《儿童读物杂志》(Horn Book)书评
Chapters alternate between the lives of Sitting Bull, the Sioux chief who resisted assimilation into Anglo culture, and James McLaughlin, the agent at Standing Rock Reservation charged with effecting that assimilation. The parallel structure, supported by considerable documented detail, illuminates the irreconcilable cultural differences that led to Sitting Bull's murder by Indian police answering to McLaughlin. Ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Gr. 6^-12. The author of Great Lives (1997) and numerous historical novels takes on a hot-button topic, twining together the lives of two brilliant, strong-minded men with irreconcilable agendas. She does a creditable job of tracing Sitting Bull's rise, the course of the Indian wars, and McLaughlin's long career as Indian agent and general inspector of Indian agencies. If Calvert points out McLaughlin's success in increasing boarding-school enrollment without going into school conditions, or makes the Indians' transition to settled life seem smoother and less painful than it certainly was, she also clearly shows that McLaughlin acted from genuine concern for his charges, and, more than once, battled his federal employers for fairer policies and treatment. She makes extensive use of McLaughlin's papers and employs occasional black-and-white photos (often poorly reproduced) to give face to many of the people she mentions. In the end, Sitting Bull comes across as a complex, enigmatic figure, and McLaughlin's belief that Indians would survive only if they accepted white culture and religion makes his motives easier to understand--if not forgive. A thoughtful, thought-provoking study. --John Peters
