Sacagawea's Nickname: Essays on the American West

Disliked the bashing of Zane Gray and Louis LaMore and the over all putting down of almost everything that is not from texas.

Sacagawea's Nickname is a splendid little volume consisting of twelve essays on the American West authored by Larry McMurtry and previously published in the New York Review of Books. McMurtry arranges each essay around one or more books so that each piece works as both a book review and exploration of the topic at hand. McMurtry grew up in the West and clearly loves the West. He observes that, "The West, to me, was always a place to look at...." McMurtry has captured the essence of the West in that sentiment. McMurtry is not, however, enthralled by books about the West. He comments that the West produced little fiction of note between Willa Cather's O Pioneers! and Other Tales of the Prairie (New York Public Library Series) and My Antonia (Signet Classics) and the "mature" Wallace Stegner. I must register a dissent at least with regard to the first two books of A.B. Guthrie's Old West trilogy (The Big Sky and The Way West). Despite his reservations, however, McMurtry provides references to numerous works of and about the West that deserve reading. Two of these books concern "that moment of turning in western history when myth arises out of epic conflict" (Custer's defeat at Little Big Horn): Thomas Berger's Little Big Man and Evan S. Connell Jr.'s Son of the Morning Star: Custer and The Little Bighorn. Other books worthy of note include Patricia Nelson Limerick's The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West, in which Limerick sets herself the task of establishing a new paradigm of the West to replace Frederick Jackson Turner's `frontier thesis' and Angie Debo's Geronimo: The Man, His Time, His Place (Civilization of the American Indian Series). My favorite essays were `Inventing the West', which focused on Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley (Sitting Bull's Little Sure Shot), the eponymous `Sacagawea's Nickname', and Old Misery (about the cantankerous Missouri River). McMurtry heaps high praise on the The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 13-Volume Set, if you have the time and money. Consistent with the attitude expressed in the Introduction, McMurtry reduces Zane Grey's body of work to the size of postage stamp (paraphrasing Heywood Broun) and he did not think much of Stephen May's studies of the prolific Grey. Similar, if less harsh, treatment is given to James Wilson's The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America and others. The main attraction to this thin volume, however, is McMurtry's own writing. As he has demonstrated in fiction (Lonesome Dove Complete Set (Lovesome Dove / Streets of Laredo / Comanche Moon / Dead Man's Walk) (Lovesome Dove Saga, Vols. 1 - 4)) and nonfiction (The Colonel and Little Missie: Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, and the Beginnings of Superstardom in America (includes 16 pages of B & W photographs)), McMurtry knows how to write. Highest recommendation.

The mistake that most readers will make when picking up SACAGAWEA'S NICKNAME by Larry McMurtry is expecting something identical to LONESOME DOVE, THE BERRYBENDER NARRATIVES or BOONE'S LICK. I suspect that most of the negative responses to this book have come from readers who made this unfortunate, though understandable, error.Nonetheless, SACAGAWEA'S NICKNAME, a collection of essays by McMurtry, is an essential read for any true McMurtry fan, providing an in-depth look into the mind of arguably the preeminent author of the West. After reading this book you will definitely have a better and clearer handle on where McMurtry is coming from when he applies his encyclopedic abilities to writing the next great western novel.Essays include evaluations and critiques of western authors and introductions to some that need to be rediscovered, including Angie Debo and, as indicated by the title, stimulating overviews of Lewis and Clark's expedition west and their affinity for and appreciation of Sacagawea. McMurtry also tackles subjects that mainstream western literature readers may find difficult. Despite the years that have past McMurtry eloquently handles the question of our treatment of Native Americans and asks the continuing and unanswered questions regarding what needs to be done if we are to do the right thing after all.

In Sacagawea's Nickname, McMurtry provides a well-reasoned, persuasive argument designed to induce contemporary writers and historians to take into account all theoretical aspects of Western history while making their interpretations. While it might seem, at first glance, that the author is exceedingly critical of authors whose take on Western history skews to the revisionist, this is not necessarily the case. Generally, McMurtry praises the scholarship of such individuals but alludes to their failure to consider anything but the evils of manifest destiny. McMurtry argues that such individuals are so hell-bent on dark revisionism that they have lost sight of the fact that Western mythology has become an intricately woven part of the equation. Conversely, McMurtry also warns against those who would mythologize for the sake of financial gain alone, such as in the spirit of Ned Buntline, Buffalo Bill Cody, Zane Grey, or even Time-Life books. This rather fuzzy delineation between fact and fiction is, perhaps, best demonstrated by McMurtry's essay Inventing the American West. McMurtry writes of Kit Carson's attempt and failure to save a woman who had been kidnapped by Indians. Carson tells of how a dime novel was found in possession of the murdered woman, which portrayed Carson as a hero in slaying hundreds of Indians. McMurtry fully embraces neither the revisionists nor the traditionalists, but alternately praises and critiques both in an attempt to bring them closer together for the betterment of Western historical scholarship. It is remarkable that a book comprised of twelve separate essays should conduct such a strong central theme. It is difficult to be critical of such a subjective work as this for, in fact, McMurtry is only espousing his own subjective views on existing literary works. It would be easy to dismiss this as merely a collection of thoughts and reviews. However, McMurtry is clearly one of the most respected authorities on the American West, and his arguments should be given great consideration. The pages of Sacagawea's Nickname carry not only McMurtry's theories on the state of Western scholarship, but also the caveat of an acute historical observation. As described in the above summary of his essay Sacagawea's Nickname, McMurtry hypothesizes that Clark and Sacagawea may have harbored an unknown degree of romantic feelings for one another - A hypothesis daringly based on one word written by Clark and to be found only once in over twelve volumes of the expedition's edited notes. The word, the reference for the essay and the book's title, is Janey. McMurtry suggests that the Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition should be a starting point for anyone interested in pursuing the study of Western History. I argue Sacagawea's Nickname should be a primer for anyone who is interested in or already studying Western history. Its pages provide a wholly entertaining and cognitive basis for academic resea

If you are familiar with many of the topics discussed in this collection, you will likely find this to be well worth your time. Anyone who has delved into western lit is undoubtably familiar with LM's inimitable style. It is readily apparent here, as is his incredible breadth of literary and historical knowledge. However, if you haven't read much of Stegner and Limerick (to name just a couple of writers LM explores),or you don't know a lot about Lewis and Clark, this may not be the place to start. As these pieces were originally written for the NYRev, the level of background needed to fully appreciate these essays is high. All in all, a thoughtful, funny and wideranging collection worth having on your bookshelf. One final note: I wish the introductory piece on western lit was longer; good as it was, it left me wanting to hear more.

We all know Larry McMurtry best as fine, and successful, novelist whose work revolves around and in the American West. Perhaps he no longer has the stamina or time for fiction as he seems to have turned more and more to the essay form. "Sacagawea's Nickname" is a collection of twelve essays originally published in the most non-Western The New York Review of Books. The irony of their original appearance aside, these are simply wonderful essays. In one essay McMurty declares "The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" (available in a newly published edition) to be the American Epic. In a companion piece he speculates about the expedition's guide Sacagewea's place in the company, wonders about her relationship with William Clark and laughs at her bumbling husband Charbonneau. In another essay he heaps scorn upon the pulp Western writers Zane Grey and Max Brand, while in another he waxes ecstatically upon a dinner with writer and poetess Janet Lewis. Whether writing about Western water issues and John Wesley Powell or about the professional anthropologists who tried to make their name off the Zuni tribe, McMurtry is always fascinating, provocative and highly readable. He, himself, is a Western treasure.