TWO OF AMERICAN HISTORY'S MOST BRILLIANT WARRIORS-AND FIERCEST ENEMIES-COME ALIVE "An invaluable addition to western history."-Evan Connell, author of Son of the Morning Star "Written like fine historical fiction, but substantial, substantive, enlightening."-Kirkus Reviews This captivating dual biography chronicles the lives and battles of two of America's most famous warriors, the legendary Apache shaman, Geronimo, and the nation's most successful Indian fighter, General George Crook. Artfully constructed from ...
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TWO OF AMERICAN HISTORY'S MOST BRILLIANT WARRIORS-AND FIERCEST ENEMIES-COME ALIVE "An invaluable addition to western history."-Evan Connell, author of Son of the Morning Star "Written like fine historical fiction, but substantial, substantive, enlightening."-Kirkus Reviews This captivating dual biography chronicles the lives and battles of two of America's most famous warriors, the legendary Apache shaman, Geronimo, and the nation's most successful Indian fighter, General George Crook. Artfully constructed from their own words, as well as newspaper accounts and the firsthand recollections of those who fought with-and against-them, here is a compelling and uniquely evenhanded account of the intriguing men at the center of one of American history's most definitive, longest-running struggles-the infamous Apache Wars. Born to defend their respective cultures-and destined to destroy each other in the process-the vengeful, spiritually powerful Indian warrior and the remorseless, consummate professional officer are inextricably bound to each other in the fabric of our country, and in the hearts of their peoples.
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The Fox and the Whirlwind by Peter Aleshire, a dual biography of General George Crook and Geronimo, is an often fascinating study in contrasts and comparisons between two adversaries on the battlefield and two cultures in transition.
Crook is a rational, detached but brutally effective terminator. He learned early on that it was pointless to chase around in circles an enemy that knew the terrain and environment more acutely than he ever could. He quickly devised a strategy that cut straight to the heart of the hunter/gather lifestyle. He?d wait until the bands had gathered their harvests and stores from a plentiful summer then strike?destroying a year?s worth of labor for the tribe and dooming them to starvation during the oncoming winter. His merciless strategy quickly made him the preeminent Indian fighter in the West. While he often sympathized with his adversaries, he was completely ruthless in carrying out his orders.
Geronimo, on the other hand, was a passionate, spiritual man who was scarred by an early massacre of his family. Left with nothing but hatred in his heart, he was a ruthless and hot-blooded killer who came to take pleasure in war. As his people were increasingly boxed in smaller and smaller corners, and their leader forced into no-win decisions, Geronimo fought brutally. Convinced of his immortality, the more helpless the situation, the more he thrived.
The book sometimes gets mired down in the necessarily oral nature of the Apache history. ?He said that so-and-so-said that they heard that Geronimo said?? ?Geronimo thought that so-and-so wanted to kill him so he told?? The whispers and rumors and gossip that is reservation life is prominent here and sometimes slows the book down. Still, for me, it was an eye-opening account of the Indian wars in my own backyard and a heart-breaking depiction of a race of people who were betrayed over and over until they had literally nothing left to lose but their lives.
