The Gray Fox

Paul Magid has set out an ambitious literary plan with George Crook—viz., a three-volume series. The first volume, George Crook: From the Redwoods to Appomattox (2011), covered Crook’s years from his youth through the Civil War. Although the Indian Wars took place in the years following the Civil War to 1890, Magid has divided them into two volumes. The Gray Fox follows Crook’s assignments from 1866 to the 1877 surrender of the Lakota involved with Custer’s defeat at the Little Bighorn. Volume 3 will cover Crook from the Lakota surrender until his death in March 1890. Magid has spent thirteen years researching and writing about Crook. While Crook left few clues regarding his deeper personality, his diaries, memoirs, and letters have allowed Magid to examine this mostly aloof and private individual and produce a manuscript worthy of merit. As a result, Crook comes alive as a person. By developing a solid understanding of Crook’s life within the context of the events that defined him, the author shows a well-grounded understanding of the deep complexities surrounding the Indian Wars out west. This is not an easy task because Crook was involved with Indian outbreaks in California, Idaho, Nevada, California, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana. In each of these military expeditions, Crook dealt with different tribes, involving different causes for conflict and different campaign strategies. Magid demonstrates a solid and competent understanding of the history of each of these campaigns.

Archaeology · Art history · Context (archaeology) · George (robot) · Gray (unit) · Memoir · Political science · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Surrender · Archaeology and Natural History · History · Law