A fine and necessary work.
The legendary Lakota leader receives due honor in this searching biography.
“Crazy Horse has been my hero since I was a boy,” writes Lakota author Marshall (The Lakota Way, 2001). He is not alone; as the author observes, Crazy Horse’s very “name floats in the consciousness of most Americans, along with the names of indigenous leaders and heroes from other tribes.” By Marshall’s account, Crazy Horse might have been surprised at his renown, which he seems never to have courted; he was of average height, perhaps average strength, and he did not participate in ritual bragging about his accomplishments. “As a matter of fact,” Marshall adds, “Crazy Horse barely talked about his exploits to his immediate family.” Yet Crazy Horse was always the right man at the right time, providing leadership and courage, appearing on the battlefield just when he was needed most. And he was often wanted; as Marshall writes, in one of the most effective stretches from the 19th century to the collapse of the Twin Towers, Crazy Horse’s nation was most certainly under attack, and “we are not immune to attack no matter how strong or invincible we think we are. Within the shadows of that lesson is one equally important: we must be prepared to defend ourselves.” Readers seeking war whoops may be a little disappointed by Marshall’s reticent treatment of the many battles in which Crazy Horse fought, especially the one that secured his fame, the Little Bighorn. But those seeking a circumstantial, from-the-native’s-viewpoint account of Crazy Horse’s life and death will be intrigued by Marshall’s respectful use of oral history, drawn from relatives who were very old when he was very young, and who filled his imagination with stories about the great warrior. As myths go, he hints, these are likely the most accurate—certainly more so than the “ ‘conqueror of Custer’ version, the purveyor of violence ready to fight at the drop of a ‘war’ bonnet,” or the many Hollywood Crazy Horses (“an eclectic bunch”), or the hagiographic Crazy Horse of Larry McMurtry and other recent biographers.
A fine and necessary work.Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2004
ISBN: 0-670-03355-3
Page Count: 306
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As pretentious as it is outlandish, but at least authentically mind-boggling.
An encyclopedic, lavishly illustrated attempt to discern an alternative-belief system in the broad diversity of ancient paganism and mystical offshoots of the major faiths.
“Christianity contains a hidden tradition of the gods of the stars and planets,” proclaims British publishing executive Booth. While much of this tradition, including biblical allegories, has been denigrated by Mother Church, it has hardly been hidden. The author’s mystical guardian institutions include the Christian-associated Freemasons and Rosicrucians, which both arose at the outset of the 18th century from earlier origins; Cabalism on the Hebrew side; and Sufism from Islam. Much of the problem with this roughly chronological narrative is its hazy documentation: Readers must be content with “a friend of mine” or “an initiate I met” as substantiating sources. Likewise, we must accept Booth’s own innate ability to peer into antiquity and presume the influence of “mystery schools” on such figures as Plato. He seamlessly moves from reportage to proselytizing, presenting for instance a precise date in the 12th millennium BCE as the moment when matter reached its final solidified state in the progression of existence from pure thought (preceding matter itself) through a “human vegetable” state to the present form. Tracing this progression, Booth cites all kinds of permutations, fairy tales and familiar hippie spiritualist icons along the way. Humankind loses its third eye, can no longer directly interact with spirits and deities, must be content with the stifling restrictions of the scientific method to comprehend creation, etc. One culminating highlight: George Washington, a known Freemason, decrees that the capital city be laid out to reflect the geometry of the constellation Virgo, thus inviting “the mother goddess” to participate in determining the future of the United States. Somebody should tell President Bush to please get in touch.
As pretentious as it is outlandish, but at least authentically mind-boggling.Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59020-031-5
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Overlook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2007
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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