Bruchac, Joseph. Geronimo.BRUCHAC, Joseph. Geronimo. Scholastic. 384p. bibliog, c2006.0-439-35360-2. $16.99. JSA JSA - Japanese Standards Association. This tale focuses on the last part of Geronimo's life, when the famous Apache leader surrendered (in 1886) and was transported by prison train to be imprisoned im·pris·on tr.v. im·pris·oned, im·pris·on·ing, im·pris·ons To put in or as if in prison; confine. [Middle English emprisonen, from Old French emprisoner : en- first in Florida, then in Alabama, and finally in Fort Sill Fort Sill, U.S. military reservation, Comanche co., SW Okla., 4 mi (6.4 km) N of Lawton; est. 1869 by Gen. Philip Sheridan. A 95,000-acre (38,445-hectare) field artillery and missile base, it is the home of the U.S. Army Artillery and Missile Center. , Oklahoma. It's narrated by Geronimo's honorary grandson, who relates various anecdotes from the clever warrior's life: e.g., how he became a tourist attraction Noun 1. tourist attraction - a characteristic that attracts tourists attractive feature, magnet, attractor, attracter, attraction - a characteristic that provides pleasure and attracts; "flowers are an attractor for bees" and figured out how to turn a profit from it by selling the "original" ring he wore into battle over and over again. It also tells about Apache customs and points out the many cultural differences between whites and Native Americans. Most of all, it shows how unfairly the "White Eyes White Eyes (c.1730–November 1778), was a leader of the Delaware (Lenape) people in the Ohio Country during the era of the American Revolution. Sometimes known as George White Eyes, his given name was something like Koquethagechton " treated Geronimo in particular and Native Americans in general, callously cal·lous adj. 1. Having calluses; toughened: callous skin on the elbow. 2. Emotionally hardened; unfeeling: a callous indifference to the suffering of others. breaking promises. A helpful chronology of Geronimo's life is appended, but the tale assumes the reader already knows something about him: for instance, it isn't until about a third of the way through that we learn that Mexicans killed his first wife and children, and that a desire for revenge is what turned Geronimo into a warrior. However, readers who pick this novel up hoping for lots of battle scenes will be disappointed: the focus is on the older, captive Geronimo. This carefully researched story, by the author of Sacajawea and many other books about Native Americans, will be best appreciated by fans of historical fiction who have some background knowledge of the legendary leader and are interested in gaining insight into how the Native Americans were treated and mistreated. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion