Geronimo

His Own Story: The Autobiography of a Great Patriot Warrior

By: S. M. Barrett

Narrated by: Pat Bottino

Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Here is one of the most extraordinary and invaluable documents in the annals of Native American history: the authentic testament of a remarkable "war shaman" who, for several years, held off both Mexico and the United States in fierce defense of Apache lands.

During 1905 and 1906, Geronimo, the legendary Apache warrior and honorary war chief, dictated his story through a native interpreter to S. M. Barrett, then superintendent of schools in Lawton, Oklahoma. As Geronimo was by then a prisoner of war, Barrett had to appeal all the way up the chain of command to President Teddy Roosevelt for permission to record the words of the "Indian outlaw".

Geronimo came to each interview knowing exactly what he wanted to cover, beginning with the telling of the Apache creation story. When, at the end of the first session, Barrett posed a question, the only answer he received was a pronouncement: "Write what I have spoken".

Public Domain (P)1998 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Bottino's matter-of-fact, unvoiced presentation is a good match for the text. He sounds like a tired 75+-year-old-man reflecting on his life." ( KLIATT)

Great story

He was not a good man. Killing and stealing was way of life. In has own words!

fascinating.

great story. really enjoyed it. interesting and informative. monotone delivery but learned alot. if your interested in history this is for you.

Great listen

This book was for free with the subscription and I was very pleasantly surprised with how well it was narrated.

Fascinating....

description of the final surrender of the Indian to the tidal wave of settlers. The govt then parades him around the country as a sort of side show Bob.

A different world.

Fascinating reflection and recounting of a poignant time in our history and of a man whose name and life have come to symbolize the plight of native Americans.

Narrator slow, robotic and expressionless

Pat Bottino’s narration style reminds one of the old-fashioned Western movies in which the Indians’ speaking style Is slow, robotic and expressionless. I guess this was done in the movies to portray that the Indians didn’t speak English very well. The plotting, stilted delivery is unlistenable. And the racial stereotype is very tired.

An American treasure

I was interested in this story because my husband heard stories from an elderly neighbor of his old Army days when he guarded Geronimo during his imprisonment in Oklahoma. So I got the book for him to read. Recently I noticed it was available on Audible for free, so I chose to listen to the story dictated to the author after President Teddy Roosevelt permitted it. The interpreter for Geri imo was the son of Cochise, another famous Chieftain of the Apache nation.
While our history books tell of Manifest Destiny, seldom do they tell of the genocide perpetrated on the Native Americans who were present for centuries in the lands of the West.

If you have a chance to listen to this title, or choose instead to read it, you will know the first hand experiences of a great American, a skilled military tactician, and a committed leader of his people.
Awesome and very moving factual account with no trace of self pity.

Short Unabridged Reading

Appreciated what appeared to be the recount of events by Geronimo himself. The end proposes questions to listener. Difficult to sort through this account of events and determine if terms of treaties were actually me without a higher degree of scholarly knowledge on the subjects, including written treaty records. Limited & overview information presented here (not source data). Appreciated the attempt to objectively describe both sides.

Interesting story.

I had never known much about his personal story but now I find that he did lead an interesting life. Though the performance was a little monotone it was still good. Would recommend listening.

Damning indictment

Geronimo’s story is an indictment of our treatment of Native Americans, and it’s attempts to eradicate them and their cultures from our society. Quite sad.