Rating: 
Summary: Recommended
Review: Immerse yourself in the life and mind of the Oglala Lakota with Sandoz's biography of Crazy Horse. In his preface, Steven Oates perhaps best summarized the book in writing "by incorporating the Indian oral tradition into her narrative...Sandoz got closer to the truth of Crazy Horse and his world, and thus to the truth of history, than she could ever have done had she adhered strictly to "facts" taken from the written records of the white people." Although she had been accused by some of putting words in Crazy Horse's mouth with her style and use of oral history, Sandoz was no slouch as a historian. The book was a dozen years in the making and meticulously researched. As I read the story of Crazy Horse, I found myself so captivated by his story, and by Sandoz's retelling of it, that I was somehow hoping to be saved from the inevitable, tragic conclusion to the life of this truly heroic American. Anyone with an interest in American history must read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas
Review: In his foreword to the 50th anniversary edition, Stephen Oates, himself an historian and biographer of note, describes how Sandoz came to write the life of Crazy Horse and states,"Mari Sandoz and Crazy Horse may be the most potent pairing of author and subject in the history of modern biography." He praises Sandoz for writing "with a creative and lyrical brilliance that makes Crazy Horse a tour de force of language and style" and calls the book "...an almost perfect work of biographical art." I could not agree more with Oates. I have read the entire book two times and portions of it many more times. Readers are often faced with the dilemma of deciding to read further after the first few chapters of a book in the hope they'll "get into it" or to close it and turn it into a dust-catcher. Not so with Sandoz's Crazy Horse. The reader is immediately drawn into it. I was hooked by the lyricism of the first few words of the book which told me that this was going to be no ordinary biography. They read as follows: "The drowsy heat of middle August lay heavy as a furred robe on the upper country of the Shell River, the North Platte of the white man. Almost every noon the thunders built themselves a dark cloud to ride the far crown of Laramie Peak. But down along the river no rain came to lay the dust of the emigrant road, and no cloud shaded the gleaming 'dobe walls and bastions of Fort Laramie, the soldier town that was only a little island of whites in a great sea of Indian country two thousand miles wide." This story is told, not in the voice of a distant historian, but in the voice of an eyewitness. The vividness of her narrative would convince you, if you did not know otherwise, that Sandoz walked with Crazy Horse and his people. But even though she did not walk with them, she knew them well. This is an extraordinary work of creative nonfiction that makes you love being a reader.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: It is great to find a book that tells the life story of one of the greatest leaders in history from an indian point of view. Too often we are subjected to the Hollywood version of cowboys good, indians bad. The language in the book is clear and vivid, making Crazy Horse and his people come alive. After reading this book, Crazy Horse is no longer the demon we are often lead to believe but a human being devoting himself to saving his people. I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to my friends.
Rating:
Summary: This book opened a new page in my life
Review: It will be 3 years ago this February that I first read this book. I then bought the hard cover version so I could keep it in my library and read it over and over again. Prior to this, my interest in Western history was confined to pioneers and cowboys. The Indians were just some folks who happened to get a tough break. This book though, opened my mind to a culture that I had never known or thought much about. Now I read every book I can get on the subject, and spend my summers touring forts and battlefields. Since my first reading of Crazy Horse I have read a biography of Sandoz. I know that her research was maticulous and that she had a good rapport with the Indians who knew Crazy Horse and were still living at the time she was writing. Of course, since this is mostly an oral history it is hard to know what is actual truth and what is the myth which grew around the subject, but it doesn't really matter. No one can read this book without coming away with a new understanding of what it was like to live the free life on the Plains, and how devestating it must have been for those who lost it.
Rating:
Summary: A novel that caught my attention
Review: Mari Sandoz did a great job on the biography of Crazy Horse. It gave me a better understanding about how Native American life was and how the British took over. It explained how they believed in certain rituals to prepare for war such as the magic water they believed that stopped bullets from hitting them. Mari Sandoz gave a very fine description of Crazy Horse without using pictures. He seemed to be a great man from his characteristics and her words left you to think and imagine the scenes and appearances of people she mentioned. Crazy Horse was a leader and never a follower. He would try to do anything for his people. He was brace and independent. I admired him a lot because I favor people who take leadership and are not ashamed or frightened. At first I didn't want to read this book because it was so long and I wanted to get the book done to accomplish my project. But the book caught my attention and it was so deep. The book had happy scenes that made your spirit happy and sad scenes that made you cry. Crazy Horse was a great role model. I really related to him because as a boy he always wanted to accomplish his goal and he tried and did good deeds. However, I, also as a young lady in high school have dreams and goals to succeed and achieve and want to be confident in my work. Crazy Horse I would recommend for anyone who will take the time to read it, because it's a really good book. This is one of my favorite books and I will remember Crazy Horse for his courage, honor, gifts, bravery, and determination.
