North America Books

...and I've got shelves of 'em. This is an exhaustively researched, splendidly written guide for visitors and native New Orleanians alike. Fantastically detailed walking tours cover New Orleans' celebrated five-star attractions...then take you off the beaten trail to explore parts of the city not covered in other guidebooks.

This is the book to pack on your first, third, or even sixth visit to one of our most exotic and fascinating cities. I can't recommend it highly enough.

this book allowed for one of the nicest vacations i have ever taken. more than bourbon street indeed; if you're into historical along with fun, good food, and the infamous celebratory attitude then this is the book you're looking for! it covers everything you can imagine plus the historical information with the descriptions that follow the maps for the various tours is priceless. we didn't take one tour save the plantation *oak alley* tour; didn't need to! the maps along with the additional information is all you need to create your own walking tours, driving excursions and much much more. i would also allow that personally i did read another book: Fabulous New Orleans by Lyle Saxon. the combination of the two really compliment one another. just my opinion. again, great book; i sincerely can't say enough.

Having visited NO before and having read three other "Guides" I was suprised by how different this book was from the others and how everything I personally wanted to know about was adressed in detail. Walking the Faubourgs is the best way to appreciate the very unique city behind the tourist hype and Mr. Delahanty tells you how. Other guide books are collections of data gathered from many sources, but this is a story told by someone who knows and loves his subject. Our morning walks through the Bayou St. John neighborhood for coffee on Esplanade Ave. were greatly enhanced by the information in the "Esplanade Ridge" section. The history is so much more amazing than the garishness of Bourbon St. My daughter, a six year resident of NO, is planning her wedding there and has found this an invaluable resource. There is an address and telephone number for everything. I am recommending this book to all of her wedding guests and buying a second copy for myself, having given mine to her. If you plan a trip to New Orleans, read this book before you go and carry it with you while you are there.

New Orleans' unique food, music, architecture, and people have been justly celebrated and explained to out of towners and locals alike in many, many books. Why one more?

Randolph Delehanty's answer to that question would be, I suppose (I have never spoken with him), that most guidebooks miss the essence of our city: the varied streets - from the carriage-wide alleyways of the Vieux Carre to the grand boulevards of St. Charles and Esplanade Avenues - which tie together our rich architectural heritage and cultural history.

At once public and private, street walking is an old tradion in New Orleans and this book introduces novice and old pro alike to the tricks of the trade.

Delehanty, director of the University of New Orleans' Ogden Museum of Southern Art and author of nine books, including the definitive coffee table book of New Orleans'interiors and patios, New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence, takes readers inside New Orleans buildings and gardens on over a dozen walking, transit, and (when necessary) car tours of the city and its River Road environs. Neighborhood by fauborg, he explains the special points of history that make this a city of towns, unlike most Southern cities. While your eyes are drawn to the architecture, he points out the lives of the inhabitants of these old homes, shops, and mansions - often writers and musicians. A few pages on "New Orleans House Design and Sociability: Stoops, Balconies, Galleries, and Porches" explain how climate, architecture, and sociability were intimately intertwined before the age of air-conditioning, cars, and television reduced urban life to a fraction of its potential for gracious living.

This walker's "ultimate guide" to New Orlean's architecture and culture is a must for locals who hope to become "New Orleans know it alls" and an inspired choice for those out of towners who hope to live like a native, if only for a few days.

Excellent and detailed maps, extensive cross-references, and select listings of all the basic tourist needs (restaurants, music clubs, bars, etc.) round out an excellent guide: the best of its kind (in the opinion of this City of New Orleans' licensed walking tour guide and life long resident of the Big Easy).

This book caused me to feel the whole gammot of emotions--from excitement to disappointment to fear. It drew me in and captured my attention with its unexpected twists and turns. Unlike other books, taboo topics are essential to character development. This is an insightful look into the delicate balance of maintaining multiple relationships throughout the course of life. I couldn't ask for anything more from a book.

Without question, the very best book I ever read. You can not but it down nor can you stop thinking about it. This is a POWERFUL book. You will be moved and your foundation shaken but your life will be richer. This is a must read.

I am a voracious reader and in my late 20's. I have just finished Red Earth White Earth for the second time. The richness and poignancy with which the characters are developed is perfectly juxtaposed with that of Weaver's descriptions of the harsh but deeply beautiful Minnesota farmland. A magnificent story of what is natural in and around all of us.

