This book is ideal for all types of readers. After seeing the length of the book, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the characters were developed. I only wish I had read the book before I watched the movie. I couldn't help but picture Clint Eastwood as Josey Wales. I wonder how I would have pictured the main character had I not seen the movie. Oh well, the book was great anyway

Having just finished The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales I will soon begin to read Gone To Texas. Carter portrays the Missouri Bushwackers and American Indians in a sympathetic light without the syrupy romanticism of Political Correctness. The Old West slang helps the reader get into the mindset of the previous Century. I strongly encourage this book -- and unlike the movie --the chess pieces do not fall into place with a tidy resolution.

This book tells two consecutive stories about Josey Wales that take place right after the War for Southern Independence, a period of time about which I did not have a lot of previous information. The first is a story about individualism and government abuse of those individual who don't fit the mold or have no use for the "services" that a government longs to provide. The second is more of a pure western and a vengence tale after some of Josey's friends are murdered. Although he'll kill a man in a second if he's crossed, you can't help but admire his character and courage. I've lent this book to three of my friends and they all tell me that the book was great. Overall, a very enjoyable read, expecially if you're not a big government lover.

I'd rank this one right below Owen Wister's The Virginian on my own list of all-time greatest westerns. If I'd read this book two years ago my son would've been named Josey Wales Lambert. Every Southerner, no, every American should read it, digest it, and live by the same code. Yeeeha!

I see both strengths and weaknesses in this book. Carter's descriptions of life among the Apaches during Geronimo's lifetime are powerful and convincing. He is compelling when he recreates Apache war raids and evokes the tactical brilliance with which Geronimo waged his twin wars on the Mexicans and the Americans of the Southwest. Carter makes it abundantly clear that Geronimo was not so much a chief as a War Shaman, that he was motivated as much by extraordinary spiritual insight as by courage and valor. But the book fails when it attempts to portray Geronimo's enemies. With a few, not very important, exceptions, the Mexicans and Americans in the book are all dishonest, mercenary, coarse, corrupt, loathsome, vain--and, because they are so predictably despicable, they are cardboard characters, not real men. Carter seems not to understand (or, if he understands, to care) that, in an epic conflict such as the one the Apaches found themselves faced with in the last years of the nineteenth century, both sides can be principled; both can be motivated by what they believe to be right; but, because they are creatures of different value systems, their respective concepts of right can differ momentously--and with epically tragic consequences. Carter was obviously a gifted writer. If his Apaches were not always the "good guys"--if some of the really important Mexicans and Americans in his story had some redeeming qualities, this could have been a very good--perhaps even great--novel. As it is, it is an interesting (albeit often satisfying) failure.

Reading THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE prompted me to find other Forrest Carter works. Through Amazon, I discovered the Josey Wales books (terrific). References to Geronimo in those books peaked my interest about this fascinating historical figure, so I ordered WATCH FOR ME ON THE MOUNTAIN. It did not disappoint. Though Carter takes liberties with the story by including personal details about Geronimo which he could not know--thus making it a fictional work--there is a symmetry in his use of history and folklore which is captivating. He tells a great story, and if you are the least bit interested in the spirituality and mysticism that defined this man's life, you will find this book fascinating. Geronimo lived between the earthly and spiritual worlds, giving him great powers which he used to enable the Apache to ward off slavery and death,against huge odds, for twenty years longer than seemed possible. Moving, sad and inspiring, this book brings about heightened appreciation for Native American spirituality and resillency.

I was assigned to read The Education of Little Tree while in college. I was so impressed with the book I recommended it to my mother, who had the same opinion. She was so impressed she bought all of Forrest Carter's book and she insisted that I read, Watch For Me On The Mountain. That was close to ten years ago, and it still stays with me. Carter's writing is direct, to the point, and extremely vivid, almost raw. I was haunted by much of this book and perhaps it is that feeling that forces me to re-read it so many times. I have always had a great respect for Native Americans, but knew very little, if anything, about the Apaches. Carter helped to alleviate some of that, even though the book is listed as fiction. It gave me the extreme basics of what the Apaches went through, and how amazing Geronimo really was. The book does paint an extremely dishonest portrait of the U.S. Government, as well as the Mexicans. But, let's be honest, our government didn't really give us much to be proud about. Unfortunately, much of what Carter writes about is true. In short, Forrest Carter was an oustanding writer, and Watch For Me On The Mountain is an outstanding book. Hands down.

