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Sitting Bull
An Acclaimed Biography of the Greatest American Indian Leader
Sitting Bull's name is still the best known of any American Indian leader, but his life and legacy remain shrouded with misinformation and half-truths. Sitting Bull's life spanned the entire clash of cultures and ultimate destruction of the Plains Indian way of life. He was a powerful leader and a respected shaman, but neither fully captures the enigma of Sitting Bull. He was a good friend of Buffalo Bill and skillful negotiator with the American government, yet erroneously credited with both murdering Custer at the Little Big Horn and with being the chief instigator of the Ghost Dance movement. The reality of his life, as Bill Yenne reveals in his absorbing new portrait, Sitting Bull , is far more intricate and compelling. Tracing Sitting Bull's history from a headstrong youth and his first contact with encroaching settlers, through his ascension as the spiritual and military leader of the Lakota, friendship with a Swiss-American widow from New York, and death at the hands of the Indian police on the eve of the massacre at Wounded Knee, Yenne scoured rare contemporary records and consulted Sitting Bull's own "Hieroglyphic Autobiography" in the course of his research. While Sitting Bull was the leading figure of Plains Indian resistance his message, as Yenne explains, was of self-reliance, not violence. At the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull was not confronting Custer as popular myth would have it, but riding through the Lakota camp making sure the most defenseless of his tribe--the children--were safe. In Sitting Bul l we find a man who, in the face of an uncertain future, helped ensure the survival of his people.
Sitting Bull's name is still the best known of any American Indian leader, but his life and legacy remain shrouded with misinformation and half-truths. Sitting Bull's life spanned the entire clash of cultures and ultimate destruction of the Plains Indian way of life. He was a powerful leader and a respected shaman, but neither fully captures the enigma of Sitting Bull. He was a good friend of Buffalo Bill and skillful negotiator with the American government, yet erroneously credited with both murdering Custer at the Little Big Horn and with being the chief instigator of the Ghost Dance movement. The reality of his life, as Bill Yenne reveals in his absorbing new portrait, Sitting Bull , is far more intricate and compelling. Tracing Sitting Bull's history from a headstrong youth and his first contact with encroaching settlers, through his ascension as the spiritual and military leader of the Lakota, friendship with a Swiss-American widow from New York, and death at the hands of the Indian police on the eve of the massacre at Wounded Knee, Yenne scoured rare contemporary records and consulted Sitting Bull's own "Hieroglyphic Autobiography" in the course of his research. While Sitting Bull was the leading figure of Plains Indian resistance his message, as Yenne explains, was of self-reliance, not violence. At the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull was not confronting Custer as popular myth would have it, but riding through the Lakota camp making sure the most defenseless of his tribe--the children--were safe. In Sitting Bul l we find a man who, in the face of an uncertain future, helped ensure the survival of his people.
392 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2008
19 people are currently reading
492 people want to read
About the author
Bill Yenne
201 books52 followersBill Yenne is the author of several novels and over three dozen books on historical topics. He has also been a contributor to encyclopedias of both world wars.
The New Yorker wrote of Sitting Bull, his biography of the great Lakota leader, that it "excels as a study in leadership." This book was named to the number 14 spot among Amazon's 100 Best Books of the Year.
Library Journal observed that "enthusiastic World War II readers will be drawn to" his dual biography, Aces High: The Heroic Story of the Two Top Scoring American Aces of World War II.
Recently, his book Convair Deltas was named as Book of the Month by Air Classics, while his book Tommy Gun was named Pick of the Month by Shooting Illustrated.
His book Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint was listed among the top business books of the year by Cond Nast Portfolio Magazine, which rated Yenne's tome as its TOP pick for "Cocktail Conversation."
Yenne's Rising Sons: The Japanese American GIs Who Fought for the United States in World War II, was praised by Walter Boyne, former Director of the National Air & Space Museum, who called it "a fast moving... page turner," and the "best book yet written on the saga."
The Wall Street Journal wrote, when reviewing his Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West, that Yenne writes with "cinematic vividness," and says of his work that it "has the rare quality of being both an excellent reference work and a pleasure to read."