For many reasons, this is the best book I've ever read. Not only does the story take me through a gamut of emotions, but I love Will Weaver's writing and descriptions. He describes everyday things in ways that sound unique and lyrical. I have read this book several times and enjoy it more each time. Don't miss out on this one!

Here is how the dispossession of the Utes really happened. Should be required reading in history classes. Fascinating account. Highly recommend!!

"Red Twilight: The Last Free Days Of The Ute Indians" is a remarkable eye-witness testament to the plight of the Ute Indians. Val FitzPatrick was born January 4, 1886 and lived to the age of 102. All his life was spent in northwestern Colorado and gave him an intimate knowledge of the Northern Utes (especially the Whiteriver band) after their encounter with the white man's culture. FitzPatrick provides the modern reader with a window into a yesteryear of the western frontier during the time of white settlers displacing the Utes from the homelands. This is an account more accurate and compelling than those of the newspaper journalists of the day were able to print. Very highly recommended for personal and academic Native American studies collections, Red Twilight is enhanced with a rare oral history by one of the Ute warriors who fought in the Battle of Milk Creek; excerpts from the diary of early cowboy Wils Rankin (nephew of Joe Rankin, scout of the ill-fated Major Thornburg); and a special section describing life on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation in the 1950s and 60s.

Red Twilight: The Last Free Days Of The Ute Indians is a remarkable eye-witness testament to the plight of the Ute Indians. Val FitzPatrick was born January 4, 1886 and lived to the age of 102. All his life was spent in northwestern Colorado and gave him an intimate knowledge of the Northern Utes (especially the Whiteriver band) after their encounter with the white man's culture. FitzPatrick provides the modern reader with a window into a yesteryear of the western frontier during the time of white settlers displacing the Utes from the homelands. This is an account more accurate and compelling that those of the newspaper journalists of the day were able to print. Very highly recommended for personal and academic Native American studies collections, Red Twilight is enhanced with a rare oral history by one of the Ute warriors who fought in the Battle of Milk Creek; excerpts from the diary of early cowboy Wils Rankin (nephew of Joe Rankin, scout of the ill-fated Major Thornburg); and a special section describing life on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation in the 1950s and 60s.

This book is unique - it tells the story of the removal of the Ute Indians from a sympathetic viewpoint, and by one who was there. Val FitzPatrick was a settler in northwest Colorado when the Utes were displaced into Utah and forced from their ancestral homelands. The real story is different from what white history records.

Well written, great reading, and fascinating first-hand stories. If you like reading about the West and its history or American Indians, you can't go wrong here. The author was there and is a great writer. He personally knew the Utes. Winner of an award from the Utah Humanities Council and used in their diversity program. I also highly recommend FitzPatrick's other book, "The Arbuckle Cafe: Classic Cowboy Stories."

I worked in the Lower Pecos region with a group of students last summer, and had the honor of meeting Carolyn Boyd. She took time to give our students personal guided tours of the cave paintings, and they were enthralled. She is a gifted communicator, and passionate about her work. These same qualities come through in her book.

The first time she saw these paintings, she was an artist with no experience in archaeology. Her art background allowed her to see what others had missed; the myriad elements were part of a single canvas, composed by a single artist, invested with purpose and meaning. At that moment she held insights the 'experts' lacked, but she did not have the credibility or credentials to convince anyone. Rather than giving up, she went back to school and got her PhD in Anthropology, writing her Doctoral Dissertation on this cave art. She is now recognized as the world's formost expert on these paintings.

Rock Art Of The Lower Pecos by Carolyn E. Boyd (Executive Director of the archaeological research and educational nonprofit Shumla School) offers an expert and in-depth analysis of the rock art created four thousand years ago in what is now southwest Texas and northern Mexico. New interpretations and hypothesis concerning these mysterious yet evocative images left behind by hunter-gatherers of millennia ago fill the pages of this fascinating guide, which packed from cover to cover with the latest up-to-date findings, as well as an anthropological wealth of insightful ideas from a wide variety of experts and schools of thought concerning the uses of the art and the intentions of the ancient artists. Black-and-white as well as full color illustrations embellish this thoughtful and strongly recommended study.

Carolyn Boyd has done an outstanding job with Rock Art of the Lower Pecos! This excellent literary work clearly explains the rock art through extensive ethnographic research and analysis. Her contribution of this book is a landmark acheivment in the field of anthropology. I highly recommend this work to anyone with an interest in historic art or culture.

This author takes research on rock art and makes it concise and understandable for all of us who are interested in rock art in the Americas. But more than that, she takes us to the next level and gives us a basis for understanding WHY the images were produced in the first place and what function they served for the culture. This is must reading for anyone who wants to understand these images and who wants to go to the next level in understanding rock art world wide.

Mary Lu Abbott rounds up Lone Star lodgings, restaurants and sightseeing with lovers in mind. Recommendations are organized regionally and introduced with a brief history of the locale. Among the romantic stays are rooms in a former stagecoach stop; among the memorable restaurants is the palatial Mansion on Turtle Creek Dining Room in Dallas. The book includes major festivals and strikes a nice balance of activities, sightseeing and recreation of interest to both genders.
Chicago Tribune

The updated second edition of Romantic Weekends: Texas covers places to get away for a romantic weekend in Texas, outlining both popular areas and hidden places which can be easily accessed in a long weekend. From central Texas and the Southeast to the Panhandle, the regional breakdowns make it easy to look up particular areas, while specifics on restaurants and accommodations make this a winning set of recommendations.

This book offers the best places for romance in and around Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley and the Mexican border. Only those lodgings with special appeal have been selected, and all have been visited by the author - former Houston Chronicle editor.Table For Two sections profile the most intimate places to eat, where ambiance and service are as important as the food. But this is more than a guide to the best places to stay and eat. Activities that a couple will remember forever are also covered - balloon rides over the desert, romantic strolls under a starry sky, horseback trails into the wilderness. Contact names, telephone numbers and website addresses are given.

This book offers the best places for romance in and around Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley and the Mexican border. Only those lodgings with special appeal have been selected, and all have been visited by the author - former Houston Chronicle editor.Table For Two sections profile the most intimate places to eat, where ambiance and service are as important as the food. But this is more than a guide to the best places to stay and eat. Activities that a couple will remember forever are also covered - balloon rides over the desert, romantic strolls under a starry sky, horseback trails into the wilderness. Contact names, telephone numbers and website addresses are given. Maps, index and photos, plus hand-drawn sketches.

I am very pleased with my order. The book was in excellent condition and was swiftly delivered.

Thanks!

As a young American Indian woman, reading PGA's book was like finding my own personal bible. Finally, someone who was telling me the same things about myself that my mother had taught me. Excellent chapters like "The Red Roots of White Feminism" and "When Strong Women Throw Down Bundles" are not to be missed. PGA your my shimasaani!

Being a white male (although one who's interested in Native American literature) certainly influenced my reaction to this book. That said, I think it's invaluable reading--probably a "must read" for those really interested in the field of Native American studies. I found it extremely interesting and useful. I also found it unsettling and even offensive in places. In spite of attacking white culture for reducing everything to ethnocentric formulas (a point she illustrates very persuasively), Allen seems to me to do the same thing throughout the book. While criticizing white academics for robbing Native Americans of thier complexity as individuals, she tends to see every possible issue through a polarized perspective--Native American=Good, White culture=bad. Doesn't this, in fact, rob Native Americans of their complexity as individuals and lead to the very romanticizing that Allen objects to?

Still, as irritating as I find this reductive way of arguing, I have to admit that this is a very valuable book.

This white feminist found The Sacred Hoop eye-opening and mind-expanding. While I cannot presume to be able to truly understand tribal thinking, I nonetheless found the concepts and philosophies described here to be completely pertinent to my place in existence. I am struggling to realize my place in a multifaced, complex web-world and have never felt comfortable with the typical feminist need to stand out in the foreground. It is also very empowering to see that there have been many versions of woman-based cultures. Unlike those in Crete, for example, tribal cultures were fully functioning in North America less than 500 years ago! It is unfortunate (though not at all surprising, given the difficulty of writing about concepts in the language of the patriarchy) that this gospel of hope and renewal is not reaching many, many people--especially our young people in colleges and universities. Don't take this wrong, Paula Gunn Allen, but you go, girl!

Edward Sheriff Curtis dedicated his life's work to documenting the customs and lifeways of the Native American peoples of North America. This extraordinary book includes some of the best photographic examples from Curtis' twenty volume masterpiece, "The North American Indian," one of the most significant representations of traditional indigenous culture ever produced.

