Turn the Stars Upside Down: The Last Days and Tragic Death of Crazy Horse (Plainsmen) [Hardcover]

Terry C. Johnston (Author)

Book Description

Series: Plainsmen | Publication Date: August 21, 2001

Turn the Stars Upside Down is the compelling and little-known story of Crazy Horse's surrender in 1877 only months after his last fight with the U.S. Army at Battle Butte, his futile attempts to find peace for his warrior heart among the reservation Indians, and his eventual undoing at the hands of his own Oglala people.

For all his life, this warrior has been a defender of the weak and helpless. But surrounded now on a tiny red island in a sea of white, he finds himself powerless against the forces arrayed against him in what will ultimately be his battle, waged against deceptive army officers, and even against Oglala leaders who whisper, connive, and conspire behind his back to bring about his fall. Even more disastrous will be those friends who once fought at his side against the encroaching white tide--friends who now turn against him, joining his enemies in plotting against this last great hero of the Lakota people.

Award-winning and bestselling frontier author Terry C. Johnston brings all his talent to bear in this tragic tale of betrayal, with all the immediacy and emotion he has so skillfully created in thirty previous novels. No story of the Indian Wars would be complete without this final episode in the short life of Crazy Horse, a story of treachery and deception, but also--ultimately--of the victory of the human spirit.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Marking a hiatus from Cries from the Earth and Lay the Mountains Low volumes one and two of a projected trilogy based on the Nez Perc‚ War of 1877 this 16th western in the author's long-running Plainsmen series recounts Crazy Horse's surrender to the U.S. Army at Camp Robinson, Neb. Here the western historian diligently attempts to set straight the diverse and highly questionable account of the shameful events leading up to Crazy Horse's mortal stabbing while he was resisting incarceration in an Army guardhouse on September 5, 1877. The perfidy begins scarcely a day after Crazy Horse's surrender, when the U.S. decides not to honor its promise to give him an agency to the north. It is further compounded when the Army reneges on its pledge to allow him to take a hunting party to gather meat to see his people through the winter. When Crazy Horse is offered the opportunity to scout for the Army to quell a new Nez Perc‚ uprising, he responds eagerly, but a malevolent interpreter bearing an old grudge misquotes him as saying, "we will go north and fight until a white man isn't left." With his credibility undermined by the jealous old Chief Red Cloud, even his friends turn their backs on him. Crazy Horse seeks asylum at his uncle Spotted Tail's agency but is seduced to return, unaware that the Army intends to send him to Florida in chains. Laying bare another chapter in our nation's ignominious history of lies and broken promises in dealing with the Indians, this is a discomfiting chronicle. At times the narrative is bogged down by repetition and unnecessary detail, but fans of the Plainsmen series shouldn't be disappointed. Author tour.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Johnston's books are action-packed...Lively, lusty, fascinating." -- Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph

"Compelling...Johnston offers memorable characters, a great deal of history and lore about the Indians and pioneers of the period, and a deep insight into human nature."--Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (August 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312277571
• ISBN-13: 978-0312277574
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #934,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lakota lose their last warrior, August 10, 2001

By 

William Calkins (Shoreline, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turn the Stars Upside Down: The Last Days and Tragic Death of Crazy Horse (Plainsmen) (Hardcover)

Terry has again transported us back in time to the the last days of the powerful Ogalala warrior who finally came in to the Red Cloud agency to fight the white man no more. This book goes into detail to the conspiring factions of the Sioux leaders and the local U.S. Army commanders in bringing down the famous warrior. Terry paints the story with sights and sounds of the the capture and tragic death of Crazy Horse. The author can instill life into his characters with great passion that lets the reader have great empathy with the situations that they must go through. If you want to get hooked on history of the Old West, I recommend this book and the thirty some other books he has written. Good bye Terry. I was proud to have known and rode with you.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Farewell to the Master, January 10, 2003

By 

Bob Johnson (Seabeck,WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turn the Stars Upside Down: The Last Days and Tragic Death of Crazy Horse (Plainsmen) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been a fan of Terry C. Johnston since his first novel "Carry The Wind," and was greatly distressed at his passing. The historical novel has lost a genius and I have lost a friend. We shall never get to follow Seamus Donegan to the end of the projected Plainsmen series, and that is a great loss for lovers of the genre. That said, I was a bit disappointed that Terry went out on a down note, as I feel "Turn The Stars Upside Down" was not up to his usual standards. But even middling Johnston is superior to almost anything else out there. This novel of Crazy Horse's last days could have used a more critical editor to lop out the repitition that creeps in the pages, as well as sharpening the dialogue a bit. I love the way Terry comes to his own conclusions on the events described in the novel. Terry was never one to back down from his opinions, and his meticulous research backs him up.He delves farther into the Lakota politics and intrigues than any previous author, and lets us see the tragedy of the whole Indian Wars and its effect on the Indians as well as whites. When he makes the connection of the Crazy Horse story to Shakespearean tragedy, you better believe he proves his point. I have personal letters from him and can vouch that he will state his opinion and back it up vehemently! So while this was a good Johnston book, if you want to read an excellent novel on the subject, try Dan O'Brien's "Contract Surgeon." With the passing of the western historical novel's literary giant, we Johnston devotees must now go back through our libraries and reread his previous novels, wondering what might have been had this giant of a man lived on to complete his vision.