The author lives in San Francisco, California, and on the web at www.BillYenne.com
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 20, 2009
I gave this book 5 stars because it will stay with me for a long time. It portrays the life of a most charismatic Lakota Chief, Sitting Bull (SB). It also chronicles the demise of the Indians who lived on the Northern Plains. SB wanted his tribe to be left alone to roam about and hunt bison as they had done for hundreds of years. After delivering a crushing blow to General Custer and the American Psyche at the Battle of Little Big Horn, the many tribes that had gathered, broke up. SB wound up fleeing to Canada, which disturbed US-British relations. The British wanted to kick SB and his Lakota out of Canada. So did the other Canadian tribes. SB eventually surrendered and moved to a reservation, and watched helplessly as the life he knew disintegrated. Later, he traveled to the East Coast and was amazed that there were so many white people. He said that if had known this, he would have submitted much earlier. Even the cover is fabulous: it features a close-up of SB with no writing, except at the very bottom, there is handwriting which says "Sitting Bull." What most don't know is that it wasn't created by an artist; rather it's in SB's writing! He learned to write his name so that he could sell his autograph!
May 11, 2025
A good biography of one of the most recognized and influential Native Americans. Very informative and easy to read.
July 23, 2014
This book is a mixed bag. Clearly, Yenne likes his subject and has done extensive research into Sitting Bull's life. That much is clear from the text. The specifics and details all seem correct. Yenne provides some amount of historical analysis about many aspects of Sitting Bull's life. So if you just want a concise, easy-to-read introduction to an American icon, this could be the book for you.
However, Yenne's style is very folksy in tone. He also brings in references to present-day popular culture (Bob Dylan, Springsteen, the Internet) that feel very out of place. While there is a bibliography in the back, there are no footnotes that you would find in more scholarly books. Yenne's text definitely has a Boys' Life or Readers Digest tone to it. And then there are the editing and typographical errors. I have never read a book with so many. (I have the hard cover edition.) Is it "parley" or "parlay"? Yenne uses both to mean to discuss. Was Crazy Horse stabbed or shot? Yenne says it both ways. The shoddy editing made it much harder for me to take seriously. There are so many I started marking them as I read. Nearly one per page. For these reasons, "Sitting Bull" gets only two stars.
However, Yenne's style is very folksy in tone. He also brings in references to present-day popular culture (Bob Dylan, Springsteen, the Internet) that feel very out of place. While there is a bibliography in the back, there are no footnotes that you would find in more scholarly books. Yenne's text definitely has a Boys' Life or Readers Digest tone to it. And then there are the editing and typographical errors. I have never read a book with so many. (I have the hard cover edition.) Is it "parley" or "parlay"? Yenne uses both to mean to discuss. Was Crazy Horse stabbed or shot? Yenne says it both ways. The shoddy editing made it much harder for me to take seriously. There are so many I started marking them as I read. Nearly one per page. For these reasons, "Sitting Bull" gets only two stars.
July 18, 2020
I read this book when I was 8 It was one off the first books I ever read.
March 6, 2015
Febuary 6 2015
This book talks about Native Americans and how they used bulls. This type animal was really important for the Native Americans." The Native Americans did a lot of war with bulls". ( Elizabeth 10).HunkPapa was one of the first people to ever kill a bull with a bow and arrow. Bow and arrows were really hard to use. Native Americans usally mastered it when they became 15 years old. They ued to go on a gang or grouped to capture bulls.
Another awesome thing about Native Americans were that they never a part of a bull or buffloe. " I would never through the bones away". (Elizabeth 28). They would use the meat to eat. They would use the bones for lighting up a fire. They would use the head for carving the rock and bow and arrow. They always used the bulls body. Inca said knothing is worth throwing away. They would slay the animals usally at night.
So to conclude this book said that Native Americans never threw their food away." To them is like throwing gold away" (Elizabeth 30). Some people should start doing this more often and not throw foood away in such a hurry.The reason some people should do this is that one day a part of the animals body can come in handy or if the animal is extinct the person has its bone. This theme is every thing is presious because the Native Americans never threw any piece of body away. This book is a really nice book and interesting.
Febuary 13 2015
In the past pages of Stting Bull plenty things happend. Native Americans realized one day that they should have a leader or a good bull and bufualo hunter."I choose Sitting Bull I choose him" (Elizabeth 45).The natvie Americans decided that Ourga known as Sitting Bull would be their leader. When Sitting Bull knew that he was the leader he started having parties.They had their first annual leader party and the native Americans danced arround the fire.
