Synopses & Reviews
Set in the early twentieth century,
Long Journey Home is the story of one man's life, the Native American John Buffalo.
John Buffalo is pushed to train for track and field events, with an eye toward the Olympics. His training introduces him to Jim Thorpe, 1912 winner of two gold medals in track and field who was later stripped of them. He meets Bill Picket, the black cowboy who invented steer wrestling and one of the creators of the world's largest Wild West show. Together, these athletes and showmen travel to Mexico, South America, and Europe.
Along the way to an Olympic gold medal, John Buffalo meets and interacts with a variety of early twentieth-century celebrities including Theodore Roosevelt, Tim McCoy, and even Jesse Owens, the African American gold medal winner snubbed by Hitler.
Long Journey Home is beautifully woven historical fiction about a star athlete Native American. Sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes hilarious, veteran Don Coldsmith delivers another breathtaking story.
Review
"Coldsmith is a master storyteller."-
Publishers Weekly"The Long Journey Home is the often sad, but nevertheless compelling story of [a Native American] who does his best to fit into his New World."-The Sunday Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
"[An] engrossing historical novel. . . . John's adventures in this vibrantly drawn historical period will keep readers engaged throughout."-Library Journal
Synopsis
John Buffalo, a Lakota Sioux, is taken from his family and his home as a young boy and is forced into the White man's world.
Buffalo's teachers soon recognize his extraordinary athletic potential and push him to train for track and field events. Accepting this as a way to integrate into the White man's world, Buffalo sets his sights on competing in the Olympics.
Along the way Buffalo meets a variety of early-twentieth-century celebrities including Theodore Roosevelt, James Naismith, Tim McCoy, and even Jesse Owens, the African-American gold medal winner snubbed by Hitler at the 1936 Olympics.
The Long Journey Home is beautifully written historical fiction that is sometimes heart wrenching, sometimes hilarious, and always poignantly accurate. It is a heartfelt story about love, self, and the reality of home.
About the Author
Don Coldsmith is the Spur Award-winning author of more than thirty-five books. After serving as a combat medic in the Pacific during World War II, Coldsmith served as a physician in Emporia, Kansas, until 1988, when he closed his office to devote himself to writing. Coldsmith and his wife, Edna, maintain a small ranching operation, and have raised cattle, Appaloosa horses, and five daughters, not necessarily in that order.