The Heart of Everything That Is: Young Readers Edition

by Bob Drury, Tom Clavin, Kate Waters (Adapter)

From bestselling authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin comes the epic, untold story one of the most powerful Sioux warriors of all time, Red Cloud—now adapted for a younger audience!

“I have but a small spot of land left. The Great Spirit told me to keep it.” —Red Cloud

This young readers edition of the New York Times bestseller of the same name tells the long forgotten story of the powerful Oglala Lakota chief, Red Cloud. At the height of Red Cloud’s power the Sioux claimed control of vast parts of the west. But as the United States rapidly expanded, the country brutally forced the Indians off their lands.

Fighting for the survival of the Sioux way of life, Red Cloud successfully secured the loyalty of thousands of fierce fighters, including Crazy Horse, and is the only American Indian in history to defeat the United States Army in a war.

Thanks to the rediscovery of Red Cloud’s long-lost autobiography, and painstaking research by two award-winning authors, and with the help of a world-class adapter, the story of the nineteenth century’s most powerful and successful Indian warrior can finally be told.

Genres: Audiobook, History, The Americas, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published February 7, 2017

Reviews

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book.

Something that is sorely lacking in the American school system is the coverage of the American Indian Wars, especially from the Native American point of view. I would guess that most people have no idea who Red Cloud is. The best part about this book, is that even though it is YA, it makes the history more accessible. Drury and Clavin have an "adult" version of this book, but for readers just getting into history, the young adult version is easier to digest.

The American Indian Wars were fought concurrently with the Civil War. For everyone who has heard of Crazy Horse or Sitting Bull, Red Cloud was the tactical genius behind them. He commanded respect from every tribe and the US military for his fighting strategies.

Be forewarned, this story does not have a happy ending. Drury and Clavin do not sugarcoat the atrocities that were inflicted on the Native Americans nor their reactions to it. Using first person accounts from letters and journals, Drury and Clavin are able to give the reader a look into the minds and motivations of Red Cloud and the peripheral characters.

I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in American History or is looking to get into reading about American History.

PS, LtC George Washington Grummand was a horrible person and of all of the horrific deaths in this book, his I did not feel bad about in the least. He was not only responsible for many Native American deaths, but in his disobeying a direct order, he was responsible for ALL of his fellow solders deaths. All of them. Read the book to find out more about how this man's racism and incompetence lead to his entire company being massacred.

[H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Looking at this book from an adult perspective, I found the narrative about Red Cloud - a Bad Face Lakota war chief who prosecuted one of the only successful wars against white settlement of his homeland - pretty fascinating if troublesome. (I think it is important to note that though he "won" and forced the closing of his Powder River Country for a short time, Red Cloud lived to see the U.S. completely renege on every promise made.) Looking at the book from the perspective of my older elementary students, I'm not sure many of them - even the gifted and persistent readers - will stick with the detailed narrative of Red Cloud's rise and then prosecution of his campaign. The authors try to walk the line between making clear the broken promises, arrogance, and downright lies told by the United States government and its agents and clearly showing the brutal nature of the plains Indian's war customs (though really the whites were as brutal). I think this book actually would challenge the reading persistence of even most middle schoolers. But it is worth having in the collection if only for those one or two readers who would persist through. I wish the book was a little more critical of the government and settlers who saw gold and land as their God given right, no matter who already occupied the land.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I pushed myself to finish this one and was left with questioning why. This book definitely is riddled with negative stereotypes and is not something that I would promote. Any student that would pick this up to read would need extra conferring to talk through the stereotypes, the language used to describe (savages, yipping, etc.), and that factual information not always being accurate. After finishing the book, I made sure to do some additional research into Red Cloud and this book in particular. Apparently, I am not alone in my dislike for the book.

https://americanindiansinchildrenslit...
https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com...

[Sissy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a confused history of an indigenous military campaign from Western eyes. It's a failure of a biography and uses racist language throughout the book. It's is also not adapted to the YA format from it's original, they just use minimal vocabulary, it's still full of gory skull crackings and scalpings and relies exclusively on white testimonies shrugging off the possibility that Native narratives exist. Skip it!

[Kaci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the adult version in 2015. I think I enjoyed this one more. More succinct and to the point, as is the case with most young readers edition. Important history to know about our country’s beginnings.

[Shauna Yusko]

Ugh.