Synopses & Reviews
How a lone manand#8217;s epic obsession led to one of Americaand#8217;s greatest cultural treasures: Prizewinning writer Timothy Egan tells the riveting, cinematic story behind the most famous photographs in Native American history and#8212; and the driven, brilliant man who made them. and#160; Edward Curtis was charismatic, handsome, a passionate mountaineer, and a famous photographer, the Annie Leibovitz of his time. He moved in rarefied circles, a friend to presidents, vaudeville stars, leading thinkers. And he was thirty-two years old in 1900 when he gave it all up to pursue his Great Idea: to capture on film the continentand#8217;s original inhabitants before the old ways disappeared.
An Indiana Jones with a camera, Curtis spent the next three decades traveling from the Havasupai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the Acoma on a high mesa in New Mexico to the Salish in the rugged Northwest rain forest, documenting the stories and rituals of more than eighty tribes. It took tremendous perseverance and#8212; ten years alone to persuade the Hopi to allow him into their Snake Dance ceremony. And the undertaking changed him profoundly, from detached observer to outraged advocate. Eventually Curtis took more than 40,000 photographs, preserved 10,000 audio recordings, and is credited with making the first narrative documentary film. In the process, the charming rogue with the grade school education created the most definitive archive of the American Indian.
His most powerful backer was Theodore Roosevelt, and his patron was J. P. Morgan. Despite the friends in high places, he was always broke and often disparaged as an upstart in pursuit of an impossible dream. He completed his masterwork in 1930, when he published the last of the twenty volumes. A nation in the grips of the Depression ignored it. But today rare Curtis photogravures bring high prices at auction, and he is hailed as a visionary. In the end he fulfilled his promise: He made the Indians live forever.
Review
*and#160;A New York Times Notable Book *An Amazon Best Book * A Publishers Weeklyand#160;Best Book *and#160;A Christian Science Monitor Best Book and#160; "In this hauntingly beautiful book, Egan brings Curtis to life as vividly and with as much depth, heart and understanding as Curtis himself put into his timeless portraits. This is a story for the ages."and#160; --Candice Millard, author of
The River of Doubt and
Destiny of the Republic and#160; "An obsessive genius neglects his personal life and business matters to pursue a great white whale.and#160;It's a familiar tale and the essential narrative of Egan's terrific biography. . . . Egan fills his chronicle with bright turns of phrase and radiant descriptions . . . A sweeping tale about two vanishing ways of life."
-- Wall Street Journal and#160; "A stirring and affectionate portrait of an underknown figure."
-- The New York Times Book Review and#160; "
Short Nights is not only the marvelous and rollicking account of life of one of America's extraordinary photographers. It is also a book about the extreme personal cost of outsized ambition. Egan has found yet another great subject, and has crafted yet another great narrative around it." -- S.C. Gwynne, author of
Empire of the Summer Moon and#160; "In this extraordinary biography, Tim Egan hasand#160;revealed a great American adventurer who lived at the fragile, fertile intersection of history, anthropology, and art." --Hampton Sides, author of
Blood and Thunder "A vivid exploration of one man's lifelong obsession with an idea . . .Egan's spirited biography might just bring [Curtis] the recognition that eluded him in life." --
Washington Post "Egan is a muscular storyteller and his book is a rollicking page-turner with a colorfully drawn hero." --
San Francisco Chronicle "A stunning portrait of Edward Curtis that captures every patina of his glory, brilliance, and pathos." --
Christian Science Monitor and#160; "Egan brings liveliness and a wealth of detail to his biography of the legendary photographer . . .and#160;A riveting biography." -
Boston Globe "Insightful and entetaining . . . Egan's excellent book stands as a fitting tribute to an American original who fought for a people with his camera and his art." -- Los Angelesand#160;Times
"[A] captivating tribute to a treasured American and the treasures he created."-- Dallas Morning News
Synopsis
At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait,
The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelts harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.
The River of Doubt—it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron.
After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazils most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever.
Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived.
From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelts life, here is Candice Millards dazzling debut.
Synopsis
At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait,
The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.
The River of Doubt—it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron.
After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil’s most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever.
Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived.
From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, here is Candice Millard’s dazzling debut.
Synopsis
Howand#160;a loneand#160;manand#8217;s epic obsession led to one of Americaand#8217;s greatest cultural treasures: Prize-winning writer Timothy Egan tells the riveting, cinematic story behind the most famous photographs in Native American history -- and the driven, brilliant man who made them.
About the Author
TIMOTHY EGAN is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and the author ofandnbsp;seven books, most recentlyandnbsp;Short Nights of the Shawdow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis.andnbsp;His previous books include Theandnbsp;Worst Hard Time, which won a National Book Award and was named a New York Times Editorsandrsquo; Choice, andandnbsp;The Big Burn:andnbsp;Teddyandnbsp;Roosevelt and theandnbsp;Fire Thatandnbsp;Saved America, aandnbsp;New York Timesandnbsp;bestseller and winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellersandnbsp;Award and the Washington State Book Award.andnbsp;Heandnbsp;is an online op-ed columnist for the New York Times, writing his andquot;Opinionatorandquot; feature once a week. He isandnbsp;a third-generation Westerner andandnbsp;lives in Seattle.
Table of Contents
First Pictureand#160;1
Encounter on a Volcanoand#160;23
The Big Ideaand#160;41
Indian Napoleonand#160;61
With the Presidentand#160;81
In the Den of the Titanand#160;105
Anglos in Indian Countryand#160;121
The Artist and His Audienceand#160;137
The Custer Conundrumand#160;159
The Most Remarkable Manand#160;179
On the River of the Westand#160;193
New Art Formsand#160;207
Moving Picturesand#160;229
Lost Daysand#160;245
Second Windand#160;259
The Longest Daysand#160;279
Fight to the Finishand#160;291
Twilightand#160;301
Epilogue: Revivaland#160;317
Acknowledgmentsand#160;327
Sourcesand#160;331
Photo Creditsand#160;351
Indexand#160;353