Curtis was one of two official photographers for the 1899 Harriman expedition to Alaska. On his return, he stopped in northern Montana, accompanied by George Bird Grinell, editor of Forest and Stream. There he witnesses the deeply sacred Sundance of the Piegan and Blackfoot tribes, a sight which transformed his life. Grinell said to him at that time, "Take a good look. We're not going to see this kind of thing much longer. It already belongs to the past". It became clear to him then, that he was to record, with pen and camera, the life of the North American Indian. By the time the last volume appeared in 1930, little remained of the ancient traditions of the peoples he photographed.

Beginning in 1900 and continuing over the next thirty years, Edward S. Curtis, sometimes called the "Shadow Catcher" by tribes' people, took over 40,000 photographs and recorded ethnographic information from over eighty American Indian tribal groups, ranging from the Eskimo or Inuit people in the North to the Hopi people of the Southwest. In the end, the work comprised twenty textual volumes and twenty portfolios with over 2,000 illustrations.

"Sacred Legacy: Edward S Curtis And The North American Indian" was compiled and published to honor the 100th anniversary of Curtis's project to photograph the North America's indigenous peoples, and is a sacred legacy. This impressive volume beautifully reproduces in luminous images 200 of Curtis's greatest photographs from the finest source materials available - a significant number from platinum, gold and silver prints. Christopher Cardozo, an authority on Curtis, carefully selected the photographs for publication and for the accompanying exhibition. Writers who contribute their work here include: Joseph D. Horse Capture, N. Scott Momaday, and Anne Makepeace.

The photographs are organized by tribes and culture areas, encompassing the Great Plains, California, the Southwest, Plateau Region and Woodlands, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. These reproductions represent an artistic masterpiece worthy of any collection. This volume is a fitting tribute to Curtis's genius.

"The passing of every man and woman means the passing of some tradition, some knowledge of sacred rights possessed by no other." Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952)
JANA

I absolutely love this book, the photagraphs are stunning. As a Native American of the Plateau Tribes, I love to browse through the photographs and see the images of my ancestors. My family consists of many different tribal Nations, from Coastal to Plateau and Plains, so it is nice to see the faces and the land as well as the clothing during the time these images were taken.

The many photographs have a hazy sepia tinge that somehow adds to the distancing from us, the present day readers. Curtis did an amazing and sympathetic photographic survey of native Americans in the early 20th century. His collection epitomises the changing view of natives, to the broader American society. No longer were they portrayed as bloodthirsty savages. Instead, Curtis took care to show many natives in peaceful surroundings. Often, getting on with everyday chores. A distinguishing aspect is that few of the photos show them brandishing weapons.

Keep in mind that even by the earliest photos, there were very few "wild" natives left in the US. Years earlier, they had been defeated by the US army, and the survivors often relegated to reservations. So what the photos show are domesticated peoples. Nomadic no longer, even if their forebears had been so just a generation ago.

In this sense, Curtis was a generation too late. Had he been a contemporary of Matthew Brady, he might have given us a visual legacy of peoples that were more unassimilated. Though of course he would have risked real injury to himself, in doing so. Still, we should not complain. Curtis did well with what he had, in the era he inhabited.

The works of Edward S. Curtis are monumental and beautiful. This book reproduces them with stunning clarity capturing the luminescence of his orotones remarkably well. The text serves to convey the rich meaning behind the photographs. For anyone interested in photography, art, or the story of the Native Americans, this is a treasure not to be missed.

This book is simple and profound. It started me on a path that helps me see the big pictue and still feel comfortable on the planet.

For all the people of the earth, the Creator has planted a sacred Tree, under which they may gather to find healing, power, wisdom and security. Its roots spread deeply into Mother Earth, its branches reach to Father Sky. Its fruits are the good things that our Creator has given to all peoples, the path to love, compassion, generosity, patience, wisdom, justice, courage, respect, humility and other great gifts.

The life of the Tree rests with life of the people, but if they forget to take its nourishment, many would grow sick at heart, lie, quarrel, and abuse the land, poisoning everything they touch. The people would be as in sleep, to awaken again to their search for the Tree, whose knowledge rests with the elders. I find this an especially calming and beautiful book for these terrible times.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

This quiet sleeper is more than just a supplementary tool for Native American rites of passage programs. This is a bondafide spiritual growth tool which is suitable for youth and adults. I have seen few books that are written in such easy to read language but truly FULL of information.

