From 1870 until 1886 Captain John O. Bourke served on the staff of General George Crook, who Sherman described as the greatest Indian fighter the army ever had, a man whose prowess was demon-strated "from British America to Mexico, from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean." But On the Border with Crook is far more than a first-hand account of Crook's campaigns during the Plains Indian wars and in the Southwest. Alert, curious, and perceptive, Bourke brings to life the whole frontier scene. In crisp descriptions and telling anecdotes he recreates the events and landscapes through which he moved; he sketches sharp action-pictures not only of Crook and his fellow cavalrymen but also of such great leaders as Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Geronimo. Perhaps most important, Bourke shows us how General Crook was able to achieve his most remarkable victory—how this man of war won and deserved the trust of the tribes he had subjugated.
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"Among the ten best Western books of all time. It has that rare combination, a personal reminiscence covering important events, and a thoroughly scholarly and reliable treatment."—Westerners Brand Book
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Post Civil War Officers forced Indians onto reservations,
By
This review is from: On the Border with Crook (Paperback)
The concept of Manifest Destiny took root during the Mexican American War, and assumed grander proportions following the Civil War. Gen. Crook had been a calvery officer whose services proved to be of considerable value, as much for his ability as for his compassion for the Indians. His job was to protect the settlers and subdue the Indians by locating them on reservations. The author was with Crook during his first and second Southwest campaigns as well as that of the Northern Plains. His love for his commander and appreciation of the Indians made him the perfect writer for the topic. Gen. Crook seems the ideal officer for the job, but was defeated, not by the Indians but Agents assigned, after the army had done its work, to reservations by Washington. The book is a wonderful description of the duty performed by Gen. Crook who, had his system been utilized, would have led to a better life for all. In the end, Bourke feels, Crook died of a broken heart. Important history, and a story too beautifully told to miss.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Read it if you love the old West and the frontier Army,
By A Customer
This review is from: On the Border with Crook (Paperback)
John Bourke writes wonderfully of General George Crook, a legendary Indian fighter in post-Civil War Arizona, Wyoming, and Montanna. Bourke, who for most of the time was Crook's aide-de-camp, is an unabashed admirer of the General, but the book goes far beyond flattery and sycophancy. Bourke makes the reader admire Crook as much as he himself does, for Crook truly did possess unmatched stamina, experience, attention to detail and equal measures of sympathy for the Indians he was fighting and ruthlessness in his ambition to drive them onto the reservations. Bourke too admires the Indians, especially the Apaches. In fact, one of the book's high points is its almost anthropological descriptions of Apache life, the Arizona landscape, life in the frontier Army, and the social milieu of old Tuscon. The descriptions of Crook's campaigns against the Sioux and Cheyenne flag just a little, but only in comparison to Bourke's own rapturous discussions of life in the Southwest. The book that this compares best to is Eugene Ware's "The Indian War of 1864" (which I've also reviewed for Amazon). Ware, like Bourke, was a serving Army officer with a keen, sympathetic eye for all he saw in the old West. Both were involved in more hair-raising episodes than a dozen Hollywood action heroes combined. I too am a serving Army officer, and I can testify that none of my peers today has seen as much or writes so well.
20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Read it if you love the old West and the frontier Army,
By A Customer
This review is from: On the Border with Crook (Paperback)
John Bourke writes wonderfully of General George Crook, a legendary Indian fighter in post-Civil War Arizona, Wyoming, and Montanna. Bourke, who for most of the time was Crook's aide-de-camp, is an unabashed admirer of the General, but the book goes far beyond flattery and sycophancy. Bourke makes the reader admire Crook as much as he himself does, for Crook truly did possess unmatched stamina, experience, attention to detail and equal measures of sympathy for the Indians he was fighting and ruthlessness in his ambition to drive them onto the reservations. Bourke too admires the Indians, especially the Apaches. In fact, one of the book's high points is its almost anthropological descriptions of Apache life, the Arizona landscape, life in the frontier Army, and the social milieu of old Tuscon. The descriptions of Crook's campaigns against the Sioux and Cheyenne flag just a little, but only in comparison to Bourke's own rapturous discussions of life in the Southwest. The book that this compares best to is Eugene Ware's "The Indian War of 1864" (which I've also reviewed for Amazon). Ware, like Bourke, was a serving Army officer with a keen, sympathetic eye for all he saw in the old West. Both were involved in more hair-raising episodes than a dozen Hollywood action heroes combined. I too am a serving Army officer, and I can testify that none of my peers today has seen as much or writes so well.
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big bat, three bears, sorrel horse, vile whiskey, bull berries, chile colorado Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
General Crook, Crazy Horse, Third Cavalry, San Carlos, Fifth Cavalry, Red Cloud, Big Horn, Camp Grant, Sierra Madre, Spotted Tail, Camp Apache, Black Hills, San Francisco, Second Cavalry, New Mexico, United States, San Pedro, Major Brown, Fourth Infantry, Tongue River, Frank Gruard, Fort Laramie, First Cavalry, Ninth Infantry, Twenty-third Infantry Browse Sample Pages:
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big bat, three bears, sorrel horse, vile whiskey, bull berries, chile colorado Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
General Crook, Crazy Horse, Third Cavalry, San Carlos, Fifth Cavalry, Red Cloud, Big Horn, Camp Grant, Sierra Madre, Spotted Tail, Camp Apache, Black Hills, San Francisco, Second Cavalry, New Mexico, United States, San Pedro, Major Brown, Fourth Infantry, Tongue River, Frank Gruard, Fort Laramie, First Cavalry, Ninth Infantry, Twenty-third Infantry Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
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