volumes - begins a comprehensive history of the civil rights movement, focusing on the role played by Martin Luther King. It is not a biography of King per se but Taylor Branch has a lot to say about how King, through personal effort, became a great leader. King was, of course, a great orator, and Branch is pretty adept at analyzing his methods. But almost anyone who has heard King or read him knows that he was channeling something greater than himself.

What King wanted for himself was a life of scholarship. Yet, as Jesus said on the Mount of Olives, "not my will, but yours be done." In a brilliant anecdote, Branch relates how King was elected, almost accidentally, to head the Montgomery Bus Boycott. At a mass meeting that evening, King gave an inspired speech. At the end of the speech, the audience sat, stunned. People reached out to touch him as he left the building. "[King] would work on his timing, but his oratory had just made him forever a public person. . . . He was twenty-six, and had not quite twelve years and four months to live." The obstacles in Montgomery in 1955 were many, and only a few weeks passed before King sat in despair, his face buried in his hands. He prayed, saying "I've come to the point where I can't face it alone." As he spoke these words, he experienced a transcendent religious experience that gave him the strength to continue his struggle. No man is perfect, but King knew his duty, and did it.

Beyond its insights into King's character, this book offers readers a survey of our country at a critical juncture. When the civil rights movement began, the balance of interests in the United States had left the South in the grip of the great evil of segregation. King himself shifted the balance. At the same time, thousands of ordinary Americans, devoted to nonviolent struggle, suffered tremendous privation, loss of livelihood, beatings, and sometimes death, making it impossible for the federal government to ignore the plight of Southern blacks.

Finally, through Branch's history, we meet a large number of what could almost be called interesting minor figures except that they were not minor at all. One of these is Vernon Johns, a brilliant farmer-preacher who preached the social gospel. In a memorable scene, Johns is asked to address a group of white and black preachers who are meeting to discuss the role of the church during a time of racial tension. He says, "The thing that disappoints me about the Southern white church is that it spends all of its time dealing with Jesus after the cross, instead of dealing with Jesus before the cross. . . . If that were the heart of Christianity, all God had to do was drop him down on Friday, let them kill him, and then yank him up again on Easter Sunday. That's all you hear. You don't hear so much about his three years of teaching that man's religion is revealed in the love of his fellow man. He who says he loves God and hates his fellow man is a liar, and the truth is not in him. That is what offended the leaders of Jesus's own established religion as well as the colonial authorities from Rome. That's why they put him up there. . . . I want to deal with Jesus before the cross. I don't give a damn what happened to him after the cross." At this point, no one's too happy that they invited Johns to speak. Lest we think that Johns was just an eccentric, though, Branch also refers us to Johns' "Transfigured Moments," which can be found on the web and shows Johns to be a serious man of considerable understanding and imagination.

In addition to its merit as history, Parting the Waters is a great read, and deserves to be read slowly. If you can do this, the time you spend with this 900-plus-page book will be extremely rewarding.

Presenting an authentic and comprehensive picture of the mammoth civil rights movement in the United States in the post WWII era is a daunting task, yet noted author and journalist Taylor Branch has succeeded masterfully with this, the first of a two-volume history of the struggle of blacks in America to find justice, equality and parity with the mainstream white society. Tracing the rise of the singular leader personified in the young Rev. Martin Luther King, Branch sets the stage for a wide range of events, personalities, and public issues. This is truly a wonderful read, fascinating, entertaining, and endlessly detailed in its description of people and events, and quite insightful in its chronicling of the fortune of those social forces that created, sustained, and accomplished the single most momentous feat of meaningful social action in our nation's contemporary history.

His range of subjects is necessarily wide and deep, and we find coverage of every aspect of the tumultuous struggle beginning in the deep South, and gradually working its way north and west until most of the urban northeast also surrendered to the battle cry for civil rights and justice under the law. In many respects this borders on being a biography of Martin Luther King and his times, yet Branch so extends his coverage of the eddies and currents of the movement itself that it appears to be by far the most comprehensive and fair-minded treatment of the civil rights movement published to date. Whether covering the issue of Martin Luther King's own personal life, his internal philosophical concerns, or his appetite for young white women, the reader is engaged with every element of this and a thousand other personalities, issues, and events that carved out the history of our country for almost twenty years.

