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Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder Paperback – August 9, 2002
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Non-Indian theologian and editor Nerburn attempts to "bridge the gap between the world into which I had been born and the world of a people I had grown to know and love" by narrating the fascinating toils and truths of Dan, a 78-year-old Lakota man.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Readers looking for another red-man-departs-wise-words-to-white-man-to-lessen-white- man's-guilt will be disappointed by the tone and content of this work. Realists wanting a truthful, fiery, and, ultimately, cleansing dialogue between Indian and white will definitely want it. Nerburn reluctantly agrees to a meeting with Dan, a Lakota elder who asks him to construct a book from a motley collection of notes, diatribes, and political and social commentaries written over seven decades and kept in an old shoe box. Void of the hypocrisy rampant in many books that have whites adopting the ways of "the great spirit," Nerburn exposes the real truth, which whites are unwilling to face: that in "the hunger to own a piece of the earth, we had destroyed the dreams and families of an entire race." Joined by a dog named Fatback, Dan gives Nerburn the ride of his life as they cross the vast Midwest in Dan's Buick. Along the way, Dan alternates between rage and melancholy, and Nerburn between shame and confusion. Nerburn unintentionally touches nerve after nerve and elicits an almost unbearable flood of anguish and despair. The truth revealed in this book will be difficult for most whites to face, but it is painfully necessary if healing is ever to begin. Kevin Roddy
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 67 people found the following review helpful
By
Cactus Ed
on January 10, 2000
Format: Paperback
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I love this book, this story perhaps more than any other that I own. It is that moving! All my life I have had a deep heartache about the destruction of our Mother Earth at the hands of industrial humans in general, and the destruction of this land we call America at the hands of the European invaders in particular. This book delves deeply into this wound, brings tears of pain and anguish, and ultimately brings about some healing as well. I think it is a GREAT combination of Kerouac and Black Elk Speaks. It is beautifully written and hard to put down. I have read the book many times by now and have given copies to friends. Rumor has it there's a movie version in the works. I love this book so much I'm not sure I'd want to see what Hollywood might do to it! The book is enough, anyway.
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42 of 42 people found the following review helpful
By
Christina M. Silveira
on September 24, 2002
Format: Paperback
1 Comment
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Review written by Russell P. Loven and Juanita Loven:
Once I finally got into this book, it was hard to put it down. Nerburn's style is exciting and easy reading. The author rides around with an "old" (elder) indian resulting in a very thought provoking oral history. The old man trusted few white people, but it is evident that he trusted Nerburn. His comments regarding the white man's treatment of Indians is very dramatic, philosophical and revealing.
While I did not expect to enjoy this book, I quickly found it held my attention to the end. An excellent oral history about the sobering and sad violence inflicted upon the Native Americans. It was moving, powerful and forcefully forced me to think about (and reevaluate) this sad chapter in American history. It should be read by all students of American history. I learned more about the the feelings held by Native Americas (about whites) from this book than from all the other American History accounts studied in my entire life (age 68)."
Once I finally got into this book, it was hard to put it down. Nerburn's style is exciting and easy reading. The author rides around with an "old" (elder) indian resulting in a very thought provoking oral history. The old man trusted few white people, but it is evident that he trusted Nerburn. His comments regarding the white man's treatment of Indians is very dramatic, philosophical and revealing.
While I did not expect to enjoy this book, I quickly found it held my attention to the end. An excellent oral history about the sobering and sad violence inflicted upon the Native Americans. It was moving, powerful and forcefully forced me to think about (and reevaluate) this sad chapter in American history. It should be read by all students of American history. I learned more about the the feelings held by Native Americas (about whites) from this book than from all the other American History accounts studied in my entire life (age 68)."
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44 of 48 people found the following review helpful
By
Kali
on April 27, 2005
Format: Paperback
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Join Fatback the dog, Kent Neburn the author and Dan a Lakota elder as they take a ride through the past, present and perhaps even the future. Meet people like Grover who makes a mean boloney sandwich but finds the white man's world wanting.
A hard hitting book that spares no punches, and takes no prisoners, don't read this book if you are looking for spiritual enlightenment and the way of the Native American.