This book will cause introspection and it will give a wonderful roadmap for those that are courageous enough to take the journey. I recommend this book to peoples of all colors. The Native American Sacred Tree and Medicine Wheel applications in this book are incredibly useful.

Great message presented in an almost poetic way. The kind of book you would not abandon in the bookshelf but would use as a companion throughout your journey into becoming your very best.

Since I purchased my first copy of "The Sacred: Ways of Knowledge, Sources of Life," I have done all I can to promote the book as the best way to start learning about Native Americans and American Indian Life-Ways. I recommend it to everyone.

In 1987 I published the following book review in the prestigious American Indian Quarterly. Some twenty-one years later, by beliefs remain the same, but my hopes that "The Sacred: Ways of Knowledge, Sources of Life" would become a regularly used textbook and standard reference book in libraries remain unfulfilled. And for me the question remains, how do I get people to read this book? I did my part, utilizing it as a textbook for classes I taught at Rocky Mountain College, Northern Montana College, and Carroll College, all here in Montana. When I left Carroll College, the instructor who took my place continued to use "The Sacred" for several years. Since then, however, it has been dropped for more "up to date" books, hoping to reinvent the wheel. Here, then, is my published review:

One is seldom afforded the opportunity to read such an exemplary book as Peggy V. Beck and Anna L Walters' "The Sacred: Ways of Knowledge, Sources of Life." As alaudatory contribution towards better literature on American Indians, "The Sacred" serves as both a fundemental resource and a textbook. Although it has been ten years since the book was first published, the book is once more available for classroom use. It is fitting, therefore, that it be re-reviewed in an effort to bring renewed interest in "The Sacred" as both a textbook and a resource.

The impetus for writing and publishing "The Sacred" is to provide a textbook that emphasizes "the traditional characteristics of sacred ways in North America" (p. xii; emphasis in the original). However, these traditional values are also viewed by the authors as the foundation for thinking in contemporary American Indian communities. I would say that Beck and Walters have indeed provided an omibus resource, and now it is up to academia to kindle the study of "The Sacred."

As a textbook, "The Sacred" is editied into an appropriate, systematic framework that allows the student to move from basic ideas and definitions to contemporary problems and attitudes, building upon itself (the knowledge) to create a holistic understanding of the sources of Indian life. The appropriate use of maps, charts, photographs, and superb illustrations enhances, as well as stimulates, the reader's interest in the topics. Each chapter has a bibliorpahy peculiar to its subject matter, and a more general bibliography is located at the end of the book. The reference section contains a glossary of difficult and/or misconstured terms, a listing of films and filstrips pertinent to each chapter (and where to obtain them), and an index.

The text is an integrated combination of reportorial, narrative, biogrphical, and interpretive styles of writing that reveal the attitudes of the authors along woth those of the cited contributors and "The People" themselves. In discussing the subjects or themes of each chapter, historical influences are fully inorporated with contemporary issues to create a relavantly circular presentation. This stylistic technique, when comined with the book's authoritativeness and perspectus, transposes into a highly readable and pertinent textbook for students of all levels of knowledge. Additionally, documents and recorded oral commentaries, which the authors appropriately use to support their detailed treatment and general themes, contribute to make "The Sacred" an invaluable reference as well.

The authors begin "The Sacred" by distinguishing between the concepts of religion, the sacred, world view, and how these ideas function in each person's daily awareness. From this foundation they develop their ideas concerning the way thinking about the sacred--indeed, ways for thinking about the sacred for most American Indians:
1. A belief in or knowledg of unseen powers, or what some people call The Great Mystery.
2. Knowledge that all things in the universe are dependent on each other.
3. Personal worship reinforces the bond between the individual, the community, and the great powers. Worship is a personal commitiment to the sources of life.
4. Sacred trations and persons knowledgealble in them are responsible for teaching morals and ethics.
5. Most communities and tribes have trained practitioners who have been given names such as medicine men, priests, shamans, caciques, and other names. These individual also have titles given them by The People which differ from tribe to tribe. These individuals are responsible for specialized, perhaps secret knowledge. They help pass knowledge and sacred practices from generation to generation, storing what they know in their memories.
6. A belief that humor is a necessary part of the sacred. And a belief that human beings are often weak--we are not gods--and our weakness leads us to do foolish things; therefore, clowns and similar figures are neded to show us how we act and why. (pp. 8-9)

Once the reader learns what the sacred entails, along with the ways of thinking about the sacred, it becomes obvious that the sacred permeates American Indian lifeways. The remainder of "The Sacred," then, develps and inetrates these ideas within various components of American Indian life-ways.

