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Tony Hillerman: A Public Life
Having sold over one million copies of his Navajo crime novels, Tony Hillerman has developed a huge reputation with mystery fans. The unique mix of Navajo culture and police work is the subject of John Sobol's first-ever biography of Tony Hillerman. From his childhood spent in Oklahoma, to his journalism/ public relations career; from his return to school, to his success as a best-selling author, Tony A Public Life offers rare glimpses of a fascinating and highly varied life.
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1994
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March 22, 2025
The book adds some biographical detail on Hillerman’s life.
Hillerman had three careers, after his stint in the Army during WWII where he sustained a serious injury. He had a very well-regarded career as a journalist in New Mexico. Later, based on positive feedback for his writing skills, Hillerman began to pursue a life as a writer, a storyteller really, but also ended up with one foot in the academic world where he also found success, including more than a few years as the chairperson of the U. New Mexico journalism department.
Hillerman had considerable success in his writing about the Navajo country - scenes and characters. While he received criticism from some quarters - a white man writing about Indian life and culture - his writings were generally received well by the Navajos. The Sobol biography makes the point that Hillerman’s success here may have been because of his upbringing in rural Oklahoma where the divisions were not about race and economics, but between those from the rural areas who were looked down upon by those who lived in the larger towns and cities. “‘Our Seminole and Pottawatomie Indian neighbors were part of Us,’ Hillerman wrote, “fellow barbarians teamed against Them, the town-boy Greeks…’” (Even so, Hillerman was driven to get far more than what rural life could offer, and he was determined “‘to get off the farm.’”) Hillerman also had a sense for how much rural landscapes could and did shape his stories, spiritually, which may also have been what the Navajo audience especially appreciated.
As Sobol points out, Hillerman’s writing expressed a fundamental principle, for him. Hillerman, Sobol writes, states that “‘I grew up with Indians and when you realize that we are all alike, then there’s no problem in writing about anyone….We are all alike. Not in the way we pray, or the way we talk, or the way we tie our shoes - these things vary from place to place and person to person, and thus we should recognize their relativity. But, in essence, we are all the same under the skin and this must be recognized as an absolute truth. Those who violate relative codes are to be laughed at, or admired for their individuality, or ignored perhaps. But those who violate the absolute principle of our common bond, who struggle to oppress others, or to denigrate them, or to exploit them - these individuals are to be condemned, and resisted. It comes down to a single word: respect.”
Hillerman had three careers, after his stint in the Army during WWII where he sustained a serious injury. He had a very well-regarded career as a journalist in New Mexico. Later, based on positive feedback for his writing skills, Hillerman began to pursue a life as a writer, a storyteller really, but also ended up with one foot in the academic world where he also found success, including more than a few years as the chairperson of the U. New Mexico journalism department.
Hillerman had considerable success in his writing about the Navajo country - scenes and characters. While he received criticism from some quarters - a white man writing about Indian life and culture - his writings were generally received well by the Navajos. The Sobol biography makes the point that Hillerman’s success here may have been because of his upbringing in rural Oklahoma where the divisions were not about race and economics, but between those from the rural areas who were looked down upon by those who lived in the larger towns and cities. “‘Our Seminole and Pottawatomie Indian neighbors were part of Us,’ Hillerman wrote, “fellow barbarians teamed against Them, the town-boy Greeks…’” (Even so, Hillerman was driven to get far more than what rural life could offer, and he was determined “‘to get off the farm.’”) Hillerman also had a sense for how much rural landscapes could and did shape his stories, spiritually, which may also have been what the Navajo audience especially appreciated.
As Sobol points out, Hillerman’s writing expressed a fundamental principle, for him. Hillerman, Sobol writes, states that “‘I grew up with Indians and when you realize that we are all alike, then there’s no problem in writing about anyone….We are all alike. Not in the way we pray, or the way we talk, or the way we tie our shoes - these things vary from place to place and person to person, and thus we should recognize their relativity. But, in essence, we are all the same under the skin and this must be recognized as an absolute truth. Those who violate relative codes are to be laughed at, or admired for their individuality, or ignored perhaps. But those who violate the absolute principle of our common bond, who struggle to oppress others, or to denigrate them, or to exploit them - these individuals are to be condemned, and resisted. It comes down to a single word: respect.”
Displaying 1 of 1 review