I have read several books about the Sioux Wars so i wasnt really sure i wanted to read another one, but Mr Robinson's book is fantastic.He writes taking in consideration that the reader doesnt know anything about the topic so he explains with good accuracy terms and places like no other author. The author is bold and right on the money when it comes to point a finger at somebody, like for example the stupidity of the Army officers.I found that the interviews and research the author made for this book are very good, especially from the indians perspective.The only thing i didnt like is the fact that Mr Robinson doesnt go into details when it comes to Crazy Horse.I would have loved to read more about Crazy Horse part in this Wars.Otherwise this is an excelente book!

This is by far the best book on the Army's conflict with Native Americans since "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee". It treats the material as a campaign rather than a series of seperate battles, so that Little Big Horn is treated as part of a whole. The author also describes the personalities and deeds of several Indian characters, not just Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. This is an eye-opening recounting of an important part of US history and a look at one of the greatest guerilla forces ever to wage war against the American Army.

Rather than concentrate on one battle or campaign, Robinson sets the stage for the reader to follow the movement of all the actors playing a role in the drama across the seasons of the war. I used this book as an orientation to the conflicts of 1876 prior to a trip to Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas to visit battle sites while on vacation. My trip was greatly enriched by reading this volume first. You can find more concentrated studies of particular engagements and the biographies of the participants that will offer deeper insights into the war, but for one overall narrative that provides the reader with the flavor of the contemporary army and Indian experience, here's my choice.

This was a good book. General MacKenzie WAS the great American Indian/bandit fighter which spawned the myth(?) of the American West in the next century (John Wayne played MacKenzie's role in "Rio Grande"). As for his place in history, he was not shot down in his prime the way the inept Custer was, and as a result, he has all but been forgotten in Western lore (his going mentally insane didn't help matters either).

The book reads easily, flows well and the author doesn't bog you down with unimportant details. I recommend this book to anyone with a mild-to-high curiosity about the Indian Wars and the history of the American Southwest in the late 1800s.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Coverage of Ranald Mackenzie is rather sparse and this book does a great job of detailing the man's entire life. Mackenzie was one of the many frontier heros who did not gain the notariety of other Indian fighters, but he was one of the most successful. Mackenzie showed the ability to learn from his mistakes and adapt tactics as necessary. He also served in all the theaters of Indian warfare (Northern Plains, Southern Plains, US/Mexico Border, and Arizona). This book is easy and entertaining to read and will hopefully help us remember an Indian fighter that history has tried to forget.

Bravo Of The Brazos: John Larn Of Fort Griffin, Texas by independent scholar Robert K. DeArment is the true life story of John Larn, a colorful Texas lawman turned frontier outlaw. No stranger to shootouts, Larn led a vigilante committee with widespread support and killed at least a dozen men before he turned 29. At first his killing of horse or cattle thieves on sight garnered approval, but then he started to kill for profit or revenge, and when Larn threatened to reveal the names of the people on his vigilante committee, a mob of relatives, former friends, and various associates ruthlessly silenced his threat and ended his life. Bravo Of The Brazos is a fascinating tale of power and corruption, as well as a welcome and appreciated contribution to academic American Frontier History & Biography collections.

If you enjoy reading about the Kiowa tribe you'll love this book. It provides an interesting insight into the life of Chief Satanta (White Bear), his family and all those involved trying to bring peace between the Kiowas and the white man. It is also very informative about the Native Indian culture. My fastest read yet!

In this short book, Robinson does a fantastic job of telling the story of the CSS Alabama: the globetrotting privateer of the Confederacy that attacked U.S. shipping interests from Canada to France to Brazil to China. In a very readable style, he gives an overview of how the South chartered privateers and how the North reacted before delving into the construction and history of the Alabama. He also does a good analysis of the actual impact the ship and its comrades had on U.S. shipping interests around the world. All in all, a top-rate look at one of the most infamous ships of the Civil War.

Being a native Texan I thought I had heard and read all there was with regards to the Texas Rangers, This book proved me wrong but delightfully so. An excellent book if you want the history of Texas as well as history of the Rangers. The detail with which Mr Robinson writes covers the ground they rode as well as their undying love of Texas and their duty.Although I did wish for some articles to be more detailed, it was hopefully due more to the loss of records then any intentional overlook by the author. Excellent reading, hard to put down.

Robinson captures all the important characters and events in this short, easy-to-read, well balanced book of the Texas Rangers. The book is actually a series of short stories about the most notorious and memorable men who made the Texas Rangers legendary not only for their fortitude and bravery, but also for their ruthlessness and sometimes lawlessness. The book is very objective and does not attempt to portray the Rangers as gods. Nevertheless, the Rangers were a unique band of men who often sacrificed their lives to protect the ordinary citizen living in remote areas of Texas. The real Texas Rangers and their actual accomplishments are far more amazing than the myth that continues to surround these extraordinary men to this day.

Fastidiously researched, well-documented, and equally well-written, this book is probably the final word, not only on the Texas Rangers, but on certain epochs of Texas history. This is the book that we`ve been waiting for - the kind that evokes the human side of the Rangers without destroying their larger-than-life reputation, and one that makes them live up to their sins without minimizing their heroism. This combines equal parts fact and testosterone to make for a satisfying read that, although it does drag occasionally, quite makes up for it with a steady stream of colorful events and individuals on every page.

- Benjamin Gene Gardner