by Robert W. Larson (1997)
Red Cloud was not born to leadership. He earned it. In his early years he gained a reputation for fierceness as a warrior and as a tactician against both whites and other Indian tribes. And in his middle years, his leadership against the U.S. Army in the Powder River country, his forcing the closure of the Bozeman Trail, and his strong pressure to negotiate the favorable outcome of the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 made him the preeminent chief among the Sioux. In his later years, Red Cloud was an intermediary for his people in their dealings with the U.S. government. Although his motives at times were questioned, he steadfastly resisted encroachments on Sioux land during the reservation period, and he consistently protested the pressure by market-oriented whites to impose an agrarian economy on a people who had never farmed. Red Cloud's passionate belief in the values of his culture prevented him from acting as a culture broker; nevertheless, he remained an important figure of the Gilded Age.
James C. Olson
From the mid-1860s until the end of organized resistance on the Great Plains, Red Cloud, the noted Oglala Sioux, epitomized for many the Indian problem. Centered on Red Cloud's career, this is an admirably impartial, circumstantial, and rigorously documented study of the relations between the Sioux and the United States government during the years after the Civil War.
Peter Matthiessen
An investigative account of the fatal shootout between FBI agents and American Indians in 1975. On a hot June morning in 1975, a desperate shoot-out between FBI agents and Native Americans near Wounded Knee, South Dakota, left an Indian and two federal agents dead. Four members of the American Indian Movement were indicted on murder charges, and one, Leonard Peltier, was convicted and is now serving consecutive life sentences in a federal penitentiary. Behind this violent chain of events lie issues of great complexity and profound historical resonance, brilliantly explicated by Peter Matthiessen in this controversial book. Kept off the shelves for eight years because of one of the most protracted and bitterly fought legal cases in publishing history, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse reveals the Lakota tribe's long struggle with the U.S. government, and makes clear why the traditional Indian concept of the earth is so important at a time when increasing populations are destroying the precious resources of our world.--From publisher description.
Charles Powell
King Juan Carlos of Spain is currently one of the world's most popular and respected statesmen. This largely reflects the interest and admiration he has aroused both at home and abroad on account of his decisive contribution to the establishment and consolidation of democracy in Spain following the death of General Franco in November 1975. While seeking to determine the precise nature of his role in this process, widely publicised as a result of his part in aborting the military coup of February 1981, this political life of Juan Carlos also aims to shed new light on lesser-known episodes of his life, including his childhood and adolescence, the process leading to his proclamation as Franco's successor in 1969 and his performance as Prince of Spain (1969-75). Additionally, it deals in detail with the King's current role as constitutional monarch, his efforts to hold the newly created semi-federal Spanish state together, and his hitherto ignored contribution to foreign policy.
Myra G. Gutin
"This new look at Barbara Bush draws on recently opened records at the Bush library, the first lady's many speeches, interviews with her staff, and an exclusive interview with Mrs. Bush to impart a new appreciation for this beloved former first lady. And while other biographies - and her own memoir - have hinted at seeming contradictions in the Barbara Bush persona, Myra Gutin looks squarely at her White House years to set the record straight and show that she was more than "Americas Grandmother" in faux pearls." "Gutin argues that Barbara was more politically astute than George - even though she denied any input into policymaking and maintained an apolitical image. In fact, she played an integral role in campaigning, fund-raising, and other activities that often blurred the line between the humanitarian and the political. Piercing through the first lady's public persona, Gutin reveals Barbara's backstage political skills in action - along with her closely held views on social issues like gun control and abortion."--Jacket.