Nancy Bonvillain

Attempts to portray an even-handed summary of Black Hawk's life and his fight to save his lands. The opening chapter describes the hot tempers during the 1837 meeting called by US military to inform the Sauk that they would be moved out of their land. This also shows the misunderstandings that lead to the conflict. The 2nd chapter describes typical Sauk life. The 3rd chapter presents an overview of the shifting tribal homelands and disruption as white people force native peoples ever westward. Most of the quotes in the chapters on the war are from whites, and thus their bias overrides any author intent for a neutral book.
This book seems to be based on scholarly research, although no references are provided. In evaluating other books on the war, I use this book as basis for the most likely progression of military events.
Sometimes cataloged as a juvenile book, the reading level is too high for young readers; more appropriate for teens or adults. Includes an index, a few references for further reading, an introductory essay which makes no mention of Black Hawk & is probably used for every book in the series, and a chronology of Black Hawk's life (and denouement of the tribe).… (més)