Wild Men: Ishi and Kroeber in the Wilderness of Modern America

Sackman has taken a well know story and crafted it into a marvelous excursion into the lives of two fascinating individuals. Along the way his story takes many highways and byways, bringing together a wealth of information and insights into turn-of-the century San Francisco,, native American history, the study of anthropology, train travel, and so much more. A fascinating read, highlighted by numerous photos.

The author almost abandoned this project when he learned that another book about the last wild Indian (//Ishi's Brain: In Search of America's Last "Wild" Indian// by Orin Starn, 2004) was in the works. Encouraged by his publisher, Douglas Cazaux Sackman, a history professor at the University of Puget Sound, Sackman persevered and //Wild Men: Ishi and Kroeber in the Wilderness of Modern America// joins the collection of books and film exploring the life of Ishi, the last surviving member of his tribe. Ishi was a middle-aged adult when he was found standing in a slaughterhouse corral in Oroville, California, in 1911. Alfred Kroeber, a prominent anthropologist, secured Ishi's passage from Oroville to San Francisco, where Ishi became a resident of the Museum of Anthropology. For the remainder of Ishi's life, Kroeber, and others, endeavored to capture the language, history, and culture of this living artifact. Sackman describes his book as "...an entirely new narrative exploring different aspects of our shared American history that the meeting of these two men illuminate." His compact, well-written, and scholarly work will stretch your thinking on the value of aboriginal cultures, as well as mankind's relationship to the wilderness. Reviewed by Diana Irvine