One finds a very detailed of the Kennedy involvement in the movement, first as a purely political ploy to help to win the black vote in the extremely tight race for the Presidency in 1960, and then as an administration struggling to do what was right in the face of enormous social, political, and even economic opposition. Here too we find an absorbing account of how the FBI attempted to infiltrate and influence the movement, with J. Edgar Hoover's adroit political savvy and deep-seated racism causing great difficulty and a number of tribulations for the civil rights cause. The names and places and events described here are legion, and one gets the sense that anyone who had a conscience was involved, and many of the names mentioned later went on to greater accomplishment and further noteworthy contribution in their public lives and careers.

This, then, is a stupendous first volume of a wonderful two-volume history of the civil rights movement in the United States, and covers the period from the late 1950s when the first rumblings of the movement were sounded until just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas in November of 1963. The second volume picks up the thread thereafter, extending out through the Johnson years and including aspects of the coalescence of the movement with the Vietnam anti-war protest. This is a wonderful book, and one I would consider essential reading for anyone with an interest in American history in the 20th century. I highly recommend both books, and I hope you appreciate reading them as much as I did. Enjoy!

Mildred Taylor has written an outstanding novel. The Land is a prequal to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. It traces the life of Paul-Edward Logan. Paul-Edward is the son of prominent Edward Logan and his former slave, Deborah. This mix leaves Paul mostly unaccepted by the white community and the black community. Where does Paul fit in? The book recounts Paul's inner and outer struggles of growing up. It tells of his conflicts with family, friends and strangers. The novel is very well written and includes emotions by using the appropriate dialect that it allows the reader to become part of the story. I felt that I was there in the scenes as a bystander.
I think the novel is appropriate for a high school audience. The novel covers some very sensitive issues. Their maturity is needed to accept the struggles and prejuidices without becoming so angry and upset.

After reading "Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry" and the two following books of the trilogy, I fell in love with Mildred D. Taylor's writing. I searched the library for more books by her, and when I was successful, sat down and read the books immediately, becoming more enchanted with each one. When I heard that there was a prequel to the books, I couldn't wait to get a hold of it. On the way home from the library, I started reading and didn't stop until the last page.
Paul-Edward Logan has a white father and a half black, half indian mother. Growing up on his father's plantation, he never quite knows his place. Although his mother is always warning him against it, Paul-Edward's best friend is his father's other son, born from a white mother. As Paul-Edward grows he learns of betrayal and watches his best friend abandon him for a group of rough white boys. When Paul-Edward is fourteen, he runs away with his new best friend, Mitchell. A book about racism, friendship and family, Mildred D. Taylor has created another masterpiece to be enjoyed for many years.

... The Land By Mildred D. Taylor

For the past month or so, my class has been reading The Land, by Mildred D. Taylor. I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of the greatest books ever! The Land is about an African American boy named Paul Edward Logan, who lives on his white father's plantation. Paul lives in the time of racism, slaves, and disrespect of black men and women. Even his very own father treats him differently than Paul's white brothers ' he cannot eat at the table when there are guests. Nor can he talk to white men the way they treat him. Paul begins to realize the truth of it all. However, he does not give up his dream ' to own his own land. He does not lose faith, even when his father denies him an opportunity to race a horse for cash. Denial only pushes him to accept the offer, but the owner of the horse refuses to pay him his winnings. Mitchell, his personal bodyguard, decides to take matters into his own hands and makes them running for their lives. The Land takes the readers on a journey of Paul's determination, hard work, and his daring and desperate decisions.
One reason I absolutely love this book is because of the plot! The way Paul and African Americans are treated helps me understand what it was like for people, like Paul during the 1800s. This book helps me realize how hard it was back then ' to treat others respectfully while they mistreat you, to try to be quiet when a white man was speaking! For example, in the book, Paul is not allowed to hit his brother when he has done something wrong because he is white. It makes me think about how unfair it was a century ago. People were treated unjust because of the color of their skin! I now appreciate my life much, much more, knowing how many lifestyles used to be.
In addition to this, I love the suspense! There is always something exciting happening ' from the horse race to the fights where Mitchell, Paul's bodyguard protects him. What makes this book so fascinating is the fact that there is always something incredible, simply amazing happening. This makes me want to read more! Not only is it entertaining, but also this book raises many intriguing questions. For example, what is going to happen to Paul, what dramatic decision will he make now, and how is Paul's father going to react to this chaos? As you can tell, many questions arise. This is one great aspect of The Land.
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy books based on history ' something that actually happened. The Land is based on true facts ' how people were considered, how lifestyles were for African Americans, and how there were many unjust, unfair laws. This book has a wonderful plot, which is not only entertaining, but also educational. You would have to read it yourself!
I can understand why this book won the Coretta Scott King Award!

