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…"American Character" is a colorful
and compelling account of a man who was, at various times, an
author, an archeologist, a newspaperman, a photographer, a poet
and an early advocate for the rights of Indians, whom he
insisted on calling "First Americans." ….Thompson
concedes that Lummis is not well-loved by historians, who have
complained about his "self-glorifying purple prose,"
faulted the accuracy of his writing and reporting, and declared
him to have been "a poseur, a lecher and a drunkard."
But "American Character" is an earnest effort to
rescue Lummis from such disrepute and to restore him to a
respectable place in history…. "His eccentric behavior
and ostentatious outfits were partly the mark of a savvy
salesman who depended on a precarious stream of revenue from
books and freelance articles to make ends meet," writes
Thompson in his own verdict on Charles Fletcher Lummis.
"But it was also a form of personal protest against silly
prejudices toward people who are different, which was at the
root of the racism and xenophobia that Lummis spent his life
fighting."
Los Angeles Times, March
7, 2001
"Thompson ... paints an
honest, vivid portrait of a man whose life was nothing short of
cinematic. Charles Lummis ... did more than capture the
spirit of the Southwest at the turn of the century, he preserved
its dignity and Native American traditions, even while his own
dignity was called into question as a result of personal
scandals and financial woes.... Thompson exalts Lummis's
vital accomplishments without covering up any of his
flaws. The result is a compulsively engaging and spirited
biography of a man as colorful as he was influential."
Publisher's
Weekly, Feb. 12, 2001
"A century ago, almost everyone
recognized the name Charles Fletcher Lummis journalist, poet,
author, photographer, editor of Out West magazine, and advocate
of Indian rights. Today he has been largely forgotten. In a
well-written biography that draws on Lummis's personal papers
and many books and articles, as well as other archival sources,
Thompson rescues Lummis from undeserved obscurity and places him
in the context of his era. Thompson shows how a flair for
publicity and journalism in college led Lummis to undertake a
walk across the country in 1884-85, resulting in his settling in
Los Angeles and becoming a tireless promoter of the Southwest.
This led to a period of residence in the Isleta Pueblo and his
espousal of Indian rights and a friendship with Theodore
Roosevelt. An important work; recommended for libraries with an
interest in the Southwest, journalism, and Native
Americans."
Library Journal, Stephen
H. Peters,
Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., Marquette
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"As a man, a scholar, a promotor, and a visionary,
Charles Fletcher Lummis continues to fascinate lovers of the
American West. This fascination is further intensified by Mark
Thompson's detailed and vivid new biography."
Dr. Kevin
Starr, State Librarian of California
Entertaining and
informative enough to please general readers, Thompson's
biography of Lummis will appeal to those interested in western
and early civil-rights history."
Kirkus
Reviews, Feb. 1, 2001
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