Post by Californian on Nov 14, 2018 14:53:31 GMT -5
Blood Brothers. The Story of the strange friendship between Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill.
by Deanne Stillman, Simon & Schuster, New Nork, NY 2017, 286 p.
by Deanne Stillman, Simon & Schuster, New Nork, NY 2017, 286 p.
Four months in 1885 the Lakota chief Sitting Bull appeared in Cody's Wild West show. Even before the Indian wars ended, Cody was bringing the vanishing frontier to citizens across the land in one of America's earliest reality shows. It was so popular that it lasted for thirty years. Author Deanne Stillman has unearthed little-known details about the two men, Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill, and their tumultuous times. A timeless tale like no other, "Blood Brothers" is a story of two people from different cultures who crossed barriers to engage as human beings. It continues to resonate in today's struggles over the same land in the Great Plains. Review by Anita and Brittany: In Europe, Buffalo Bill was called “Nature’s Nobleman” and in America, he was known as the “King of the Old West.” Annie Oakley said this of Buffalo Bill at the end of his life, “He was the simplest of men, as comfortable with cowboys and kings”. William F. Cody stood six feet tall and had dark, curly shoulder length hair. He liked being the center of attention, and had an attractive air about him. As a result, everyone wanted to be near him. He was the “Super Star” of his time. In contrast, though Sitting Bull did not participate in the fight at the Little Big Horn, he was one of the last remaining figureheads of the battle. As a fugitive in Canada after the Battle of the Little Big Horn, his fame only increased and he had many admirers and a few naysayers. Sitting Bull was well aware of how he was seen within and outside of his tribe. However, he knew he and his band of Hunkpapa’s were the last holdouts or hostiles of the plains. So essentially, he knew his homecoming would be significant. Foes in ’76, friends in ’85 so said the caption on a photo would say of the two men. Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill had much in common. Both men were surrounded by admirers and celebrated, as well as had their detractors. Both were known by everyone. But in the end, they were misunderstood. They were men of action, warriors in service to their people and their time. Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill knew that they shared something that was written in blood, in the blood of the buffalo, whose name was linked to theirs. This book does a great job of detailing information and is an overall good read without getting too lengthy. If you want to learn of these two men this is a good book for readers to start with. [Review by the publisher]