Urban Shaman is packed with information and is reader friendly. I consider it essential reading for anyone interested in Huna or any form of shamanism. The principles and techniques in this book are easy to understand and effective when used. Urban Shaman impressed me so much that I purchased two more of Serge Kahili King's books, four of his videos and one of his cassette series. He is an author and a teacher with a message that will enrich your life.

Studying this statement is in and of itself a worthwhile project. If you learn nothing else, this is well worth the price of the book.

I have several books on Shamanism and Self-Healing. Among these are 6 books by Serge King. All are great. I reread Urban Shaman because there is so much that I can't absorb all at one time. This book helped my in my healings of self and others and in my Shamanic journeys, the initial technique which I learned from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies workshop. I am a Reiki master and find his techniques to augment my methods very well.

I have found nothing in Serge King's books that doesn't work, some techniques better than others. I have found nothing in other books that Serge King doesn't cover in some way or form.

If you are going to get one book that covers most things well, in a very open and non-dogmatic manner, Urban Shaman is the book to get. From journeying to making walking sticks to healing methods, this book covers it all. If you want more than one book, get another of Serge King's books. They all work.

Pssst! Hey, wanna be a Shaman? You don't have to live in the woods and you don't have to beat any drums. We're looking at a city slickers guide to the New Age. No investment, no special vows, just add a little time, thought and practice. Castenada gave us "The Way of the Warrior" and Serge Khalili King gives us "The Way of the Adventurer." From basic methods to "grokking water", this book covers all the bases of a Hawaiian philosophy in a very readable format. Unlike many shamanic manuals, this book doesn't advocate getting back to "Mother Earth," rather it focuses on the need we have to come to terms with ourselves and how to turn our newfound abilities outward to share with others. Readers get a fresh perspective on how shamanic techniques can make life better. King builds on the basics, drawing a road map for creativity, personal transformation and healing.

With the three reigns of Louis' XIV, XV & XVI as the backdrop, Ms. Laker tells a wonderful epic of four women, of the same lineage, who overcome all the adversities that many women experienced during this time period -- love, heartbreak, marital abuse, political strife, poverty... overcome by courage, self-respect and dignity.

Ms. Laker creates superb imagery and historical accuracy of 17th & 18th century France, right down to the architectural details of the Palace of Versailles, as well as the political & social goings-on of these respective periods.

If the historical accuracy of this book doesn't capture your attention, the romantic storyline certainly will.

To Dance With Kings was the first Rosalind Laker book I read, and I have not stopped reading her books since. Set in the lavish courts of King Louis XIV, you can't help but be drawn into their world of lust, greed and granduer. All of that and you get a love story that spans generations and tugs at your heart. A must to read, as are all of Rosalind Laker's novel's.

