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The Indian Agent
In praise of The Contract Surgeon :
" The Contract Surgeon draws a vivid portrait of Crazy Horse and gives an interesting, fresh perspective on the Great Sioux War." -Larry McMurtry
"[An] impeccably researched novel." -The New York Times Book Review
In 1999 The Contract Surgeon was published to great critical acclaim. It introduced readers to Valentine McGillycuddy, the U.S. Army contract surgeon who became a friend of the great war chief Crazy Horse. Through McGillycuddy's eyes, the novel recounts the friendship that so deeply impacted history. It also chronicles the Great Sioux War, one of the most violent and reprehensible periods in this nation's history.
THE INDIAN AGENT is the riveting sequel to The Contract Surgeon. After Crazy Horse's death, McGillycuddy went on to become the youngest agent in history for the Red Cloud Agency, renamed the Pine Ridge Indian Agency, where he served longer than any other agent before him. The politics and the enormous tensions of the early days of the reservation are depicted in fascinating detail, as are the Sioux people's painful attempts at transition to reservation life. McGillycuddy had lived on the vast plains with them. No one knew better what the Sioux had given up- or understood more fully the impossibility of returning to that life. Incredibly suspenseful and full of the texture of the Great Plains, THE INDIAN AGENT is a masterpiece that leads us through one of the most devastating periods of the West, to the book's climax-the massacre at Wounded Knee.
" The Contract Surgeon draws a vivid portrait of Crazy Horse and gives an interesting, fresh perspective on the Great Sioux War." -Larry McMurtry
"[An] impeccably researched novel." -The New York Times Book Review
In 1999 The Contract Surgeon was published to great critical acclaim. It introduced readers to Valentine McGillycuddy, the U.S. Army contract surgeon who became a friend of the great war chief Crazy Horse. Through McGillycuddy's eyes, the novel recounts the friendship that so deeply impacted history. It also chronicles the Great Sioux War, one of the most violent and reprehensible periods in this nation's history.
THE INDIAN AGENT is the riveting sequel to The Contract Surgeon. After Crazy Horse's death, McGillycuddy went on to become the youngest agent in history for the Red Cloud Agency, renamed the Pine Ridge Indian Agency, where he served longer than any other agent before him. The politics and the enormous tensions of the early days of the reservation are depicted in fascinating detail, as are the Sioux people's painful attempts at transition to reservation life. McGillycuddy had lived on the vast plains with them. No one knew better what the Sioux had given up- or understood more fully the impossibility of returning to that life. Incredibly suspenseful and full of the texture of the Great Plains, THE INDIAN AGENT is a masterpiece that leads us through one of the most devastating periods of the West, to the book's climax-the massacre at Wounded Knee.
281 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
1 person is currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Dan O'Brien
18 books57 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Dan O'Brien was born Daniel Hosler O'Brien in Findlay Ohio on November 23, 1947. He attended Findlay High School and graduated in 1966. He went to Michigan Technological University to play football and graduated with a BS degree in Math and Business from Findlay College in 1970 where he was the chairman of the first campus Earth Day. He earned an MA in English Literature from the University of South Dakota in 1973 where he studied under Frederick Manfred. He earned an MFA from Bowling Green University (of Ohio) in 1974, worked as a biologist and wrote for a few years before entering the PhD program at Denver University. When he won the prestigious Iowa Short Fiction in 1986 he gave up academics except for occasional short term teaching jobs. O'Brien continued to write and work as an endangered species biologist for the South Dakota Department of Game Fish and Parks and later the Peregrine Fund. In the late 1990s he began to change his small cattle ranch in South Dakota to a buffalo ranch. In 2001 he founded Wild Idea Buffalo Company and Sustainable Harvest Alliance to produce large landscape, grass fed and field harvest buffalo to supply high quality and sustainable buffalo meat to people interested in human health and the health of the American Great Plains. He now raises buffalo and lives on the Cheyenne River Ranch in western South Dakota with his wife Jill. Dan O'Brien is the winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award, two National Endowment for the Arts Grants for fiction, A Bush Foundation Award for writing, a Spur Award, two Wrangler Awards from the National cowboy Hall of Fame, and an honorary PhD from the University of South Dakota. His books have been translated into seven foreign languages and his essays, reviews, and short stories have been published in many periodicals including, Redbook, New York Times Magazine, FYI. New York Times Book Review.
