A. C. Greene (1923–2008)

In May 1870, almost-11-year-old Herman Lehmann and his 8-year-old brother, Willie, were captured by an Apache raiding party outside the home of his German immigrant mother and stepfather in rural Mason County, Texas. While Willie escaped shortly thereafter, Herman spent the next eight years with the Apaches and later the Comanches. His story was originally told by others (because Herman was mostly illiterate), first in the 1899 misnamed A Condensed History of the Apache and Comanche Indian Tribes for Amusements and General Knowledge [aka Indianology] by Jonathan H. Jones, and the second (also misnamed) in 1927 by J. Marvin Hunter, Nine Years Among the Indians: 1870- 1879. Greene combines and edits these narratives, commenting when the versions differ, and adding information from outside sources. Nevertheless, the book is hard to read, partly because Herman's story is so rambling and repetitious - endless raid after raid. I find it hard to believe Herman would have actually remembered so much detail from a young age, and I think a lot of his story is made up.… (mehr)

Engrossing story about a young farm boy abducted by "savages". Greene keeps things going admirably, conveying the pain and, ultimately, the pathos of a remarkable life. The first book I read aloud for the Texas State Library, this gave me the chance to learn how very difficult it is to put real emphasis (let alone emotion) into an oral rendering. In my mind, I would think how over-the-top I sounded, only to be astonished during the playback how flat I actually came across. Naturally, I compensated by going completely berserk. I recall really doing it up brown when I read the extract from the account of the lawman who restored Lehmans to the Anglo world. I got a little note from the general editor saying, "Well done. Please don't do it again."… (mehr)