Customer Reviews

Without Reservation: How a Controversial Indian Tribe Rose to Power and Built the World's Largest Casino

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you live in Eastern Connecticut, as I do, or if you live in the eastern part of the US , chances are good that you've been to the Foxwoods Casino. You might want to read this book in order to better understand to whom the millions of dollars we collectively spend there goes!

I was not able to put down this book since it arrived! It illustrates how complacent politics and leadership guided by tunnel vision literally changed the face of the eastern part of this state. If a small fraction of the injustices done to the people of Ledyard and the surrounding towns is true, then we should ALL be outraged that this travesty has been allowed to occur.

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My suggestion is that you read the book and make your own decision. I can say that it has been enlightening to me especially now that Connecticut is planning on allowing even more newly recognized tribes to build still more casinos in eastern Connecticut. Lets hope nobody else loses their land or their home to benefit THAT endeavor.

The end of the jacket blurb describes this book: "As compelling as a novel, _Without Reservation is must reading for anyone interested in the way today's world _really_ works."

This is a fair description. It does have the characterization, the pacing and the storytelling of a novel. This is "compelling" at its best but sometimes seems silly and superficial. The most fascinating thing is indeed the insight into how the world works and one does not need a particular interest in gambling or Native Americans to appreciate it. We see how lawyers can revolutionize the world through close reading, discovering new powers in old books while at the same time it becomes clear that elected officials have no time for or interest in reading the legislation that they implement. The book traces the rise of Skip Hayward, founder and chief of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe. Hayward often appears in the worst light, especially in the chapters on his first marriage (he was really awful to his wife). But he is also a man of charisma and vision. He organizes a tribe that was long thought extinct and creates a billion dollar business. The irony is that the get-rich scheme that is finally successful for Hayward is based on the work of three extremely idealistic people: John Stevens, leader of the impoverished Passamaquoddy tribe of Maine; Tom Tureen, a Princeton educated public service lawyer; and Susan MacCulloch, Stevens's wife and an anthropologist who is a leading expert on the Indian tribes of the East. Together they discover how to gain legal recognition and compensation for tribes that were swallowed up in the original 13 colonies. They approach Hayward and make all his future success possible.

I really enjoyed this book and was gripped by the story, but it is badly in need of editing, at least in the hardcover first edition that I read. There are repeated misuses of homophones and the author has a problem with numbers. A person is described as in her twenties in 1970 when the next page gives her birthdate as 1934. At one point he explains that the Supreme Court takes "less than 5 percent" of the cases submitted from lower courts and "[t]he other 95 percent are turned away." On the next page the odds of the court taking the case "were no better than one in ninety-five." Either figure is plausible but they are not the same. However, this is a book about the power of lawyers, and the author took his own lesson: he wrote the book while finishing his law degree.

I started reading this book in Borders and was compelled to buy it, because I had to find the justice or the "all is well" at the end of this story...unfortunately the story has not ended as Benedict states. I am a full blooded Native American and believe in the rights of all natives in this country, however I also believe that latching onto "native-americanism" as a means to gain what little goodness comes our way is the lowest form of greed. It makes my skin crawl. I don't think Benedict could give a more compelling detail of the events that took place. I believe every Native American law class should read this book, in hopes that we one day bring the truth to light and force the wrong doers to admit their pretenses or lack of better judgment. The rise of this said tribe reminds me of another crazy true story, the story of the only King of San Francisco. He existed because everybody played along to this man's statement that he was a prince of England and declared himself the King of San Francisco. He got many priveleges because people LET HIM!! I recommend this book to those who don't have anything important to do the next day. I was so angry midway through the book I couldn't go to sleep til' 1am and had to get up at 4am. Now that's a book for you!!