Beck and Waters' book is an original and qualified book that is comprehensive in its usefulness. That is, it is a book that should be considered for use in more than just American Indian Religion classes. "The Sacred" is totally appropriate for introductory classes or general classes like Indians of North America (for which I am successfully using the text). "The Sacred: Ways of Knowledge, Sources of Life" is a positive addition to the literature on American Indian Studies, and is one that should be seriously considered for adoption in courses treating topics on American Indians.

Please, read "The Sacred," and then help me pass the word. However, also remember that this is not a novel or a popular reading book, and as such you may find parts hard to understand. If you do, contact a Native American Studies program or feel free to email me.

Please Note: If this review was not helpful to you, I would appreciate learning the reason(s) so I can improve my reviews. My goal is to provide help to potential buyers, not get into any arguments. So, if you only disagree with my opinion, could you please say so in the comments and not indicate that the review was not helpful. Thanks.

A wonderful compilation of Native American Practices and Religion. Interesting to both researchers and Native American practitioners. I would recommend this book to anyone needing insight to a culture that is much older and wiser than the Western European and American cultures.

"The Sacred Ways of Knowledge" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy." http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy

Excerpt(s): This textbook is about the sacred ways of Native American people in North America. Through examples from the oral tradition of The People, through interviews, speeches, prayers, songs and conversations, these ways will be explored.

The material in this textbook will attempt to describe, not intrude by analysis, the meaning, role and function of sacred traditional practices and observances in the lives of The People, individually and collectively. This textbook will perhaps also help to correct the misinformed views of Native American sacred traditions and observances. These views fill the archives, the libraries, the movies, and the textbooks students use throughout the world. By simply letting The People speak we may come to better understand the profoundness of strength, beauty, and vitality of this dimension of American Indian People.

Many Native People find it difficult to explain their ways of life, beliefs, traditions, and observances with the word "religion" Therefore, we tried to find a word that would better describe sources of life and ways of knowledge. For this reason we chose the word sacred which we will define in more detail later on in this chapter. (page 3)

The Path of Life

The place from which you had started at the beginning seemingly a long time ago, will now appear very close as if you had started but recently.

Within several religions around the world is the philosophy or idea that life is envisioned as a path or road. The terrain through which it winds and goes is representative of the pitfalls, or turns of life one must encounter as one travels the "road of life." This is made explicit in the ceremony, like the Mide of the Winnebago. The above quote comes from this ceremony.

At the root of Native American aboriginal concepts is the belief that the road conveys an eternal return. There is no end. At death one returns in some way to the beginning. On the path of life, when one has reached old age, one knows what one knew when one was born, but only realizes and acknowledges it for the first time. The concept is at the root of aboriginal beliefs because like the road, the "sacred" had no beginning or end. The road is continuous and never ending. ...

In Peyotism, the Peyote "road" is also discussed. An explanation, metaphorically, is given about the altar of a crescent moon.

At the west corner, horns to the east, is the crescent altar with a groove or "path" along it from horn to horn, interrupted by a flat space in the center where the "father peyote" is later to rest on springs of sage. The "path" symbolizes man's path from birth (southern tip) to the crest of maturity and knowledge (at the place of the peyote) and thence downward again to the ground through old age to death (northern tip).

The priest swung a pointing finger along a narrow groove running through the crest of the altar moon. "You follow life's road,: he explained to me, "then you meet peyote, and your life changes. It has for everyone in here. We meet peyote and then we continue in that Way."

Through these roads or paths life is given more meaning, purpose, and responsibility. We also find that these roads provide means or procedures by which the people may attain or achieve certain desired goals. This is the role of religions. The path of life is analogous to this role. (page 197)

The Peyote Spirit

We have been taught that all men have the right to worship God in the manner and form most satisfactory to their own conscience. (Osage Peyotists)

The definitions of Peyote are multi-faceted and varying. It depends, of course, on whom one asks and their knowledge, or experience with Peyote. Obviously many interpretations will range from the abstract, personal, and emotional to an objective concrete, scientific explanation.

