Turn the Stars Upside Down

The Plainsmen #16

by Terry C. Johnston

For more than a decade one man struck fear in the hearts of U.S. soldiers on the frontier: Crazy horse, the great Oglala Sioux leader, who destroyed Custer at Little Big Horn, fought Crook toe-to-toe at the Rosebud, and outwitted and outran the Cavalry across the windswept plains where as a child he had played. Now, on a cloudless day in May, the legendary warrior rode toward the soldiers who had been his enemy for so long. In 1877, Crazy horse surrendered to a young lieutenant, and tale of betrayal and murder began.

In this powerful, moving account of the last days of Crazy Horse, Terry C. Johnson weaves a saga of warriors, lovers, peacemakers, traitors, war, and suffering among the innocents on both sides. Most of all, this is the story of one man--a mystic, a fighter, a father and husband--whose last journey was as fateful and dramatic as a life lived without surrender.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Westerns, American History

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Terry C. Johnston was born January 1, 1947 in Arkansas City, Kansas.
Nineteen publishers rejected Johnston's first novel, Carry the Wind, before it was printed in 1982. However, this first novel was to gain the honor of receiving the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award for best first fiction. Johnston is known for his eye for historical detail, and he is a stickler for accuracy. He is known for traveling and exploring down known and unknown dusty roads during the hot summer months, and traversing slippery, muddy roads and hiking through snow to stand upon a historical sight that he would tell his readers in an upcoming book. "Parking in the lower lot, I trudged up the hill to reach the spot where Colonel John Gibbon's infantry waited out the last hours before their attack on the unsuspecting camp. Standing there in the icy snowstorm I was totally overwhelmed by the sight of those skeletal cones of lodgepoles standing stark against the low, gray sky . . ." Some of the sites that he would stand upon were known to the world like the Little Big Horn Battlefield and others would be obscure to the average reader like the Weippe Prairie north of Lochsa. He is known to combine "a roaring good tale with fascinating insights into the lives and times of his principal characters, generally managing to employ his extensive knowledge to enhance a story rather than intrude upon it" (Whitehead, 1991). Johnston would say that he considered himself "not a literary writer but a storyteller." His desire was to reach and teach thousands if not millions of readers about the early western frontier.

He accomplished part of this goal, not only through his books, but through discussions given to elementary children, lectures at symposiums, and historical one-week tours "during which you will re-live the grit and blood, the tears and tragedy of the great Indian Wars." He would blend historical fact with human emotion to re-create the past during his historical tours each summer. One presentation he gave to a fourth grade class was about the Plains Indian culture. He held a discussion with a Honors English class in Castle Rock middle school about "research, writing, and editing that goes into producing two historical novels each year, when compared to their "term papers." He gave keynote speeches at seminars and lectures at symposiums. He traveled all around Montana to sign books for fans, and he signed the books at the local Albertson's in each town. He held radio interviews that "took me into cities, talking before audiences, I never would have managed to reach otherwise."

Reviews

[Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that the best kind of reading to do when you are writing fiction is a historical book or a biography or a travel book - something factual.
There is something about this type of reading that is so refreshing from the imaginative concentration of writing about invented characters. I'm not exactly sure why the two go together, but they do. It's like mowing the lawn on a hot day and a glass of ice cold lemonade afterwards. The Last Days and Tragic Death of Crazy Horse is one of those great, mesmerizing accounts about a complex, courageous, very human person. Be prepared to feel some real anger and deep sorrow if you read this book.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the last book in The Plainsman series. I started reading these several years ago in college. I don't remember why I stopped after the first couple of books but I did. Just in the last year I found the books that I had not read and decided to try them once more. Suddenly I found my self wanting to read more of the series and as I read the reason for my stopping came back to me. The reason was the first two books had seemed to be very much anti-Indian. But as I read more of the series it became clearer that it wasn't anti-Indians but more a story of a clash of cultures. There were just not good guys versus had guys. Both sides had blame on their side. Plus the history and the real characters make for an interesting looking at this brief but tragic period of American History. My deepest regret is that the series ended with the death of Terry Johnston would have liked to read his ending to the Nez Perce War.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Using some actual historical facts and a vivid imagination, the author recounts the end of Crazy Horse and the end Sioux power. An easy fiction read about the 1870s in the West.

[Patrick Ewing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Patrick J. Baier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Overall good. I enjoy westerners. This fills my needs.
Excellent maps. The reader needs to make a copy to follow the content.
The author needs to give more description of the geography wherethe events in the book transpired

[Tim Frye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe because it was the end of the series. Maybe because there were no battles at the center. But this book dragged on forever... Disappointing final book in the series.