Geronimo

October 8, 2012
Meticulous and finely researched, Utley’s (The Lance and the Shield) account of Geronimo’s life attempts to dismiss the legend of an “Apache daredevil fighting for his homeland.” Compiled from various firsthand accounts and military records, the book traces the life of the Chiricahua warrior from fearless raider to subdued reservation Indian. Living free of government control until 1876, Geronimo ravaged the area of the present-day Arizona/Sonora border for decades, focusing particular vehemence on the Mexican side as retribution for the (assumed) massacre of his first family when he was 28. Not until the late 1870s did Geronimo gain notoriety on the American side of the border, when “he came to personify all the Apache raiders, both in the minds of victims and in newspapers throughout the nation.” He lived most of his life highly suspicious of everyone, even his own people, always “coiled to stampede to Mexico,” where he could hide himself in the nearly impenetrable Sierra Madre. Multiple breakouts from reservations in Arizona and New Mexico cemented his fame as one of the last Apache war heroes. At times detail cluttered and distant, the book occasionally glosses over horrific events. However, Utley achieves his goal of humanizing Geronimo, fastidiously showing the transition from bloodthirsty raider to subservient prisoner of war, fair attraction and, eventually, entrepreneur. Agent: Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents.

October 15, 2012
In addition to a biography of the great Native-American warrior, Utley (Little Bighorn Battlefield and Custer's Last Stand, 2011) takes readers on a tour of southern Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. The author examines the relevant geography, but he also provides a better understanding of how the legendary Geronimo became a brutal reservation Apache. The author's long career as a Western American historian, his association with the National Park Service and his close attention to the topographic detail of the Apache homeland guarantee a true picture of the man who was neither hero nor thug. Geronimo was never a chief, but he had a mysterious, surreal power that left his people in awe, and often in fear, of him. The Apache people were trained from birth to survive in the treacherous mountains of the Southwest, to live off the land and to plunder. It was a way of life Geronimo excelled at, with his shamanlike ability to foresee trouble for his small band of loyal followers. Raiding and plunder were an integral part of their culture, as was breaking out of the reservation on a regular basis. Geronimo's attacks in Mexico, where his first wife and children were massacred, were invariably brutal. The Apache nation had a number of true leaders, most of whom wished to live peacefully. Cochise is well-known to us, but the greatest of all chiefs and Geronimo's mentor, Mangas Coloradas, has been decidedly unfamiliar to most of us until now. This is no hagiography. Utley presents the culture, upbringing and external forces that made Geronimo the man he became, warts and all.

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November 15, 2012

Utley (former chief historian, National Park Svc.; The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull) provides a welcome biography of Geronimo, the famed leader of the last group of Chiricahua Apache supporting themselves by actively raiding the Mexican-American border region. The author emphasizes that Geronimo, while known as a war leader, achieved his greatest fame in 1885-86, avoiding capture or battle with armies under Gen. George Crook and then Gen. Nelson Miles before his final surrender. This book can be viewed as a companion to Southwestern historian Edwin R. Sweeney's recent works on the Apache (From Cochise to Geronimo: The Chiricahua Apaches, 1874-1886; Mangas Coloradas: Chief of the Chiricahua Apaches); the book is dedicated to Sweeney. VERDICT Owing to Utley's use of Mexican archival resources and newspapers, this now stands as the most up-to-date and comprehensive biographical study of Geronimo, who has proven as elusive to many historians as he was to the U.S. Army. Highly recommended for academic libraries in particular, it will be essential to many public libraries and private readers as well.--Nathan E. Bender, Albany Cty. P.L., WY

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