Rating: 
Summary: A DETAILED Account of "The Incident At Ogalala"
Review: During the American Civil Rights Movement there is an area that most of the country refuses to study or examine; the struggle for civil rights among and for the native peoples. In that movement there was an organization called AIM (American Indian Movement), I guess you'd call them the Black Panthers of our movement. They did some things that I do not agree with, but their motives can't be argued with. The United States Government did some very wrong things to these civil rights activists and one of them, Leonard Peltier, is still in prison. This is a DETAILED account of the incident he is imprisoned over. I may not agree with everything this man did; but hey, looking back at my own life I don't agree with everything that I've done. That doesn't meen he did what the FBI has accused him of. And this book is the proof that he didn't. If you are a student of the American Civil Rights Movement or of Native History, or even of the History of the F.B.I., you should have this case study as a reference.
Rating: 
Summary: Biased and inaccurate
Review: Matheissen writes like an immature teenager who has just discovered his first passion (civil rights, environment, homeless, ...) and is so overwrought that he cannot be objective. He continually portrays the AIM indians as noble, right-minded victims, and the white americans (of which he is one) as shifty, unprincipled and greedy. His shallowness is shown in his _own_ statement in the book, during a discussion with indians, Peter says "Americans used to be citizens, and now they are just consumers". This from a man who makes a living _selling_ books and magazine articles to those he is ridiculing. And how much money did he make selling this book? This book would be okay if it was a decent account of the shoot out on the South Dakota reservation, but it is overwhelmed by bias. There is no attempt to be even-handed or objective. Every statement from indians is presented as fact, whereas any statement from the FBI is "alleged" or "claimed" or "reportedly". Matteissen, to be fair, admits that he is biased in favor of the indians. This explains why he ignores all the obvious points that a more balanced author would make: (1) All of the land that the indians have lost was lost because indian leaders sold it or transfered it in exchange for money or goods. (2) The indian culture is severly flawed: long before white man arrived, indians were misogenists, war-mongers, polluters, adulterers, and torturers. The "noble red man" and his vaunted "sun dance" are nice, but the negative aspects of the culture are ignored by the author. (3) The indian criminals that Matteissen defends in this book are low-life scum. They are burglers, wife beaters, adulterers, who have zero interaction with their numerous children from various women. Without exception, they have never worked a day in their life. A bad book, biased and unrevealing.
Rating: 
Summary: reflection on current social problems
Review: The net effect of Matthiessen's effort to be journalistically unbiased is that the book is a reflection of South Dakota politics. South Dakota is several times referred to as the most racist state in the union, a racism that dates at least as far back as Wounded Knee (1890). The author makes no attempt to assuage these antagonisms but just reports them.
The author is much clearer than Dee Brown in the early chapters on the early antagonisms between Indian and white. For the rest, only a few episodes strike me as being
especially interesting, just as only a few characters stand out as especially interesting, among them, Peltier of course, but also Anna Maria Asquash, Myrtle Poor Bear (both of these rather pathetic figures), Bob Robideau, Robert Hugh Wilson and on the "other side"--because that's what it is,the other side--SA David Price, Richard Wilson, and William Janklow. For the most part when Matthieson "sits down" really spends some time with an individual, interviews him or quotes him at length, then that individual comes across clearly. In between these clear passages are long passages of conflicting evidence which is a reflection of the murky nature of the case. Mathiesson also outlines the main complaints of the Indian against the white man but these passages which run the length of the book are only occasionally brought out in the crystal clear. But since the author returns to them again and again, in the context of AIM demands, by the end most readers would be convinced.
Still the overall impressionistic effect of reading the book is that you will be much better informed than if you had not read it. The book also has a very cosmopolitan atmosphere which will transport the reader throughout the American West, including Los Angeles, Seattle, New Mexico, Canada, and of course the Pine Ridge Reservation. I thought the story of the Marion Penitentiary and the jailbreak from Lompoc was one of the most interesting episodes in the book. Many times the book gets bogged down in legalese jargon or in endless lists of AIM members who were present at Pine Ridge on June 26, 1975, however.
One of the book's main themes,emphasized over and over again, is AIM's paranoia about the intentions of the FBI and white men in general; for the most part Matthiesson's view is that AIM's paranoia is justified, and that Peltier was just a scapegoat who was set up by the FBI to take the blame for the crime.
Rating:
Summary: strange combination of journalistic objectivity and bias
Review: The net effect of Matthiessen's effort to be journalistically unbiased is that the book is a reflection of South Dakota politics. South Dakota is several times referred to as the most racist state in the union, a racism that dates at least as far back as Wounded Knee (1890). The author makes no attempt to assuage these antagonisms but just reports them.