Dan O'Brien was born Daniel Hosler O'Brien in Findlay Ohio on November 23, 1947. He attended Findlay High School and graduated in 1966. He went to Michigan Technological University to play football and graduated with a BS degree in Math and Business from Findlay College in 1970 where he was the chairman of the first campus Earth Day. He earned an MA in English Literature from the University of South Dakota in 1973 where he studied under Frederick Manfred. He earned an MFA from Bowling Green University (of Ohio) in 1974, worked as a biologist and wrote for a few years before entering the PhD program at Denver University. When he won the prestigious Iowa Short Fiction in 1986 he gave up academics except for occasional short term teaching jobs. O'Brien continued to write and work as an endangered species biologist for the South Dakota Department of Game Fish and Parks and later the Peregrine Fund. In the late 1990s he began to change his small cattle ranch in South Dakota to a buffalo ranch. In 2001 he founded Wild Idea Buffalo Company and Sustainable Harvest Alliance to produce large landscape, grass fed and field harvest buffalo to supply high quality and sustainable buffalo meat to people interested in human health and the health of the American Great Plains. He now raises buffalo and lives on the Cheyenne River Ranch in western South Dakota with his wife Jill. Dan O'Brien is the winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award, two National Endowment for the Arts Grants for fiction, A Bush Foundation Award for writing, a Spur Award, two Wrangler Awards from the National cowboy Hall of Fame, and an honorary PhD from the University of South Dakota. His books have been translated into seven foreign languages and his essays, reviews, and short stories have been published in many periodicals including, Redbook, New York Times Magazine, FYI. New York Times Book Review.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 21, 2020
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Dan O’Brien knows the land in South Dakota, the Black Hills, the ranges and its people. He knows the creatures that inhabit this vast terrain as well as what does and does not grow there. He has lived and ranched on these plains for decades and has been involved with the restoration of the grasslands almost his entire adult life. If memory serves, O’Brien switched from cattle to raising buffalo in the early nineties. He is a good man who tells a great story. He researches his subjects as well as the land they occupied. He pulls no punches and tells a straight story depending on how love or hate goes among his many colorful characters.
The Indian Agent is not O’Brien’s best writing, but the story might be his most important. Following on the heels of his prior masterpiece and Crazy Horse venture titled The Contract Surgeon, this one pretty much completes the tale of U.S Army surgeon/physician/agent/professor Valentine McGillycuddy. The only question mark left to answer was what had ever happened between him and his pounding heart regarding that beautiful and never shy Julia Blanchard who he surreptitiously happened upon as a young woman while she was taking a bath in the river along the shaded trail. Their eyes met each other hungrily, and though naked, the young lady never flinched. Even while still madly in love and devoted to his sick and ailing wife Fanny, Valentine could not deny his strong physical attraction to this girl growing up on the Pine Ridge reservation. O’Brien did a very good job of making this reader complicit in also desiring this underage beauty. A simple Google search provided the answer, as expected.
From Wikipedia: ...After Fanny died, the widower McGillycuddy moved to San Francisco, California. There he met Julia Blanchard, who as a girl had asked Fanny if she could marry the doctor after her death. A daughter, also named Valentine, was born to Julia. He served as a medical inspector for an insurance agency until retiring in 1912…
Of course there could be one more installment in this series that ties up all the loose ends, but most likely would lack the necessary interesting and significant details for a full-length historical novel. No doubt O’Brien has the skills to produce an appropriate followup to the lust he left on the page. But he did not leave our shameful history hidden behind lies and a promising sales job. I was not aware of the gruesome truth behind the Wounded Knee Massacre. I had no idea of the timeline and how it failed on every level to coincide with the necessary transference of power and land to the greedy white man. The United States of America has a pretty shady and awful past. Our country has wronged many innocent people. No amount of goodwill and piety can repair the damage that has been done to first our indigenous people, then the African slaves, followed by countless other immigrants seeking a better life. I am betting that Mount Rushmore has already seen its better day and eventually will be destroyed. And by whom is the only question.
Dan O’Brien knows the land in South Dakota, the Black Hills, the ranges and its people. He knows the creatures that inhabit this vast terrain as well as what does and does not grow there. He has lived and ranched on these plains for decades and has been involved with the restoration of the grasslands almost his entire adult life. If memory serves, O’Brien switched from cattle to raising buffalo in the early nineties. He is a good man who tells a great story. He researches his subjects as well as the land they occupied. He pulls no punches and tells a straight story depending on how love or hate goes among his many colorful characters.
The Indian Agent is not O’Brien’s best writing, but the story might be his most important. Following on the heels of his prior masterpiece and Crazy Horse venture titled The Contract Surgeon, this one pretty much completes the tale of U.S Army surgeon/physician/agent/professor Valentine McGillycuddy. The only question mark left to answer was what had ever happened between him and his pounding heart regarding that beautiful and never shy Julia Blanchard who he surreptitiously happened upon as a young woman while she was taking a bath in the river along the shaded trail. Their eyes met each other hungrily, and though naked, the young lady never flinched. Even while still madly in love and devoted to his sick and ailing wife Fanny, Valentine could not deny his strong physical attraction to this girl growing up on the Pine Ridge reservation. O’Brien did a very good job of making this reader complicit in also desiring this underage beauty. A simple Google search provided the answer, as expected.
