The Earth Is All That Lasts

Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation

By: Mark Lee Gardner

Narrated by: Shaun Taylor-Corbett

A magisterial dual biography of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, the two most legendary and consequential American Indian leaders, who triumphed at the Battle of Little Bighorn and led Sioux resistance in the fierce final chapter of the "Indian Wars."

Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull: Their names are iconic, their significance in American history undeniable. Together, these two Lakota chiefs, one a fabled warrior and the other a revered holy man, crushed George Armstrong Custer’s vaunted Seventh Cavalry. Yet their legendary victory at the Little Big Horn has overshadowed the rest of their rich and complex lives. Now, based on years of research and drawing on a wealth of previously ignored primary sources, award-winning author Mark Lee Gardner delivers the definitive chronicle, thrillingly told, of these extraordinary Indigenous leaders.

Both Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull were born and grew to manhood on the High Plains of the American West, in an era when vast herds of buffalo covered the earth, and when their nomadic people could move freely, following the buffalo and lording their fighting prowess over rival Indian nations. But as idyllic as this life seemed to be, neither man had known a time without whites. Fur traders and government explorers were the first to penetrate Sioux lands, but they were soon followed by a flood of white intruders: Oregon-California Trail travelers, gold seek - ers, railroad men, settlers, town builders—and Bluecoats. The buffalo population plummeted, disease spread by the white man decimated villages, and conflicts with the interlopers increased.

On June 25, 1876, in the valley of the Little Big Horn, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, and the warriors who were inspired to follow them, fought the last stand of the Sioux, a fierce and proud nation that had ruled the Great Plains for decades. It was their greatest victory, but it was also the beginning of the end for their treasured and sacred way of life. And in the years to come, both Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, defiant to the end, would meet violent—and eerily similar—fates.

An essential new addition to the canon of Indigenous American history and literature of the West, The Earth Is All That Lasts is a grand saga, both triumphant and tragic, of two fascinating and heroic leaders struggling to maintain the freedom of their people against impossible odds.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Mark Lee Gardner (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Wonderfully happy/sad book.

The writer and reader are really good. I admire the hero indigenous people. Even though I'm a white person and I'm older now, I understand their plight so much better. The heroes Crazy about his horses and Sitting Bull gave their all for their people. They are to be admired. The history is mostly accurate. I don't like the use of the word Sioux, the writer should have used more respect and called them by their tribal names.

Thank you for more history on this subject than ever before.

I appreciated all the detail, most of all which has been suppressed for generations! Thank you for a fresh look at history.

Nicely Detailed Account of 2 Great Native Leaders

This book was definitely written with a Native slant to it. by the way, that is not a complaint. I believe the author also did a very good job of being balanced.The book provided great insight on what was going on among the Lakota people during this tragic time. It was a very good listen that I enjoyed very much! Highly recommended.

Very well written

I think the book was very well written. I also feel that the book has very good documented events. I also believe the reader/performance was well done

Outstanding book!

This book is incredible in detail and perspective. It left me wanting more about the life of the SIoux!

It's Good, But Not a Lot New Here

This is a good book that is largely combined biography of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. This history is told in other books, so there is not a lot new here. The thesis seems to be that Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were superior leaders because they did not give in to the army and the settlers (both were murdered). Although true, that does not present a lot of nuance. Other native Americans (Red Cloud, for instance) saw things differently but are disrespected for "giving in."

My main problem with this book is the narration. The narrator is a bad fit. He sounds like a young 21st Century city guy who has probably never ventured west of the Mississippi--that may well not be an accurate impression, but it is the one I got. It gets grating.

Pretty Good - if incomplete

I like the overall point of view, being taken from the legendary and probably best-know chiefs of the Lakota people of the 19th century. In my studies of these people and their times, I have learned enough to know that there were a LOT of battles, skirmishes and general conflicts going on around the events covered in this book.
The points of view being taken with these two warriors is generalized in this work, with dramatic emphasis being given to the Native point-of-view. As with all historical events that were not well-documented on both sides, the slant here is a very pro-native re-telling of events mostly held in oral history that are well documented by many authors.
The narration was nice if some of the words were mis-pronounced; ie Lakota, Brule', Oglala .
An overall good score, if not perfect, it was well worth the listen. It's just not ALL of the story.

Gripping

Well read and well written account of the saga of Lakota peoples from cover to cover.

Much needed, authentic American history

Stories and perspectives not taught in US History books, probably because we've been too ashamed or just don't care for the truth. Bravery, family, survival, balance and understanding destroyed by broken promises, lies, murder, slaughter, and inhumanity. Many good men and women with good intentions on both sides, but on the US Government side too often blinded by politics, greed, and tainted by inaccurate second or third hand accounts.

NO military commander should order troops to do anything they wouldn't do themselves and NO commander should order any action without assessing the situation first hand and from every angle possible. I believe there were far more calvary men who died on the battlefield filled with remorse or spent the rest of their days living with it, than those that felt what they were doing was right.

love it

good book. sad stories. I have been reading about this all my life. A few good details are provided.