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The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend

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The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend

4.5

Highest ranking 101

10 comments

$9.48

Save 53%

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Rick OReviewed in the United States on February 22, 2014

The book's title should also include, not for the faint hearted. Bob Drury and Tom Clavin don't mince words when describing the horrors of the battlefield, or maybe the mutilation field is a better term. I'm aware of the habits of the Sioux Indians, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse, because I read the Dan Simmons novel,' Black Hills' . As a matter of fact, his main character was Paha Sapa, which means Black Hills. But for the life of me, I can't remember reading about Red Cloud, so this non-fiction work was a real eye opener for me. With all the violence around him and in him, it's hard to believe that he died a peaceful death at the age of 87 in 1909. The book's about Red Cloud's War, but focuses on the Battle of the Hundred-in-the-Hands on 12/21/1866 in the Great Plains. Somehow Red Cloud was able to unite the Lakota (all seven Sioux tribes), Cheyenne, Arapaho, and others in an attempt to eradicate the White man from the Great Plains once and for all. A lot of things contributed to the all out war against the U.S. Army. The dribble of white settlers heading west became a flood of wagons after gold was discovered in California. Also the wholesale killing of the buffalos and the spreading of diseases that Indians had no immunity for didn't set well with the Great Plains tribes. During the mid 1860s, the white man would reduce the buffalo population from 30 million to 1,000 in the next forty years. The buffalo meat was important to the Indians, but worthless to the white man. Broken treaties and conniving Indian Agents added fuel to the fire. In 1856 all the tribes of Lakota met to form united front to stop the white threat. It is said that 10,000 Indians attended that meeting. The Lakota Indians are not farmers, nor do they stay in one place long. They are raiders of other Indian tribes, horse stealers, and buffalo hunters. They only tolerated the Cheyenne. The Lakota believe they are warriors and want to stay that way. They take pride in Counting Coup (touching an enemy with a coup stick during battle and leaving unharmed). They heavily attacked white wagons heading west with one wagon out of eleven never making it passed the Rockies. Things got worse for the pioneers in the west when the U.S. Army left the Great Plains to fight the Civil War in 1861. After the Civil War, many soldiers were released from duty, leaving very few to defend Fort Reno, Fort Phil Kearny, and Fort C.F. Smith, which were there to protect the migration of the Easterners, who were following the Bozeman Trail to Virginia City, Montana and then to the Oregon Trail . The U.S. Army was heavily outnumbered and were slaughtered and mutilated on many occasions. Red Cloud's battle with Captain Fetterman's 2nd Battalion of the 18th Infantry Regiment is epic. I thought the savagery of the book was a bit too much, but I guess the authors wanted to tell it like it was. The sidebar characters were strong. I enjoyed the Mountain man, Jim `Old Gabe' Bridger, a friend of the famous, Jedediah Smith. I admired the tactics Crazy Horse used to lure the U.S. Army into ambushes. Most of Red Cloud's thoughts were conveyed to a French Canadian fur trader named Sam Deon, who did the great chief's autobiography. Sam Deon was probably the only white man who was befriended and protected by Red Cloud. Some of the incidents in this book inspired other novels; such as, Nelson Gile, who drove a herd of 3,000 longhorns and a wagon train from Texas to Montana, while fighting thousands of hostile Indians. This episode became Larry McMurtry's famous novel, 'Lonesome Dove' . Finally, I thought the authors slightly favored the Lakota (whose favorite meal was boiled dog and buffalo tongue), but in retrospect, I guess the book was fair. The White man might of won the West, but he paid dearly for it in human life. This was a non-fiction history book, but Drury and Clavin put so much excitement in the chapters that I thought I was reading fiction. And that is exactly how I like to read history. This book is a must for the Wild West fans and history buffs. I highly recommend this enlightening narrative.

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Gene R.Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2025

Said so on the book. I’m sure there might be a different perspective in the adult version. Get the right version.

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BmanReviewed in the United States on April 2, 2025

Really good book on Red Clouds life. Worth every penny

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Robert ParsonsReviewed in the United States on October 16, 2024

I have read many books about the development of the West and the complicated if not tragic interactions with native American populations. This book is by far the best information you will find about the background of the ongoing conflicts between the different Plains Indian tribes and the U.S. Government. The book is one of a kind because it uses the recently found Red Cloud's autobiography as a primary reference and also includes a mountain of well researched information about all the players involved during the 19th Century Western Indian wars. Very well written and a fascinating read.

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Arthur W. BrownReviewed in the United States on March 21, 2017

I became interested in this book after reading "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" and I'm glad I read this one to further expand my perspective. First, the narrative of this book is nice to follow, gently laying out more and more of the story of Red Cloud as it unfolds, only deviating momentarily to introduce new characters, or give deeper context to something that is about to unfold. Also, the level of detail given about every character and event is definitely satisfying. It doesn't reach the same depth as DW Donald's "Lincoln", but it is more akin to Hillebrand's "Unbroken". At least for me, the are no big questions that are left unanswered with a decent amount of evidence. For further info on this, the reader can skip to the end and read "Notes and Bibliography" which discusses some of the imperfect sources, such as the Red Cloud autobiography, and how they came to light. Lastly, and probably most important, I found this book to be a very balanced take. It doesn't gloss over details on either side, but doesn't put conclusions in your face about how bad or good or heroic some person or thing was. The book leaves to you to decide those things, which I greatly appreciate. For example, none of the details of what the Sioux did to their prisoners or even their own women are left out, but they are presented in a fair light; and at the same time the book gives very clear picture of how idiotic and brutal the US Military was without simply saying "Sand Creek was an example of how depraved the US Military had become". Speaking of Sand Creek, I learned more essential information about that massacre in this book than I did from "Bury My Heart", although the latter provides more of the heart wrenching details. It was interesting to see how Sand Creek fit in with the bigger picture of Red Cloud's War. Overall I came away from this book realizing that neither side of the conflict was free from the stains of innocent blood, as contrasted to "Bury My Heart" which really focuses largely on the atrocities of the US Military and doesn't leave you feeling anything besides anger towards that party (obviously different book, not saying it takes the wrong stance, I highly recommend that one as well). But fair warning, this is not a G-rated book, there are very gruesome descriptions (such as what happened on Lodge Trail Ridge, or what certain US soldiers did to women's corpses, and so on). I wouldn't want my 11 year old son reading some of this stuff.

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KHReviewed in Germany on November 12, 2014

My friend's husband who has a real affinity for American Indian culture absolutely loved this book. Will be looking for more of this sort.

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luc bestReviewed in Italy on March 4, 2020

Ok

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Amazon CustomerReviewed in Canada on July 23, 2024

I could not put this book down! Drury and Clavin do a superb job of laying the foundation and its context for the Sioux's ascendance on the plains and Red Cloud's climb up the ranks as a leader. I truly loved how unbiased and detailed their research is as laid out in this book. Raw and real showing both the tribes and the US in their true colours. Close your eyes after a chapter and you are right their feeling like an eye witness to the events they tell. So thankful to have this book now in my collection! Get it, you won't regret it!

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OYAMASENSEIReviewed in Spain on September 2, 2019

ES UN LIBRO INTERESANTÍSIMO PARA PERSONAS INTERESADAS EN OTRA VERSIÓN HISTÓRICA NO HOLLYWOODENSE.

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Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2023

Gift for my husband at Christmas. He’s enjoying reading it and says it’s interesting.