From Wikipedia: ...After Fanny died, the widower McGillycuddy moved to San Francisco, California. There he met Julia Blanchard, who as a girl had asked Fanny if she could marry the doctor after her death. A daughter, also named Valentine, was born to Julia. He served as a medical inspector for an insurance agency until retiring in 1912…
Of course there could be one more installment in this series that ties up all the loose ends, but most likely would lack the necessary interesting and significant details for a full-length historical novel. No doubt O’Brien has the skills to produce an appropriate followup to the lust he left on the page. But he did not leave our shameful history hidden behind lies and a promising sales job. I was not aware of the gruesome truth behind the Wounded Knee Massacre. I had no idea of the timeline and how it failed on every level to coincide with the necessary transference of power and land to the greedy white man. The United States of America has a pretty shady and awful past. Our country has wronged many innocent people. No amount of goodwill and piety can repair the damage that has been done to first our indigenous people, then the African slaves, followed by countless other immigrants seeking a better life. I am betting that Mount Rushmore has already seen its better day and eventually will be destroyed. And by whom is the only question.
August 29, 2021
Good account of a doctor who is very reliable and gutsy as agent and loves the Lakota people and their land just after Custer's end. Pretty good story but has a couple of sexual parts that are not needed.
July 26, 2012
This sequel to "The Contract Surgeon" continues McGillycuddy's life in Dakota Territory as he becomes the Indian Agent at Pine Ridge Reservation. It's set right after the Sioux Wars when only Sitting Bull's band has not come in to the reservations and the Lakota are on the cusp of a new life. It fairly portrays the no-win situation as the Agent tries to help them understand that their nomadic life is over since there are no buffalo left and they should adopt the white man's road to survive, yet it is tragic to see them leave their way of life and become dependent on government doles. The book shows that the mind-set of the whites at the time can see no options to help the people keep their way of life. It's very thought-provoking and also a riveting story.
January 4, 2020
I read this book right after a lengthy road trip that took me through the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana. I walked in the footsteps of Dr. Valentine McGillicuddy to the top of Black Elk Peak. The good doctor was the first white man to scale those heights and a there is now a plaque there in his honor.
The story of the Lakota Sioux and their settlement in the Pine Ridge Reservation is a sad story and Dan O'Brien helps us feel the heart of a people who are fighting a losing battle. Adjust to a new culture or die is the sad reality for them. It is a hard adjustment to be sure, and they are dealt with unfairly every step of the way. It is a sad chapter in American history, but one we should all know about and hopefully learn from.
The story of the Lakota Sioux and their settlement in the Pine Ridge Reservation is a sad story and Dan O'Brien helps us feel the heart of a people who are fighting a losing battle. Adjust to a new culture or die is the sad reality for them. It is a hard adjustment to be sure, and they are dealt with unfairly every step of the way. It is a sad chapter in American history, but one we should all know about and hopefully learn from.
April 9, 2021
Exceptionally well-researched and written. Captures history and presents it with all its complexities and great overwhelming sadness. The wail at the end could be the echo of all who cry for those lost.
August 15, 2012
I wanted to like this novel more than I did; the author certainly has an eye for detail and knows both the era and cultures well enough to do them justice in his writing. But the whole thing came off a little too typical "western" for my tastes. While the author captures the attitudes of Americans toward Indians during that period very well, the novel tends to come off with a very "pro-westernizing" tone. The main antagonist is Red Cloud, who is simply trying to keep the traditional ways for his people. But he is portrayed as a villain for this. There are other instances, such as the main character's insistence that he loves the old ways as much as the Indians but sees that they need to prosgress. I could go on.
I wad initially excited about this book, since there aren't many novels about the reservation era (that aren't just absolute slander about Indians anyway). But after having read it, the novel seems to be just another "pro-civilizatoon" western.
I wad initially excited about this book, since there aren't many novels about the reservation era (that aren't just absolute slander about Indians anyway). But after having read it, the novel seems to be just another "pro-civilizatoon" western.
July 20, 2011
Dan O'Brien wrote a great book about the period of time after Crazy Horse's death up until Wounded Knee. McGillcuddy was asigned as the first "Indian Agent" and along with his wife Fanny was sent
to the territory that became South Dakota, Black Hills. They lived on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation along with a band of the Sioux. It was McGillcuddys job to ease the Indians into
learning how to work the land to produce food, since the Buffalo had dissappeared. They were given
this piece of land, very rugged, and were to learn to farm it. His descriptions of the Indian
traditions, and way of thinking was incredible. I really enjoyed this book.
to the territory that became South Dakota, Black Hills. They lived on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation along with a band of the Sioux. It was McGillcuddys job to ease the Indians into
learning how to work the land to produce food, since the Buffalo had dissappeared. They were given
this piece of land, very rugged, and were to learn to farm it. His descriptions of the Indian
traditions, and way of thinking was incredible. I really enjoyed this book.
February 21, 2009
So I liked The Contract Surgeon (5 stars) very much. And that compels me to read this contination, sequel, follow-up.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews