Wild Justice:: The People of Geronimo Vs. the Untited States

On February 22, 1999, just a few days after I finished reading this thorough and thoroughly enjoyable history of the Indian Claims Commission, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court in DC found Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in civil contempt for failure to produce government records in a lawsuit involving oversight of Indian trust accounts. According to the New York Times: "Legal historians say that it is the first time two Cabinet officers have been held in contempt simultaneously." As a general reader who is neither a lawyer nor an historian, I was impressed with the clear presentation of very complex legal issues. The authors also provide lessons in social and cultural anthropology and respect for the environment. But most of all, I appreciated the discussion and analysis of the ethical issues related to racism, genocide, and avarice---and the limitations and inadequacies of litigation and legislation when seeking remedies for inhumane treatment of our fellow human beings. This history truly is as contemporary and universal as today's news from Rwanda, Bosnia, the Middle East, Uganda, or Jasper, Texas.