After reading this novel I couldn't help but feel I had just plowed through a book centering on the mafia. but I wasn't! It was a biography of an Indian tribe. The amount of lying, betrayal, greed, and corruption that goes on in this story rivals anything that I have ever read. And it is all true. many investigations have shown that benedict's research is all exact and while Foxwoods and the Pequots obviously deny it all they can't hide. Unfortunately the Federal government along with the state is completely involved with the billion dollar a year casino and refuses to do anything about the mistakes that were made. Records show that those claiming to be Pequots aren't Indians at all. If they are Indians they are not descendants from another tribe that did not reside in CT. Furthermore those that came to claim tribal membership to the government only did so a few months prior to appearing before the Federal government. As was shown in similar cases they would not have been recognized. Basically what this book shows is how lawyers took advantage of early laws to establish a way to generate tons of money. Through strong arm tactics, threats, and lies Tureen and his crew were able to get the Pequots recognized without the US government even attempting to check into the claim and also awarded them much more land than they originally were intending. As the story pans out a huge web of corruption ensues. benedict represents the story in such a compelling fashion you hardly believe it isn't fiction. From Lawyers defending the small town of Ledyard jumping ship to side with the Pequots for profit and gains to the head chairman of Indian Affairs covering up laws to allow the Foxwoods casino to expand all paints a picture of how money rules our government. Simpathetic to the tribe the Lawyers for the Pequots pushed and pushed and put Hayward and his rag tag band of potential Indians in a position to buy their way into anything. When they wanted something they just paid the state of CT for it like their ability to get slot machines costing them 100 million every year in payments to the state. Or through campaigne contributions to President Clinton the corruption goes all the way to the top. This is a must read for anyone to see how money is all that matters in this great land of ours. And that now even after all of this evidence has come to light the federal government refuses to take any action that would cost them that money.

I'd never really thought of Foxwoods until the Maine Indian tribes proposed a similar casino project near my town in southern Maine. This book is chilling and it is heartbreaking to see what has been perpetrated on the citizens of SE Connecticut through complacency and indifference. It is also frightening to learn what can be accomplished when intelligence is married to greed and selfishness. Where were the elected officials to protect the interests of their constituents?!!!! The reviewer who says that this book is full of innuendo and misstatements obviously has ulterior motives and is not disclosing them (or am I just completely jaded after this book?). Anyway, back to the book. I found it impossible to put down, it is a real page turner. Enjoy it, and hope the scourge of casino gambling with all it's false promises never rears it's ugly head in your area.

I live in the area of this casino. I remember when it was a big thing when the high stakes bingo was happening. It is true that you will be driving along this winding country road when all of a sudden a castle like building is before you.

This book is hated by the members of this tribe. I know member before they were members and I can see why they would hate this book. This book very clearly speaks to the graft and ineptitude of our politicians, not to mention the low life lawyers. This book threatens to undo the windfall of cash for the tribal members.

Mr. Benedict asks and answers questions that would seem to bring light to a corrupt proces with the BIA. He brings out the fact that their all important geneology is tainted; he brings to light the subject of the missing map indicating property lines; he also shows the power of foreign finances which is much more powerful then the mob's money.

This book would have made it as a GREAT mystery book, from rags to riches; how deceitful man can be; how greed destroys a man's worth; if it wasn't a non-fiction.

Buy the book and read it not so much as to put fear into you if you have any dealings with either governments but enjoy the part that it is all real and yet reads like a good fiction.

I read this book on the suggestion of a friend. It definately is a pager turner and I couldn't put it down until I finished.

As an enrolled member of a 'casino' tribe I see why such a book would be written about a tribe rising to power through gaming. Afterall, Indians are not entitled to this type of wealth. We're supposed to reside on our little enclaves of land and be alcoholics and live close to nature and I ask why can't Indians have wealth? We didn't make the laws and neither did the Pequots. The Pequots just used the laws to their advantage and made it big. Why shouldn't the Pequots be entitled to justices of the land?

However, I can see the otherside of the fence as well. At what costs did this wealth and power come to a tribe that is suspicious of being a true Indian tribe? I'm not naive. It was all done for good purposes in the beginning, but once instant wealth came their way, all sense of what makes a tribe a tribe was lost to the bigger financial picture. The first thing that is cut when an audit happens is to cut the museum budget. The one thing that can disproove the skepticism of them being a real tribe is cut so that members can keep their pockets lined. No sense of community is in the hearts of this tribe because they'd be looking out for the welfare of the future generations.