Rating:
Summary: A biography that reads like a novel
Review: Mari Sandoz does an excellent job of bringing an honorable and tragic life out of history and into the minds of the readers. Rather than writing a shopping list of Crazy Horse's life, Sandoz lets these events happen organically out of the story. As a result this book reads like fiction. Although not told from within the head of the Strange One, it is told from his perspective and his tribe members around him. Therefore, there is a continuity in the narrative that serves to pull the reader further and further in. There is no jumping around from Oglala to Cavalry to Trader,etc. which would only serve to confuse the character of Crazy Horse. I found myself wishing that Crazy Horse would just break out and flee into the wilderness rather than the tragic end he found at Ft. Robinson. His murder, although well-foreshadowed, never seems inevitable and drives home the great loss of this man and indeed the tragedy of this shameful aspect of American history. Sandoz also shows that history is never as simple as cowboys vs. indians, she paints a more complete picture of the internal and external conflicts surrounding Crazy Horse. I wish there were only more of his life for Mari to write about. I especially enjoyed her style of mixing direct quote with indirect quote with narrative--it's effective rather than being distracting. If you want to read a book about Crazy Horse, read this one.
Rating:
Summary: A biography that reads like a novel
Review: Mari Sandoz does an excellent job of bringing an honorable and tragic life out of history and into the minds of the readers. Rather than writing a shopping list of Crazy Horse's life, Sandoz lets these events happen organically out of the story. As a result this book reads like fiction. Although not told from within the head of the Strange One, it is told from his perspective and his tribe members around him. Therefore, there is a continuity in the narrative that serves to pull the reader further and further in. There is no jumping around from Oglala to Cavalry to Trader,etc. which would only serve to confuse the character of Crazy Horse. I found myself wishing that Crazy Horse would just break out and flee into the wilderness rather than the tragic end he found at Ft. Robinson. His murder, although well-foreshadowed, never seems inevitable and drives home the great loss of this man and indeed the tragedy of this shameful aspect of American history. Sandoz also shows that history is never as simple as cowboys vs. indians, she paints a more complete picture of the internal and external conflicts surrounding Crazy Horse. I wish there were only more of his life for Mari to write about. I especially enjoyed her style of mixing direct quote with indirect quote with narrative--it's effective rather than being distracting. If you want to read a book about Crazy Horse, read this one.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting and powerful biography
Review: Ms. Sandoz once again tells this story in the style of the Plains Indians oral history tradition. It flows remarkably well for a fact based biography. A very powerful book. Interesting to note some of the problems of their society are identical to ours today. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A definitive and unique biography of a legendary hero.
Review: This book and its' unique style succeeds in communicating history and personality. More so than a standard biography, Ms. Sandoz gives one the feel for the man and his character. The personalities of the protagonists are simulated for the reader. The background in history is strong enough to make most historical purists feel comfortable despite the styling of a novel. This book based on history; and "Hanta Yo",fiction based on culture, give the reader some of the best insights into the times from the mindset of the Lakota.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange Book about a Strange Man
Review: This book is interesting because of the way it's told. It reads much like a novel would read. It's related from an Indian omniscient point of view. In other words you feel as if a Native American were sitting down recounting the tale. During the story we see Crazy Horse grow from a young boy called Curly hanging around his warrior friend Hump to a mighty warrior brave in battle. Sadly as most people know his people endured many hardships and many broken promises made by soldiers representing the Great Father. Reading this you can't help but be somewhat moved and have compassion for the eventual demise of the Oglalas that was well underway during Crazy Horse's life. Towards the latter part of the book emotions run deep as you see how jealousy, anger, and greed ripped apart what could have been good relations among the different Native American peoples. Of course, Crazy Horse the man we come to know in this book undergoes many of the hardships of the people himself. Almost as if he is the embodiment of the transition from the Indians to the white man's world at any cost. I did have a couple of problems with this book though. Namely, I found the writer's sentences to be ambiguous a lot of the time. There are no complicated words here as she is trying to write in the plain-spoken Indian style but many times I felt she was unclear so you would find yourself reading passages several times over to try and get sure her meaning. After a while this can become tedious. I also felt the prose could have been more lucid. Just because you're telling a story in a plain-spoken style doesn't mean you have to forsake any intellctual-sounding prose altogether. For these reasons it can be a taxing read which made what could have been a great book into just a good book. I still do recommend this work for a good perspective on the Native American view of history (even though some of the historical events in the book are no doubt dubious) if you are prepared to put in some effort and time reading it.
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