Sitting Bull was one of the people of native Amrericans to come up with tactics. "They used to go at night when the bulls and bufaloes were sleeping and they would throw at them arrows and kill them" ( Elizabeth 63). Once they would throw the arrows the bulls and native Americans would run away.The next morning the native Americans would go and get their meal and enjoy it. This was a tactic that Sitting Bull created.
So to conclude, the native Americans didn't have good technology they still manged to make good choices and tactics."I personally think that going at night and killing the target and then running away was a good tactic" ( Elizabeth 73). This relates to the theme make good choices. The reason why is because the native Americans made good choices and mostly they almost never lost someone. This is an awesome book and it has great themes to know about.
Febuary 19 2015
In the past 25 pages plenty of things happend. Native Americans fought with other people. Native Americans had a huge advantage because they new all the forest. While the strangers didn't. " Sitting Bull escaped a bow that could have killed him" ( Elizabeth70). Another advantaage was food. It was really hard to find food for the strangers. But native Americans could find food really easliy because they knew how to slay bulls. So to conclude in the battle of Native Americans and strangers, Native Americans had two advantages.
But Native Americans also had a disadvantages.The most huge disadvantge they had was weapons. The Native Americans used bows while the strangers used guns and swords." I had never seen someone with an un fair fight lose" ( Elizabeth 82). This disadvantage was terribble. But as the Native Americans knew their terretory really well they could do a surprise shot to the strangers. So to conclude a disadvantage is terrible but a person could always use its advantge.
So to finish the 20 pages of this book, there are two things that people could use. The first thing is the person advantage and the seconde thing is their surrounding. This theme of the book is be ware of a persons surrounding. "Native Americans didn't have the latest technology but they still were ware of their surrounding" ( Elizabeth 85 ). So to conclude even if a person don't have advantages they still have surrounding which could help the person.
.March 6 2015
In the 50 last pages I read plenty of things happend. Sitting Bull died in an early morning by a buffalo. "Sitting Bull got a buffalo and it looked like the buffalo had stomped him, he died in an early morning on July 26"( Elizabeth 104). That night the native americans made a dance in the camp fire to celebrate Sitting bull's accomplishment. That night was a fun time for the native americans. To conclude a huge catastrofy happend but for the nativee americans was a party.
The first day without Sitting Bull went terrible the bulls and buffaloes beat the native americans up. " It was like if the native americans never had hunted for bulls" ( Elizabeth 125). The native american were desperate and then Sitting Bull's friend told the bosses how to capture bulls and when he showed it, people got astonished. That night they all danced and Sitting Bull's friend was called Brap Bull. To conclude native americans could have lost their lives for not eating food but Brap Bull saved them.
So to finalize this even when people are desperate the person should not give up. " Even though the native americans thougt they couldn't capture bulls and bufaloes some of them still didn't give up" (Elizabeth 130). The theme of this story is to never give up because the person can always achieve the second or tenth time. The second theme is not to waste food. native ameicans did that by eating all parts of bulls and buffaloes. To conclude this book was a nice book and shows how native americans lived
This book talks about Native Americans and how they used bulls. This type animal was really important for the Native Americans." The Native Americans did a lot of war with bulls". ( Elizabeth 10).HunkPapa was one of the first people to ever kill a bull with a bow and arrow. Bow and arrows were really hard to use. Native Americans usally mastered it when they became 15 years old. They ued to go on a gang or grouped to capture bulls.
Another awesome thing about Native Americans were that they never a part of a bull or buffloe. " I would never through the bones away". (Elizabeth 28). They would use the meat to eat. They would use the bones for lighting up a fire. They would use the head for carving the rock and bow and arrow. They always used the bulls body. Inca said knothing is worth throwing away. They would slay the animals usally at night.
So to conclude this book said that Native Americans never threw their food away." To them is like throwing gold away" (Elizabeth 30). Some people should start doing this more often and not throw foood away in such a hurry.The reason some people should do this is that one day a part of the animals body can come in handy or if the animal is extinct the person has its bone. This theme is every thing is presious because the Native Americans never threw any piece of body away. This book is a really nice book and interesting.
