Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas (50th Anniversary Edition) [Paperback]

Mari Sandoz (Author), Stephen B. Oates (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: 50th Anniversary Edition | Publication Date: January 1, 1992

Crazy Horse, the military leader of the Oglala Sioux whose personal power and social nonconformity set him off as "strange," fought in many famous battles, including the one at the Little Bighorn. He held out boldly against the government's efforts to confine the Sioux on reservations. Finally, in the spring of 1877 he surrendered, one of the last important chiefs to do so, only to meet a violent death. Mari Sandoz, the noted author of Cheyenne Autumn and Old Jules, both available as Bison Books, has captured the spirit of Crazy Horse with a strength and nobility befitting his heroism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Here is a glorious hero tale told with beauty and power . . . the story of a great American."—John G. Neihardt, New York Times

(John G. Neihardt New York Times )

"[One] of the great stories of the West, and written. . .in the spirit of the sages, with a scrupulous regard for truth and history."—Atlantic Monthly

(Atlantic Monthly )

"This history of the Oglala Indian Crazy Horse is a splendidly done thing. [Sandoz] gives a magnificent picture of the Plains Indian civilization."—Washington Star

(Washington Star )

From the Inside Flap

"[One] of the great stories of the West, and written . . . in the spirit of the sages, with scrupulous regard for truth and history."—Atlantic Monthly. "The glorious hero tale told with beauty and power . . . the story of a great American."—John G. Neihardt, New York Times. "This history of the Oglala Indian Crazy Horse is a splendidly done thing. [Sandoz] gives a magnificent picture of the Plains Indian civilization."—Washington Star.

Crazy Horse, the legendary military leader of the Oglala Sioux whose personal power and nonconformity set him off as "strange," fought in many famous battles, including the Little Bighorn. He held out tirelessly against the U.S. government’s efforts to confine the Lakotas to reservations. Finally, in the spring of 1877 he surrendered, only to meet a violent death. More than a century later, Crazy Horse continues to hold a special place in the hearts and minds of his people. Mari Sandoz offers a powerful evocation of the long-ago world and enduring spirit of Crazy Horse.

Mari Sandoz (1896–1966) is the noted author of Cheyenne Autumn, Old Jules, and The Battle of the Little Bighorn (all available in Bison Books editions). Vine Deloria Jr. is the author of many books, including Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto and Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Scientific Fact. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 428 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books; First Printing of the 50th Anniversary Edition edition (January 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803292112
• ISBN-13: 978-0803292116
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,099,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book opened a new page in my life, December 5, 1999

By 

LaLoren - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas (50th Anniversary Edition) (Paperback)

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.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Flawless Biography of a Unique American, February 23, 2003

By 

Terry A. Green (Glencoe, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas (50th Anniversary Edition) (Paperback)

What can you say about a shy, slender, half-blind woman, about five feet in height, who slept on the open prairie, lived with Indians on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation, interviewed the likes of Black Elk, He Dog, Short Bull, Red Feather and others who personally knew Crazy Horse, who had already struggled for years as a writer before penning the ultimate biography of America's first authentic hero? From page one of "Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas" there is a sense that something spectacular is being recorded for posterity, never again to be witnessed by a living being. We are fortunate that Mari Sandoz lived during a time when the legend of Crazy Horse was still able to be told by those who knew and lived with him, but even more fortunate is that this amazing biography was written by an artist of the highest order. The story of the great Lakota warrior who refused to let his heritage be destroyed by the white man, will make you weep and wish you could have ridden with him on that open prairie.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very well written book about a great Indian, November 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas (50th Anniversary Edition) (Paperback)

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.