Okay, first let's get the ugliness out of the way. The recent boom in memoirs has produced a really fascinating phenomena, the true life tale which any intelligent reader knows to be fiction. The most celebrated recent examples are books like Angela's Ashes, wherein Frank McCourt reconstructs his entire childhood and verbatim dialogue in such loving detail that we realize that his memoir is ultimately a fictional take on his own autobiography (see Orrin's review). But in The Education of Little Tree we have an even more audacious author. Forrest Carter's supposed memoir of being raised by his Cherokee grandparents after being orphaned at age 5, likewise recreates his youth in a level of detail that makes the story hard to credit, but in addition the characters he creates and episodes he relates defy belief. The simple old Cherokee couple living at one with nature in a marriage of equals seems to be a purely mythic creation, but then when the five year old joins them and helps them outwit government bureaucrats, Christian missionaries, big city mobsters, etc., in between trips to the library to get the classics of Western Literature which Grandma reads aloud each night, you can really feel the text leaving any claim to a basis in reality behind. Finally, as the story ends with Little Tree, now age 9, and his two loyal dogs, working their way across Depression America to get to the Cherokee Reservation, we've entered Cloud Cuckoo Land.

So I mentioned all of this to my Mom, who along with my brother urged this book upon me, and she said that she'd seen a People Magazine article about Carter a dozen years ago and it, naturally, turned out that the book is fiction. A little quick research on the Web turns up the fact that it's not just fiction, it's virtually a hoax. Carter was actually named Asa Carter. He was a rabid segregationist who adopted the pseudonym Bedford Forrest, in honor of the Confederate general who founded the Klan. He may or may not have been a speech writer for George Wallace, but he did claim to have written the infamous "Segregation Forever!" speech.

Now having said all that, there's one more thing that needs to be said about the book; it's terrific. In many ways it reminded me of The Power of One, both are books of such surpassing beauty and heartwarming humanity, who cares if they are completely unrealistic? Isn't one of the chief values of fiction the capacity to transcend reality? The Education of Little Tree teaches timeless lessons about the value of family, education and place and it preaches an abiding mistrust of government. If it also managed to snooker most of the touchy feely, do-gooder, Left, which desperately wishes that these were all Native American values, and not essentially Western ones, this merely allows us to enjoy it on a second level. After all, it's not hard to make Oprah & company look stupid, but it is fun.

GRADE: A

Forrest Carter - regardlesss of what he believed or how he lived - wrote a great book. The Education of Little Tree presents a unique way of viewing the world, for one sees through the eyes of a young half-Cherokee boy growing up in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee during the 1930s. I found the book realistic, being often humorous and occasionally sad. The adventurous episodes of each chapter are written in lively narrative, and I never found myself feeling bored or disinterested while working my way through the book. Little Tree's often sage observations and received wisdom from his grandparents help make this tale instructive as well as enjoyable. I can easily endorse this as an excellent book to read

The Education of Little Tree may not be a work based on facts. It may be true that the author was a member of the KKK. It may be true that this book is not an autobiography and it may be equally true that it does not represent the culture or values of those whom consider themselves Cherokee. However, I still believe that this book stands on it's own merits, not as a factual based book, but as a book which does indeed have many useful truths. The book is beautifully written and it is an inspirational read which accounts for a boy whom receives an education far different from one of the regular school system. His education deals more with the spiritual sense of humanity and the book articulates the message using examples and also through the well-woven narrative. Not reading this book for the very reasons of the negative aura surrounding it's truth is not reading a great book because it contains grammatical errors or profanity. They are irrelevant in the judging of the actual text itself. This is an important book, and it is a good book and the lessons in which it teaches are lessons every human being should learn as part of being human. As grandma says in the book about good spreading, indeed, I hope this book will spread as well.