Febuary 13 2015
In the past pages of Stting Bull plenty things happend. Native Americans realized one day that they should have a leader or a good bull and bufualo hunter."I choose Sitting Bull I choose him" (Elizabeth 45).The natvie Americans decided that Ourga known as Sitting Bull would be their leader. When Sitting Bull knew that he was the leader he started having parties.They had their first annual leader party and the native Americans danced arround the fire.
Sitting Bull was one of the people of native Amrericans to come up with tactics. "They used to go at night when the bulls and bufaloes were sleeping and they would throw at them arrows and kill them" ( Elizabeth 63). Once they would throw the arrows the bulls and native Americans would run away.The next morning the native Americans would go and get their meal and enjoy it. This was a tactic that Sitting Bull created.
So to conclude, the native Americans didn't have good technology they still manged to make good choices and tactics."I personally think that going at night and killing the target and then running away was a good tactic" ( Elizabeth 73). This relates to the theme make good choices. The reason why is because the native Americans made good choices and mostly they almost never lost someone. This is an awesome book and it has great themes to know about.
Febuary 19 2015
In the past 25 pages plenty of things happend. Native Americans fought with other people. Native Americans had a huge advantage because they new all the forest. While the strangers didn't. " Sitting Bull escaped a bow that could have killed him" ( Elizabeth70). Another advantaage was food. It was really hard to find food for the strangers. But native Americans could find food really easliy because they knew how to slay bulls. So to conclude in the battle of Native Americans and strangers, Native Americans had two advantages.
But Native Americans also had a disadvantages.The most huge disadvantge they had was weapons. The Native Americans used bows while the strangers used guns and swords." I had never seen someone with an un fair fight lose" ( Elizabeth 82). This disadvantage was terribble. But as the Native Americans knew their terretory really well they could do a surprise shot to the strangers. So to conclude a disadvantage is terrible but a person could always use its advantge.
So to finish the 20 pages of this book, there are two things that people could use. The first thing is the person advantage and the seconde thing is their surrounding. This theme of the book is be ware of a persons surrounding. "Native Americans didn't have the latest technology but they still were ware of their surrounding" ( Elizabeth 85 ). So to conclude even if a person don't have advantages they still have surrounding which could help the person.
.March 6 2015
In the 50 last pages I read plenty of things happend. Sitting Bull died in an early morning by a buffalo. "Sitting Bull got a buffalo and it looked like the buffalo had stomped him, he died in an early morning on July 26"( Elizabeth 104). That night the native americans made a dance in the camp fire to celebrate Sitting bull's accomplishment. That night was a fun time for the native americans. To conclude a huge catastrofy happend but for the nativee americans was a party.
The first day without Sitting Bull went terrible the bulls and buffaloes beat the native americans up. " It was like if the native americans never had hunted for bulls" ( Elizabeth 125). The native american were desperate and then Sitting Bull's friend told the bosses how to capture bulls and when he showed it, people got astonished. That night they all danced and Sitting Bull's friend was called Brap Bull. To conclude native americans could have lost their lives for not eating food but Brap Bull saved them.
So to finalize this even when people are desperate the person should not give up. " Even though the native americans thougt they couldn't capture bulls and bufaloes some of them still didn't give up" (Elizabeth 130). The theme of this story is to never give up because the person can always achieve the second or tenth time. The second theme is not to waste food. native ameicans did that by eating all parts of bulls and buffaloes. To conclude this book was a nice book and shows how native americans lived
November 7, 2025
A fine historical reflection of the white man's utter annihilation, not just of a people, but of the natural resources and fauna of the American West. Sitting Bull himself is portrayed in a manner consistent with general consensus- a brilliant military tactitian, a natural born leader and a prophet for his people. It is highly detailed regarding names, dates and timelines, so maybe not ideal for the casual reader. However, for anyone deeply interested in the "winning" of the West and/or in the life of this great man, it is a solid read. Highly recommend.
August 27, 2019
Great read. It is about more than Sitting Bull.
January 26, 2025
This is another good book about an Native American who is one of the greatest of that culture.
