Scalp Dance
Goodrich, whose previous books, Black Flag (LJ 2/15/95) and Bloody Dawn (LJ 1/1/91), told of Civil War-era Kansas, weaves various firsthand narratives into this account focusing on two episodes of warfare against the Indians: campaigns in Kansas during 1867-68, and the Sioux War of 1876-77. Fully a third of the book is concerned with Custer's campaigns in Kansas and Montana. Goodrich has produced a smooth, flowing story, but the viewpoint is that of the settler and soldier on the frontier. The voice of the Indian explaining why he went to war is not heard. Serious collections on the West will already have the original works from which this book is drawn. Others may wish to consider this for purchase.?Stephen H. Peters, Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., MarquetteCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.