Because there is no englightenment to be found and the "way" of the so called Native American has all but been wiped out by the presence of the greedy, self serving white man who is now looking for redemption but is unable to find it no matter how hard he/she looks.
"It's not so much about talking" Dan tells Kent one day but rather it is about listening to the world to the voices which are not necessarily human voices, something that white people aren't very good at, past, present or future.
And the land, who owns the land, is it the white man, is it the people who were there before them, or is it "just there" for everyone to use and respect.
I have to admit this book both enchanted and shocked me, enchanted me because it was so fresh and original, shocked me because it told of words that most people are afraid to say but know are true even whilst indignantly denying them.
I can see some people disliking this book, mainly because there is no forgiveness to be found in any of its many pages and this brutal honesty is what makes this book have teeth that bite.
I mean how can anyone ask to be forgiven for ripping up the land, taking children away from their parents, forcing Christianity down people's throats, creating reservations and making a mockery of the past as it REALLY was?
A worthy read for those with strong stomachs and an acceptance that the evil that men do, does not necessarily just have a foothold in the past.
A hard hitting book that spares no punches, and takes no prisoners, don't read this book if you are looking for spiritual enlightenment and the way of the Native American.
Because there is no englightenment to be found and the "way" of the so called Native American has all but been wiped out by the presence of the greedy, self serving white man who is now looking for redemption but is unable to find it no matter how hard he/she looks.
"It's not so much about talking" Dan tells Kent one day but rather it is about listening to the world to the voices which are not necessarily human voices, something that white people aren't very good at, past, present or future.
And the land, who owns the land, is it the white man, is it the people who were there before them, or is it "just there" for everyone to use and respect.
I have to admit this book both enchanted and shocked me, enchanted me because it was so fresh and original, shocked me because it told of words that most people are afraid to say but know are true even whilst indignantly denying them.
I can see some people disliking this book, mainly because there is no forgiveness to be found in any of its many pages and this brutal honesty is what makes this book have teeth that bite.
I mean how can anyone ask to be forgiven for ripping up the land, taking children away from their parents, forcing Christianity down people's throats, creating reservations and making a mockery of the past as it REALLY was?
A worthy read for those with strong stomachs and an acceptance that the evil that men do, does not necessarily just have a foothold in the past.
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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By
sada
on January 16, 2003
Format: Paperback
1 Comment
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I'm Lakota from Paha Sapa. I think the people who want to know if this book is true are all white people. I don't care if everything in it happened. It is true. That's how we were raised. We tell stories that have our truth. I think Dan taught Nerburn this. There are clues. It is very smart like an Indian. Nerburn couldn't make these things up. There is an Indian telling this story. I think the old man was a trickster. He knew how to make wasichu crazy. Nerburn did a good job. This is how the world looks to us. You should read this book.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By
kamurray@ptinet.net, Karen Murray
on July 31, 1999
Format: Paperback
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I didn't want to put the book down, but when I did, I looked forward to when I could read it again. While the story takes place over a short period of time, it eloquently speaks of thousands of years of life and culture. I highly recommend this book to anyone. It opens the door a crack to a world many of us will never know, but it is a world we need to learn about, acknowledge, and respect. I finished it weeks ago, yet I can recount all of the story, and I still can't look at the white, nor the Native American, way of life in the same light. I don't think I ever will. A wonderful book and a must-read.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By
A Customer
on April 26, 1999
Format: Paperback
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This book is not only some of the most absolutely delicious writing I have ever found, but the content was truly ephiphany. Having lived for many years in a community that was filled with Native People, I always had the eerie feeling that I was somehow disingenuous when I was with them, (but couldn't quite figure out why). After reading this, I now understand. I cried all over the book, and belly laughed out loud. If white Americans are ever to hope for forgiveness for the gaping wounds and scars left by what the European people did to the Native People on this continent, we are first going to have to fully understand what happened, and then own the stinging, horrible truth of our ancestors, and our continuing racism. It comes to us, bitterly and sweetly, from the mouth of a Lakota elder, his friends and family, through the courageous pen and heart of Kent Nerburn. The last time I read a book that had as much impact on me as this one, it was Stienbeck's "Grapes of Wrath".
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