But when reading this book, if you choose to, is to attempt to put all biases aside and see what this book (and the others written on the same topic) show...that this book does an incredible job of describing the legal and political forces in opposition to each other that led to the creation, and then to the interpretation and application of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. No other book has done a better job of illustrating the distinction between federal Indian law on the books and federal Indian law in practice than this one. It's a fascinating blueprint for how Indian tribes can leverage law, policy, and politics--if they are shrewd--to achieve an almost unimagineable degree of contemporary political and material power. The brilliance of the Pequots is that they figured out how to use white law and institutions to their particular advantage, and this book describes just how they did it. It is fascinating!! But also to Indian tribes reading this book, let this be a lesson in what NOT to do when instant wealth comes one's way.

What a remarkable book. I couldn't put it down. To me, the question that screams out from this book is "Where's the accountability?" While I admire the genius of the people who pushed this through Congress, I wonder why we don't revisit their tax free status. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, perhaps it is a duck. If this is what it appears to be, a corporation that has manipulated the legal and political system in order to garner un-taxed profits, then it needs to be classified as such. Don't tear the casino down, just make sure it is recognized as a corporation and tax it accordingly. Foxwoods is accountable, as all of us are, to support the system that supports us.

Every US politician and tax-payer should read this book. It is a great example of how the US political system can be manipulated by unscrupulous lawyers. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe was granted Federal Tribal Status, and hence a reservation by pulling the wool over the eyes of Connecticut and Federal politicians asleep at the wheel. They failed to meet many of the required Federal criteria to be recognized as a tribe, especially sound genetic links to the original Pequot Indians, yet they breezed through the process thanks to a bunch of slick lawyers. They didn't stop there either. They continued to manipulate politicians to build a huge casino and basically paid off the state of Connecticut for the license to run slot machines. I know that Native Americans faced many wrong-doings by the US Government over history. If the Mashantucket Pequots were real Indians, I would be happy for them. "Without Reservation" cleary shows that the founders and members of the tribe are NOT real Indians.

Overall I thought the book was excellent and kept the story moving fast. The book also had an updated section on the reaction that author Jeff Benedict received when the book came out, including a 60-minutes investigation. The story isn't done yet either. The Mashantuckets continue to try to expand their ever-growing reservation. I'll be keeping my eyes open for articles in the paper on what happens.

The only negatives about the book were that at times the reader is flooded by extreme legal-ness to the point of confusion, and that the maps describing disputed land could have been a lot better. The pros of this book definitely outweigh the cons though!

This is what happens when well-intentioned laws are parsed out to their individual words by skilled lawyers. In the book the original intent by Tom Tureen was to aid the Indian tribes from the 13 colonies. These tribes were virtually ignored because of a quirk in the Native American laws. His initial goal was to try to gain some reparations for the tribes so that they could get a step up to economic independence. He started in Maine and ended up with the Pequot tribe in Connecticut, arguably now the richest tribe in North America. Along the way we are treated to a cast of characters from Native Americans--possibly--to Senators of the US Senate who manipulate the laws to their own ends. We see how the little towns of Ledyard, North Stonington and Preston almost are devoured by the Pequot tribe in the tribe's quest for bigger and better. Don't look for fairness in this book--there is none. The irony of the whole book is that if the BIA and the regulatory groups in Washington had done their due diligence they would have discovered that the Pequots were really no longer a tribe and the people purporting themselves were only in a "tribe" because of the efforts of Skip Hayward, a visionary who could see the potential money involved and basically made his extended family into the tribe--even though his claim to being a Native American was tentative at best. Ironically he is voted out of his position as tribal chairman and at the end of the book the tribe is under the control of people without a vision. I plan on reading several newer books about the Pequots to see where they are now. I suspect greed still wins in the end.