Only Earth and Sky Last Forever

by Nathaniel Benchley

Although recognizing the end of the Indians' freedom is near, a young Cheyenne still chooses to fight with Crazy Horse at the Little Big Horn to prove himself to the girl he loves.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Westerns

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Born in Newton, Massachusetts to a literary family, he was the son of Gertrude Darling and Robert Benchley (1889-1945), the noted American writer, humorist, critic, actor, and one of the founders of the Algonquin Round Table in New York City.

Nathaniel Benchley was the highly-respected author of many children's/juvenile books that provided learning for the youthful readers with stories of various animals or through the book's historical settings. Benchley dealt with diverse locales and topics such as "Bright Candles", which recounts the experiences of a 16-year-old Danish boy during the German occupation of his country in World War II; and "Small Wolf", a story about a Native American boy who meets white men on the island of Manhattan and learns that their ideas about land are different from those of his own peoples'.

Film director/producer, Norman Jewison made Benchley's 1961 novel The Off-Islanders into a motion picture titled The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming for which he received the nomination for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay. He was a close friend of actor Humphrey Bogart and wrote his biography in 1975.

Benchley's novel Welcome to Xanadu was made into the 1975 motion picture Sweet Hostage.

His elder son, Peter Benchley (1940-2006), was a writer best known for writing the novel Jaws and the screenplay of the 1975 Steven Spielberg film made from it. His younger son, Nat Benchley, is a writer and actor who has portrayed his grandfather, Robert Benchley, in a one-man, semi-biographical stage show, "Benchley Despite Himself". The show was a compilation of Robert Benchley's best monologues, short films, radio rantings and pithy pieces as recalled, edited, and acted by his grandson Nat, and combined with family reminiscences and friends' perspectives."

Nathaniel Benchley died in 1981 in Boston, Massachusetts and was interred in the family plot at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Nantucket.

Reviews

[Nona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was a kid and it opened my eyes. The conflict between the U.S. government and the American Indians was nothing like what I saw in movies or on television. There are passages of this book that I will always remember.

[Alene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in junior high and remember enjoying it. I grew up in Montana so it makes sense that the teachers thought we should read a book dealing with the Native Americans, but I think every kid should learn about that more in depth.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for preteens! Both of my girls enjoyed this book at one time or another between the ages of 10-15.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite teachers from high school recommended this book when I told her we were planning to visit Chief Crazy Horse monument on part of our road trip, and it was a wonderful story! Highly recommend, especially for those that love history.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as kid also and I have never forgotten it I started looking for it again to give to my son.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. It is a love story for young adults.