A Good Year to Die: The Story of the Great Sioux War

by Charles M. Robinson

This is the dramatic story of the most crucial year in the history of the American West, 1876, when the wars between the United States Government and the Indian Nations reached a peak. Telling a great deal about Indian cultures, history, beliefs and personality, this is the first book to cover the whole year, rather than simply its components. 16-page photo insert. 3 maps.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, 19th Century, American

412 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 1995

Reviews

[Tony Auxier · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book on the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. Robinson includes a lot of material from Lakota, Cheyenne and other Native American sources that other authors ignore. His descrbibes and explains the root causes, events and results of the war with reasonable objectivity. I do wish he had covered the "peace movement" in the Lakotas, led by Spotted Tail and American Horse, more thoroughly. The author does correct many of the myths that have grown up about this period. A very good history on a period that has been defined more by Hollywood, than historical facts in the past.

[Cliff Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the well-researched, very balanced history of a terrible tragedy -- a miserable war fought to protect scofflaw American gold-diggers trespassing in lands promised to the native peoples of the region by government treaty. Upon their heads is the blood not only of the countless Indians who died trying to maintain their way of life and their rights to their lands, but also the American soldiers who were maimed, killed, or died from disease and exposure during this awful campaign.

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rarely have I read such a prime example of good historical material ruined by cruddy writing. Robinson is ash-dry, droning and disorganized, completely foregoing the human drama for a dismal litany of facts and a blustering cacophony of badly-sequenced action. More's the shame, since the Great Sioux War is the perfect subject for a historical study- but not this one.