Review of Back to the Red Road
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Shirley Ann Riddern Labzentis
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Review of Back to the Red Road
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Back to the Red Road" by Chandra Lahiri.]
Back to the Red Road: The Hunt for Crazy Horse's Women by Chandra Lahiri takes you back to when the Lakota tribe had to fight to avoid having their land and homes taken away from the evil United States Army. The soldiers who served in the United States would first attack the women and children of the Lakota tribes in hopes of luring the Lakota men into the plan. By doing so, however, they raped and kidnapped the women, doing morally corrupt and unimaginable things to them. Lt. Colonel Custer himself was infamously known for constantly attacking Native American women and children. Custer avoided a confrontation with warriors. He used the women and children as leverage to force the worriers to surrender without a fight. He was the first officer shot in the Battle of Little Bighorn in a very shallow river called Greasy Grass by the tribes. The previous statement that Custer died at Last Stand Hill was false. The Lakota and Cheyenne women hated Custer so much that they took his naked corpse and drove an arrow up his penis before dismembering him into pieces. The U.S. Army tactfully withheld this information from his widow, Libby Custer.
Most of what happened during this period were not documented, or if it was, it was not reported correctly. Crazy Horse's first woman with whom he set eyes on was Black Buffalo Woman. She was married to an abusive warrior, No Water. Lakota women could choose to leave their husbands because societal norms allowed it. She left No Water to be with Crazy Horse, but her husband would not stand for it. He found Crazy Horse and shot him. Fortunately, the bullet was diverted, and it went through Crazy Horse's cheek. Black Buffalo Woman returned home with No Water. Another woman, Black Shawl, attended to an injured Crazy Horse, and they eventually married. They went everywhere together, and they were still together when he was killed.
The book was fascinating, but most of the facts were not facts but hearsay. There wasn't any documentation, so they relied on someone's word about what happened. Sometimes, there was conflicting dialogue as to what happened. You would enjoy a part you read, only to be told, well, we think that happened. Another problem I had with the book was the Lakota people's names. There was Black Shawl, Black Buffalo Woman, Good Looking Woman, Spotted Tail, etc. There were so many of them that I had difficulty remembering who was who.
The back of the book displayed photos, birth records, census forms, maps, names of rivers, and words from the Lakota language, which was very interesting. I found no errors in the book, so it was competently edited. There was very little profanity and no sexual encounters, but because of the violence, I would not recommend it for young adults. If you are a history buff, this is the book for you. It will give you some idea of what happened in the 1800s. I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. The book was well constructed with great editing, but lacked the facts needed to make this book seem authentic.
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Back to the Red Road
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Back to the Red Road: The Hunt for Crazy Horse's Women by Chandra Lahiri takes you back to when the Lakota tribe had to fight to avoid having their land and homes taken away from the evil United States Army. The soldiers who served in the United States would first attack the women and children of the Lakota tribes in hopes of luring the Lakota men into the plan. By doing so, however, they raped and kidnapped the women, doing morally corrupt and unimaginable things to them. Lt. Colonel Custer himself was infamously known for constantly attacking Native American women and children. Custer avoided a confrontation with warriors. He used the women and children as leverage to force the worriers to surrender without a fight. He was the first officer shot in the Battle of Little Bighorn in a very shallow river called Greasy Grass by the tribes. The previous statement that Custer died at Last Stand Hill was false. The Lakota and Cheyenne women hated Custer so much that they took his naked corpse and drove an arrow up his penis before dismembering him into pieces. The U.S. Army tactfully withheld this information from his widow, Libby Custer.
Most of what happened during this period were not documented, or if it was, it was not reported correctly. Crazy Horse's first woman with whom he set eyes on was Black Buffalo Woman. She was married to an abusive warrior, No Water. Lakota women could choose to leave their husbands because societal norms allowed it. She left No Water to be with Crazy Horse, but her husband would not stand for it. He found Crazy Horse and shot him. Fortunately, the bullet was diverted, and it went through Crazy Horse's cheek. Black Buffalo Woman returned home with No Water. Another woman, Black Shawl, attended to an injured Crazy Horse, and they eventually married. They went everywhere together, and they were still together when he was killed.
The book was fascinating, but most of the facts were not facts but hearsay. There wasn't any documentation, so they relied on someone's word about what happened. Sometimes, there was conflicting dialogue as to what happened. You would enjoy a part you read, only to be told, well, we think that happened. Another problem I had with the book was the Lakota people's names. There was Black Shawl, Black Buffalo Woman, Good Looking Woman, Spotted Tail, etc. There were so many of them that I had difficulty remembering who was who.
The back of the book displayed photos, birth records, census forms, maps, names of rivers, and words from the Lakota language, which was very interesting. I found no errors in the book, so it was competently edited. There was very little profanity and no sexual encounters, but because of the violence, I would not recommend it for young adults. If you are a history buff, this is the book for you. It will give you some idea of what happened in the 1800s. I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. The book was well constructed with great editing, but lacked the facts needed to make this book seem authentic.
******
Back to the Red Road
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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