The author is much clearer than Dee Brown in the early chapters on the early antagonisms between Indian and white. For the rest, only a few episodes strike me as being
especially interesting or clear, just as only a few characters stand out as especially interesting, among them, Peltier of course, but also Anna Maria Asquash, Myrtle Poor Bear (both of these rather pathetic figures), Bob Robideau, Robert Hugh Wilson and on the "other side"--because that's what it is,the other side--SA David Price, Richard Wilson, and William Janklow. For the most part when Matthieson "sits down" and really spends some time with an individual, interviews him or quotes him at length, then that individual comes across more clearly. In between these clear passages are long passages of conflicting evidence which is a reflection of the murky nature of the case. I can't begin to tell you how many times the phantom red truck is mentioned. Mathiesson also outlines the main complaints of the Indian against the white man but these passages which run the length of the book are only occasionally brought out in the crystal clear. Still the overall impression of reading the book is that you will be better informed than if you had not read it. The book also has a very cosmopolitan atmosphere which will transport the reader throughout the American West, including Los Angeles, Seattle, New Mexico, Canada, and of course the Pine Ridge Reservation. I thought the story of the Marion Penitentiary and the jailbreak from Lompoc was one of the most interesting episodes in the book and this is critical information to substantiate Peltier's claim of government conspiracy. Many times the book gets bogged down in legalistic jargon or in endless lists of AIM members who were present at Pine Ridge on June 26, 1975, however.
It is easy to see how some readers would find the conflicting evidence- the whole book, in fact, confusing; Matthiesson is not the easiest of authors to read in any case. I often found myself confused, but also quite involved in the detail. I would also like to mention the film "Thunderheart" with Val Kilmer(1992) which is a thinly disguised fictionalized account of the same events. It is an outstanding film and in many respects much clearer than the book though both in tandem are probably best.
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Summary: Before WACO, Before Ruby Ridge, ...
Review: there was the genocide against the Sioux, continuing on into today, with the continued imprisonment of Leonard Peltier. Read this book, and you will question some pretty widely bandied about concepts about America. Concepts like "freedom," "democracy," and the "rule of law." The book is lengthy, but the style fresh and poetic. Get it!
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Summary: ANGER IS A GIFT.
Review: This book is an excellant read. It covers the history of the American Indian Movement (AIM) up to the point of the of Leonard Peltier. This book opens your mind to the harse reality of the U.S. Government and it's ways. If you like true stories of Gov't conspiracies and it's molestation of human rights, I recomend this book highly. I also suggest you buy the two "Rage Against the Machine" albums, they touch on this subject several times. Also you should take a look at the award winning documentury "Incident at Oglala". A special produced by Robert Redford that also tells the story of Leonard Peltier. Fight the power!!!
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Summary: Shock & Awe In America
Review: This book picks up where "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" left off, and unfortunately for Indian people the story does't get any happier. This book should be required reading for every high school student, journalist, politician or law enforcement professional. It shows us that despite the fine and uplifting words of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence that support our democracy, human dignity and civil rights always need to be fought for and protected by people. Unfortunately for all of us, sometimes innocent people lose the battle, and this is a story about some of them. Please read this book, you will not be sorry you did.
Rating:
Summary: Shock & Awe In America
Review: This book picks up where "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" left off, and unfortunately for Indian people the story does't get any happier. This book should be required reading for every high school student, journalist, politician or law enforcement professional. It shows us that despite the fine and uplifting words of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence that support our democracy, human dignity and civil rights always need to be fought for and protected by people. Unfortunately for all of us, sometimes innocent people lose the battle, and this is a story about some of them. Please read this book, you will not be sorry you did.
Rating:
Summary: Meticulous Research
Review: This book was meticulously researched. The author reviewed thousands of pages of documents, conducted dozens of interviews and visited dozens of sites. He reviewed evidence presented by both sides: the FBI and the Indians. He considered the opinions of people on both sides.
However, it's not just a research book. The book is peppered with the author's own opinions and speculations as well as the opinions and speculations of other people interviewed. He retells the story several times through the eyes of the different witnesses. Some of the witnesses actually change their accounts more than once. In the end, the killer himself (whoever that may be) is probably the only living person who knows what really happened.
Rating:
Summary: Read This Book!!!(...)
Review: This is a marvelously well researched book. In respsonse to some of the bad reviews I have read I have to say that yes, Matthiessen does not try to hide the fact that he sides with the Indians. Yes the book is biased in the favor of the Indians. So what. When you examine the FBI and the US Government's history of maltreatment of all minorities, especially native peoples, why should an author feel obligated to paint the establishment in a flattering light. He is simply exposing the ugly truth of the dark underbelly of our "democracy".
This is hard for some people to handle, thus the poor reviews. Ask yourself this, in the midst of phenomenal violence why does the FBI never investigate dozens of unsolved murders, instead devoting lots of man-hours to tracking down Jimmy Eagle for the theft of a pair of cowboy boots???You be the judge. This is an amazing read. Thankfully, the FBI, Special Agent David Price and Governor William Janklow all lost in thier legal attempts to keep this information from us. So celebrate freedom of press and curl up with this book!!! Freedom for Leonard
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