Examples of the abstract are:

Peyote is a power. There is a power in there. That power, he has many names. You don't know how much power is there. It will take all your lifetime and you will know only a small part of the power. This is what I was told.

This description comes from a young Navajo man, Ron Barton, who was introduced to Peyote as a small child and has since made a commitment to it. Larry Etsitty, also a Navajo and Vice-President of the Navajoland Native American Church defines Peyote in this way,

The Peyote to me, is my bible. I know what I should be doing and shouldn't be doing. To me, when I take that Peyote, I feel humble (respectful) all the time.

Peyote has always been a religion. It is used mainly to gain power. (Manuel Watchman, Navajo) (page 233)

The Peyote experience is one of individual meditation and consequently, revelation. Prayer and contemplation provide reasonable access, through Peyote, to satisfying revelations about one's self. Shirly Etsitty explains further, "The fundamental teaching is as a sacrament . . ., it (Peyote) is the mediator. When you take the medicine, you learn from inside out." Change is inevitable, according to one's conscience and confrontation with himself. Change for the better becomes possible, necessary, and worthwhile. However, the change must be within the individual, as his environment does not visibly alter. While he cannot usually control conditions that affect him, he can influence and exercise more controls within his own life. His outlook, philosophically, and behavior adjusts accordingly. (pages 245-246)

Christianity and the Peyote Religion

Emhoolah who has spent part of his life from childhood with "Peyote People" says, "I've gone to Christian Churches. I always come back. There must be something about that herb that appeals to the Indian." Ron Barton echoes the sentiment, "I've been involved in the Native American Church all my life, since I was born. It's in me. It will always be in me. I like the Peyote Way. I pray that way. I eat that way. I sleep that way. I live that way. It puts back the dignity." Sam Gardipe talking about tradition and its place in a fast-moving technologically oriented world, shared his philosophy as Peyotist, and as an Indian. "I have a philosophy. One of the ways of rebelling, is to be traditional, to really know your own way (Peyote Way)."

To reiterate, Larry Etsitty also acknowledges that the bird he envisions can also go in the direction of Christianity. He sees Peyotism as being adaptable, supplemental and not detrimental to any other religion, including Christianity. It is acknowledged that the Native American Church in its contemporary form contains seeds of Christianity, incorporated either recently or in some cases before the 20th century.

The Peyote Religion functioned as separate independent groups prior to the organization of specific groups into the affiliated Native American Church. In doing so, some groups also introduced characteristics and the concept of Christianity. Other groups did not attempt to introduce change or did not reorganize themselves. (pages 247-248)

The Peyote Way or Peyote Road stresses four main teachings one must conform and adhere to. "Peyote People" may supply the instruction, or after Peyote is consumed it may be directly responsible for teaching. The teachings are: (1) Love for your fellow man or brotherly love; (2) responsibility for one's family; (3) self-reliance; and (4) refraining from use of alcohol. ...

Larry Etsitty stated with regard to children that he had been told by other members of the Native American Church (not of the Navajoland chapter or branch) that it delighted them to see children participate. Their age ranged from infants to expectant parents. Larry Etsitty continued, "They said they felt that's where they went wrong. At times when there were too many participants, the young ones were requested to leave to make room for older participants." He indicated that these people regretted that their young ones have not responded in the desired manner. As to the women in Peyotism, depending on the area and the time, it was once recorded they were sometimes not allowed to participate. Most tribes, as oral tradition indicates, gave the women a very high place in the Peyote Religion and usually credit her for the bringing of Peyote. The Navajo tribe is one of the very, very few who allow women to sing during the meeting. (pages 249-250)

In the Summer of 1975, the author met an elderly man at the Navajo Tribal Fair in Window Rock, Arizona. He was a golden man, all sparkly, dark skin and eyes, in the sun. He was obviously not wealthy in ways of money and extravagant finery. He and his clothes were all wrinkly and worn. Both had bags in them. He stepped up to negotiate a purchase he planned. He wanted the man's robe or sheet, half red and half black, worn in the Peyote meeting. He said he was a road man, had been one for forty years. He said he'd been to jail for Peyote, was there when Peyote followers were harassed. He said it simply and matter-of-factly. "Peyotism had endured." He said that softly, gently in Navajo. He said he would do it all over again.

I just want to add to the other reviewr's here and they all have excellent reviews. I have read about all of the decent books on this subject and I believe Roger Darling's book here hit's the nail on the head. This work is clearly the very best on this subject. You can read all the works on Custer but in the end this is the very best.

Paul Posey
Grovetown, GA

Darling has obviously done extensive research and throws new light on the attempt to make Custer the sole scapegoat for the disaster that befell the Seventh Cavalry at the Little Big Horn. As one who has extensively read in Custeriana, I share Darling's views for the most part. I am not sure what Gen. Terry meant when he referred to a Sad and Terrible Blunder, but I think the blunder applies end to end, starting in Washington D.C. and carrying down to Custer and his subordinates. There has been extensive discussion for years of whether or not Custer disobeyed the surviving order that Terry provided to him. Assuming he did, and I don't think so based on my own military experience (e.g. I'd have felt comfortable with a set of discretionary orders like those in marching to Washington D.C.) one wonders what would have happened to Terry if Custer had literally followed those orders as Terry later implied he should have. Perhaps we need a book called CUSTER BLINDLY OBEYS, TERRY DIES. READ THE BOOK AND SEE WHAT I MEAN.

A true revelation on what General Terry actually planned in his two point attack of pinching the "hostiles" between two columns and how the plan was poorly executed. The book provides an excellent overview of the campiagn along with Custer's trials and tribulations. But more importantly the roles of Gibbon and the Terry are discussed in detail. From Gibbon's failure to report the location of large villages that could have saved weeks of useless campaigning/scouting for the hostiles for Terry to Terry's incompetent ability to direct the blocking Montana column into position. This book provides a totally new perspective on the LBH battle. It also reveals the failure of Terry from the drawing of his plan to his hands on field decisions. Routes taken by Terry are covered in detail with excepts from diaries, areial photography and wonderful terrain maps. Darling presents well that Terry carefully planted total blame on Custer through indirect statements that leads one to believe that Custer failed entirely and "paid the price". Terry never mentions how he took a long detour through rough country without obtaining information from his true scouts, his engineering officer who knew the land or the crow scouts that lived there. How he marched only four miles in one day, lead the column to a dead end, and lost his gatling guns in a night march. However, he states in his report that Custer turned down gattling guns as if Custer could expect them to keep up with them while they failed to keep up with Terry's infantry. Some of Darlings critque on Custer's decision making from the divide to the LBH could be challenged but they make the book more interesting. Whatever mistakes Custer made, he received his punishment not just from his own but from many others starting with the command. It appears the campaign for Terry was not just a battle against the Indians but one of a war hero's battle with character.

In researching the history and decisions leading to, and culminating in, what is now known as the Battle of the Little Big Horn, I came across Roger Darling's work and became so engaged in it I find myself referencing his basic premise in discussions with other like-minded Little Big Horn "investigators". Darling allows the reader to understand each act in this tragedy from a literal, gramatical and historical perspective. While acknowledging what "experts" say TODAY about the events leading to the battle, Darling takes a fresh approach. "Where was Custer when he made decisions, what, precisely, did he base those decisions on and about what and to whom did he transmit those decisions"? This is no 'Monday morning quarterbacking' from an historical perspective; no 20/20 hindsight vision. Darling emphasizes that neither Washington, General Terry, Colonel Gibbon, nor Custer, himself, had the vaguest notion of understanding Indian warfare and allowed their bigotry to hinder any understanding. Darling reveals the Sioux Campaign of 1876 for what is was, a blundering about on the Plains by ill-equipped, ill-trained and ill-informed offiers and men of the US Army - pitted against what every soldier already knew of the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne; the finest force of fighting cavalry in the world. Did Terry and Custer have a clue about the hostiles' location? Was Washington aware the estimates of Indian strength were erroneous by 300%? And was Marcus Reno the most surprised man on earth when he discovered that the small band of Indians he pursued at Custer's orders led him directly against the largest concentration of Indians ever seen on the North American continent? Historical hindsight allows Terry, Custer, et.al. reasonable intelligence about the force they sought to corral and bring to battle. Roger Darling's well researched and in-depth writing reveals a series of blunders beginning in Washington in the Fall of 1875 and culminating in disaster on a Montana hillside on June 25, 1876. Get the book, devour it, think on it. Not only is it great historical reading, it finally makes sense of what happened and why.