Customer Reviews

Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I love this book, this story perhaps more than any other that I own. It is that moving! All my life I have had a deep heartache about the destruction of our Mother Earth at the hands of industrial humans in general, and the destruction of this land we call America at the hands of the European invaders in particular. This book delves deeply into this wound, brings tears of pain and anguish, and ultimately brings about some healing as well. I think it is a GREAT combination of Kerouac and Black Elk Speaks. It is beautifully written and hard to put down. I have read the book many times by now and have given copies to friends. Rumor has it there's a movie version in the works. I love this book so much I'm not sure I'd want to see what Hollywood might do to it! The book is enough, anyway.

Review written by Russell P. Loven and Juanita Loven:
Once I finally got into this book, it was hard to put it down. Nerburn's style is exciting and easy reading. The author rides around with an "old" (elder) indian resulting in a very thought provoking oral history. The old man trusted few white people, but it is evident that he trusted Nerburn. His comments regarding the white man's treatment of Indians is very dramatic, philosophical and revealing.
While I did not expect to enjoy this book, I quickly found it held my attention to the end. An excellent oral history about the sobering and sad violence inflicted upon the Native Americans. It was moving, powerful and forcefully forced me to think about (and reevaluate) this sad chapter in American history. It should be read by all students of American history. I learned more about the the feelings held by Native Americas (about whites) from this book than from all the other American History accounts studied in my entire life (age 68)."

Join Fatback the dog, Kent Neburn the author and Dan a Lakota elder as they take a ride through the past, present and perhaps even the future. Meet people like Grover who makes a mean boloney sandwich but finds the white man's world wanting.

A hard hitting book that spares no punches, and takes no prisoners, don't read this book if you are looking for spiritual enlightenment and the way of the Native American.

Because there is no englightenment to be found and the "way" of the so called Native American has all but been wiped out by the presence of the greedy, self serving white man who is now looking for redemption but is unable to find it no matter how hard he/she looks.

"It's not so much about talking" Dan tells Kent one day but rather it is about listening to the world to the voices which are not necessarily human voices, something that white people aren't very good at, past, present or future.

And the land, who owns the land, is it the white man, is it the people who were there before them, or is it "just there" for everyone to use and respect.

I have to admit this book both enchanted and shocked me, enchanted me because it was so fresh and original, shocked me because it told of words that most people are afraid to say but know are true even whilst indignantly denying them.

I can see some people disliking this book, mainly because there is no forgiveness to be found in any of its many pages and this brutal honesty is what makes this book have teeth that bite.

I mean how can anyone ask to be forgiven for ripping up the land, taking children away from their parents, forcing Christianity down people's throats, creating reservations and making a mockery of the past as it REALLY was?

A worthy read for those with strong stomachs and an acceptance that the evil that men do, does not necessarily just have a foothold in the past.

I didn't want to put the book down, but when I did, I looked forward to when I could read it again. While the story takes place over a short period of time, it eloquently speaks of thousands of years of life and culture. I highly recommend this book to anyone. It opens the door a crack to a world many of us will never know, but it is a world we need to learn about, acknowledge, and respect. I finished it weeks ago, yet I can recount all of the story, and I still can't look at the white, nor the Native American, way of life in the same light. I don't think I ever will. A wonderful book and a must-read.

I have read several books about Native Americans, but none has touched me as deeply as this one. The insight provided by a Lakota elder touches the heart, mind and spirit of the reader. The belief that it is best not to judge another person until you have walked a mile in his moccasins comes true in this book. Kent Nerburn has provided the white peoples of the world a unique window of opportunity to look at themselves in a whole new light. This novel should be required reading in every high school curriculum. The wit and wisdom it has to offer goes beyond any words that can be written in a review.

This book is not only some of the most absolutely delicious writing I have ever found, but the content was truly ephiphany. Having lived for many years in a community that was filled with Native People, I always had the eerie feeling that I was somehow disingenuous when I was with them, (but couldn't quite figure out why). After reading this, I now understand. I cried all over the book, and belly laughed out loud. If white Americans are ever to hope for forgiveness for the gaping wounds and scars left by what the European people did to the Native People on this continent, we are first going to have to fully understand what happened, and then own the stinging, horrible truth of our ancestors, and our continuing racism. It comes to us, bitterly and sweetly, from the mouth of a Lakota elder, his friends and family, through the courageous pen and heart of Kent Nerburn. The last time I read a book that had as much impact on me as this one, it was Stienbeck's "Grapes of Wrath".

I found this book as a school assignment, but when I started reading it, I could not stop. This book had a great effect on me as a person. While reading, it makes you think about how you are living your life and what you can do to change it to help yourself and society as a whole. Everyone should read this book because it will give everyone an understanding of how we were meant to live on this planet. I gaurentee you will enjoy this book.

Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads With An Indian Elder by Kent Nerburn is a powerful memoir of a Native American elder who reveals his present-day world to a white man. A vivid and informative look at the Native American communities of the Dakotas and evoking memories of the Ghost Dance, Neither Wolf Nor Dog transcends myths and stereotypes to offer insight into slices of the good, the bad, and the ugly of contemporary Native American life and culture. Neither Wolf Nor Dog is an impressive and highly recommended addition to Native American Studies academic reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

I'm Lakota from Paha Sapa. I think the people who want to know if this book is true are all white people. I don't care if everything in it happened. It is true. That's how we were raised. We tell stories that have our truth. I think Dan taught Nerburn this. There are clues. It is very smart like an Indian. Nerburn couldn't make these things up. There is an Indian telling this story. I think the old man was a trickster. He knew how to make wasichu crazy. Nerburn did a good job. This is how the world looks to us. You should read this book.

This is the most powerful book I have ever read about the Native people of this land. Since reading it, I have gotten several copies for my friends and loved ones and they have all reported being powerfully touched by it. I can't recommend any book more strongly!