Rosalind Laker's " To Dance with Kings ", poses the question whether Marguerite and her descendants' lives are really fiction. Laker's writing is superb, as is her flair for romance and historical accuracy. One is left to wander, then if there weren't a Marguerite or Jasmine, or Violette, or Rose. These characters appear so real, that they stay with the reader long after the book is put away. Alongside the adventures of four women, the reader also explores the lives of Louis ixv, xv and xvi. The live of Louis xv is especially interesting, as there aren't many novels or biographies about that monarch on the market. Although Laker follows the traditional guidelines of romantic novels, especially with Marguerite and Augustin, she introduces, in the person of Violette, a very non traditional and more spirited model of heroine. The full cirlce of love, which achieves its end in the union of Rose and Richard is a nice touch. But Richard finding Marguerite's fan, and offering it to Rose, is a very moving and memorable moment. Laker also touches on the social issues which encompassed the ages of which she writes. We learn that not all aristocrats were selfish, as an example we are presented with a very humane Jasmine, who helps the poor after returning to Chateau Satory. But we also learn that not all commoners were savages out for a kill. Overall, " To Dance with Kings ", is a jewel in literature. Anyone, from the romance reader to a historian will be able to find something in the novel.

It will be 3 years ago this February that I first read this book. I then bought the hard cover version so I could keep it in my library and read it over and over again.

Prior to this, my interest in Western history was confined to pioneers and cowboys. The Indians were just some folks who happened to get a tough break. This book though, opened my mind to a culture that I had never known or thought much about. Now I read every book I can get on the subject, and spend my summers touring forts and battlefields.

Since my first reading of Crazy Horse I have read a biography of Sandoz. I know that her research was maticulous and that she had a good rapport with the Indians who knew Crazy Horse and were still living at the time she was writing. Of course, since this is mostly an oral history it is hard to know what is actual truth and what is the myth which grew around the subject, but it doesn't really matter. No one can read this book without coming away with a new understanding of what it was like to live the free life on the Plains, and how devestating it must have been for those who lost it.

I read this book some days ago, and I am deeply impressed on both the life of Crazy Horse and the way Ms. Sandoz told it to the reader. Since long I have been reading books about Plains Indians and their wars and had a special interest in the person of Crazy Horse. But I had not expected that this strange man, hardly to be understood by his own people, would have become so vivid to me. Ms. Sandoz book is by far better than that of Stephen E. Ambrose who often quoted her, because unlike him she was able to tell it from the Indian point of view and did not always evaluate what she wrote about. Crazy Horse was an Indian hero as out of a Greek tragedy alway doing the best for his people but condemned to be beaten by unmeasureably stronger forces than those of his people. I think he will keep in my heart and brain.

In his foreword to the 50th anniversary edition, Stephen Oates, himself an historian and biographer of note, describes how Sandoz came to write the life of Crazy Horse and states,"Mari Sandoz and Crazy Horse may be the most potent pairing of author and subject in the history of modern biography." He praises Sandoz for writing "with a creative and lyrical brilliance that makes Crazy Horse a tour de force of language and style" and calls the book "...an almost perfect work of biographical art." I could not agree more with Oates. I have read the entire book two times and portions of it many more times.

Readers are often faced with the dilemma of deciding to read further after the first few chapters of a book in the hope they'll "get into it" or to close it and turn it into a dust-catcher. Not so with Sandoz's Crazy Horse. The reader is immediately drawn into it. I was hooked by the lyricism of the first few words of the book which told me that this was going to be no ordinary biography. They read as follows: "The drowsy heat of middle August lay heavy as a furred robe on the upper country of the Shell River, the North Platte of the white man. Almost every noon the thunders built themselves a dark cloud to ride the far crown of Laramie Peak. But down along the river no rain came to lay the dust of the emigrant road, and no cloud shaded the gleaming 'dobe walls and bastions of Fort Laramie, the soldier town that was only a little island of whites in a great sea of Indian country two thousand miles wide."

This story is told, not in the voice of a distant historian, but in the voice of an eyewitness. The vividness of her narrative would convince you, if you did not know otherwise, that Sandoz walked with Crazy Horse and his people. But even though she did not walk with them, she knew them well.

This is an extraordinary work of creative nonfiction that makes you love being a reader.