The Return of Little Big Man: A Novel

Having recently reread Little Big Man I wanted to follow it up with the next in the series, The Return of Little Big Man, which I never read before. I see that the book has mixed reviews on Amazon but I thought it was pretty good. I think it all depends on reader expectations. As with Little Big Man, I don't feel emotional about the story or the main character (at least not to any great degree), but it is a darned good story. A good part of the book deals with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show but there's lots more too. My only complaint was that Jack Crabb, for all his adventures and experiences, was quite typical in his god belief, though there is no real suggestion that his belief is in the Christian god. Was it true to character? I'm not sure. I was hoping that Crabb would be a little more forward thinking and philosophical about this aspect of the human condition. After all, he's not exactly a typical character so why be typical here? Of course I realize that the author has the right to write any story that he wants to and that I'm only projecting my expectations and likes on someone else's work. In any event, it was not a major part of the book and didn't affect my enjoyment. My only other criticism is that there were two or three rough spots in the dialogue (at least for me). All in all, I've got to rate this book a solid four stars. I'm glad I read it.

I definitely enjoyed the return of Little Big Man aka Jack Crabb. Berger takes his readers into several famous western venues in the post Little Big Horn era, and I enjoy novels that reposition the reader with historical figures who are already formed in our minds, like Wild Bill Hicock, Wyatt Earp, Doc Halliday and Buffalo Bill Cody. It took me a while to get comfortable with Jack/LBM's grammar or lack thereof, but then it became very consistent with the storyline and helped carry his tale forward. I also feel he does a find job taking us inside the collective and individual consciousness of native americans as their world is rearranged for them. I was even taken in by the late twists and turns of plot and a bit of a surprise ending that sets up "the further adventures of Little Big Man. All said, this was a nice read, with chapters just the right length for insomniacs like myself, so the sleeping pills kick in just as you finish the episode.

I fear I was too harsh in my original review of this book. Yes, it is, in many ways, a rehash of known material. But it does provide an interesting history of real characters from the "old west" and speaks of real events of the time. If you did not see the movies or read the original odd's are you will not only learn from this volume but be entertained as well.The author performed yeoman's work gathering and fact-checking his events and characters.It's easy to pick it up for a few minutes and come back to it again at your leisure.

Historical fiction can be entertaining and educational if the writer has properly researched the subject and that is certainly what Thomas Berger did in "The Return of Little Big Man". I felt like I really got to know the personalities of so many famous historical figures from the 1800's associated with the Wild West whom we have heard about all of our lives. Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, Wild Bill Hickok, Sitting Bull, etc. etc. who come to life through the skilled pen of Mr. Berger. I was sorry to read the last page because I wanted more and more of what lay ahead for the main character, Jack Crabb. You won't be disappointed !

Follow up to the book voted by historians to be the greatest historical novel written about the American West and also voted the greatest American historical novel written in the twentieth century, this continues the story of Jack Crabb, a white man raised as a Cheyenne brave who was returned to the white world as a teenager. Over his life he goes back and forth between living in white society and living as an Cheyenne. The second book as not as incredible as the first but eventually won me over entirely. I wish Thomas Berger had lived long enough to write a third chapter in Crabb's life.

This is written 37 years after " Little Big Man" and it shows. The hero Jack Crabb is alive and again interviewed by a reporter: he again sets about setting the record straight on events from the west.Crabb was the only white survivor of The Battle at Little Big Horn, he was there when Wild Bill Hickok died with his hand of eights and aces. He was an integral part of Buffalo Bills Wild West Show.Again we get the history as we did with the first book but its not as funny, doesn't flow as well and has a tried too hard feel about it. Berger was 75 years of age when he wrote this and while its a good effort I believe he should have left Jack Crabb in 1964 and left his quiet amazing body of work since speak for him.Its an interesting read with good history and interesting facts but I have been spoilt by the original.

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I'm always excited when I find a writer I like because I immediately look for more books by him/her. This book was a bonanza because not only it is practically perfect - I can't think of a flaw - but it's a SEQUEL to a book i haven't read and now I want to read that and all the rest of Mr. Berger's work. Yippee! As for this book, if you saw the movie Little Big Man you probably have an idea where it's going. If you haven't don't worry - or get Little Big Man and read it first. If this is the second time around the first must really be stellar. SPOILER WARNING: the plot is American history., More or less.

Good follow up to Little Big Man.

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Ordered it for my husband ,loved it ,going to order more

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Want to know it all about the most famous events of the Conquest of the West? Don't care to read history books? Then read that book! Berger managed to write a great novel sprinkled with many historical facts on the Old West and its mythical figures (Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp, Sitting Bull, Buffalo Bill... they are all here). This book starts from where "Little Big Man," by the same author, ended, presenting in the settings of a fiction all the historical events the myths on the Conquest of the West are made from (OK Corral, the Last Stand of Custer, the death of Sitting Bull, ...) until the end of the Frontier period. If you have not already, read "Little Big Man," then this one, then "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West" by Dee Brown for a more "rigorous" and historical perspective on the American Indians.