February 4, 2009
This book is an interesting and thoroughly-researched account of Sitting Bull's life and legacy. In Sitting Bull's lifetime, the Lakota's was still primarily an oral tradition, and further confounding for modern-day researchers, the Lakota regularly changed and transfered names to other members of the tribe. For example, Sitting Bull was born Jumping Badger (nicknamed "Slow") only later to acquire the name Sitting Bull from his father, who then became Jumping Bull. And the record becomes considerably more fragmented when the story strays from Sitting Bull's later life and the well-documented events of his encounters with U.S. and Canadian authorities.
Yenne has clearly gone to painstaking lengths to gather and vet source material on his subject (letters, interviews, survivor acounts, Lakota pictographs, census data). He also expends considerable effort to dispel some of the myths and folklore surrounding Sitting Bull, including his involvement in the Battle at Little Big Horn, the Ghost Dance movement, and his death at the hands of U.S. Indian Affairs agents. Overall, Yenne has done a great job of forming all of the available material into a cohesive, fair, and highly readable biography.
Yenne has clearly gone to painstaking lengths to gather and vet source material on his subject (letters, interviews, survivor acounts, Lakota pictographs, census data). He also expends considerable effort to dispel some of the myths and folklore surrounding Sitting Bull, including his involvement in the Battle at Little Big Horn, the Ghost Dance movement, and his death at the hands of U.S. Indian Affairs agents. Overall, Yenne has done a great job of forming all of the available material into a cohesive, fair, and highly readable biography.
December 12, 2009
Brisk, highly readable bio of the Lakota leader. The final chapters - a summary of newspaper reactions to Sitting Bulls' murder, an account of his surviving children and extended family from various census records, and discussion of his burial and reburial - are a bit dry. The latter two topics are not unimportant and may represent some original scholarship, but they do little to maintain the dramatic tale and urgency of his life.
July 15, 2009
this was an excellent read, got close to 5 stars. tells the story of sitting bull thoroughly and compassionately, focuses on the man for the most part not the overall history around him (this is what i was looking for, but if you want something more general look towards bury my heart, etc.) works as a nice companion to crazy horse strange man of the oglalas.
January 30, 2016
Sitting Bull, the great Lakota Warrior believed that his people were meant to be free and hunt, live and die in the Great Plains. "I have seen nothing that a white man has, houses or railways or clothing or food, that is as good as the right to move in the open country, and live in our own fashion." Sitting Bull.
Has select timeline, pictures from archives,
Has select timeline, pictures from archives,
February 22, 2009
The first half of this book reads more like a general history of Lakota/White relations rather than a true biography of Sitting Bull. The author does some good research on the latter half of Sitting Bull's life, with a good account of what actually happened the morning he was murdered.
May 28, 2010
Sitting Bull's image was warped a bit due to the fact that he toured with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show but hey even the chief has to make a living somehow. I have some idea of his biography but I hope that this book will flesh it out a bit.
May 19, 2012
I'm still reading this. A lot of historical accounts to process. As if I needed another reason to feel angry about that whole Westward expansion thing... Sitting Bull was quite the character. Very interesting read.
August 8, 2017
Another great book about Sitting Bull. I like the way the writer interweaves history and culture and incorporates the views of tribes today with those of Sitting Bull. He goes to the Standing Rock reservation and walks the ground.
Well written and well documented.
Well written and well documented.
March 18, 2015
Not good
I love history and biography books and I really had to force myself to finish this. The author went off on tangents a lot and the end was more of an extended epilogue/anthropological survey.
I love history and biography books and I really had to force myself to finish this. The author went off on tangents a lot and the end was more of an extended epilogue/anthropological survey.
November 16, 2009
Sitting Bull would have to be on my top 10 list of Americans to be able to talk to. What a fascinating man.
August 17, 2012
Could barely finish this book. The author is a joke and should take ADD medicine before writing a piece of literature.
November 2, 2013
Amazing
January 13, 2015
Amazing Biography. What a life, what a story. Highly recommended. Incredibly well researched.
March 6, 2015
He was very cool
April 19, 2016
Indians. And. Fire. Water. I. Love. This. Book. It. Is. Going. Upon. My. Shelf.
September 2, 2015
Very sad but also interesting. It was hard for me to set the book down!
March 30, 2017
I really liked the way the author tells the history of Sitting Bull from multiple sources and without the current social stigma that was present during his life.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews