The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History

An exercise in discomfort, along many dimensions, all of them the good kind, the ones that make us better.

First and most obviously, being immersed in a world that we know is being destroyed. Marshall writes purely from the perspective of the Lakota at the time, seeing the encroachment and lying and abuse being done by the invading whites but without giving away the ending (spoiler alert: it does not end well for them). The modern reader knows, and is probably well aware of history and current events in which the oppression continues. It's still painful to read — but you probably already expected that.

Second, and unexpectedly, the Lakota had some pretty shitty cultural mores. They were bellicose, frequently attacking other “enemy” tribes, killing and being killed, glorifying many forms of violence. I mean, this shouldn't be a surprise — humans everywhere do shitty things — but Marshall's tone in describing these raids is alarmingly effective and disturbing. I think he set out to paint a realistic picture of the culture, and this was an important aspect he conveyed quite well.

Finally, I had trouble finding the right frame of mind: the book is classified as biography and nonfiction, but it really isn't. It can't be: it was written a hundred years after Crazy Horse's life, one about which we know almost nothing, yet Marshall writes of events and even intentions that are impossible to know. It's extrapolation to the point where it blurs with fiction... and it's also probably the closest we will ever be to a realistic understanding of Crazy Horse and the Lakota world of the late nineteenth century. And if anyone is going to be extrapolating, I'm OK with it being someone raised entirely in Lakota culture, listening to stories from his grandfathers and other elders, someone who hunted and made bows and journeyed in ways comparable to those a century before.

I learned and thought and felt. Even though I can't quite manage to give it a full five stars, I do recommend it highly and hope that you'll consider reading it and growing from it.