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Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis by TIMOTHY EGAN
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Native Americans by Edward Curtis
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Book Description
Release Date: October 9, 2012
How a lone man’s epic obsession led to one of America’s greatest cultural treasures: Prizewinning writer Timothy Egan tells the riveting, cinematic story behind the most famous photographs in Native American history — and the driven, brilliant man who made them.
Edward Curtis was charismatic, handsome, a passionate mountaineer, and a famous photographer, the Annie Leibovitz of his time. He moved in rarefied circles, a friend to presidents, vaudeville stars, leading thinkers. And he was thirty-two years old in 1900 when he gave it all up to pursue his Great Idea: to capture on film the continent’s original inhabitants before the old ways disappeared.
An Indiana Jones with a camera, Curtis spent the next three decades traveling from the Havasupai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the Acoma on a high mesa in New Mexico to the Salish in the rugged Northwest rain forest, documenting the stories and rituals of more than eighty tribes. It took tremendous perseverance — ten years alone to persuade the Hopi to allow him into their Snake Dance ceremony. And the undertaking changed him profoundly, from detached observer to outraged advocate. Eventually Curtis took more than 40,000 photographs, preserved 10,000 audio recordings, and is credited with making the first narrative documentary film. In the process, the charming rogue with the grade school education created the most definitive archive of the American Indian.
His most powerful backer was Theodore Roosevelt, and his patron was J. P. Morgan. Despite the friends in high places, he was always broke and often disparaged as an upstart in pursuit of an impossible dream. He completed his masterwork in 1930, when he published the last of the twenty volumes. na
Customer Reviews5.0 out of 5 starsCaptivating biography of an American originalSeptember 4, 2012
Edward Curtis was charismatic, handsome, a passionate mountaineer, and a famous photographer, the Annie Leibovitz of his time. He moved in rarefied circles, a friend to presidents, vaudeville stars, leading thinkers. And he was thirty-two years old in 1900 when he gave it all up to pursue his Great Idea: to capture on film the continent’s original inhabitants before the old ways disappeared.
An Indiana Jones with a camera, Curtis spent the next three decades traveling from the Havasupai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the Acoma on a high mesa in New Mexico to the Salish in the rugged Northwest rain forest, documenting the stories and rituals of more than eighty tribes. It took tremendous perseverance — ten years alone to persuade the Hopi to allow him into their Snake Dance ceremony. And the undertaking changed him profoundly, from detached observer to outraged advocate. Eventually Curtis took more than 40,000 photographs, preserved 10,000 audio recordings, and is credited with making the first narrative documentary film. In the process, the charming rogue with the grade school education created the most definitive archive of the American Indian.
His most powerful backer was Theodore Roosevelt, and his patron was J. P. Morgan. Despite the friends in high places, he was always broke and often disparaged as an upstart in pursuit of an impossible dream. He completed his masterwork in 1930, when he published the last of the twenty volumes. na
Customer Reviews5.0 out of 5 starsCaptivating biography of an American originalSeptember 4, 2012
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating biography of an American original September 4, 2012
By Pam Gearhart
I had heard of Edward Curtis but knew only that he was a photographer, and that he took many pictures of American Indians in the early 1900's. That should make me ashamed, since I lived in Seattle, Curtis's home town, for many years.
Timothy Egan's book gives a detailed, balanced look at Curtis's life and his life's work: Publication of a 20-volume look at American Indian communities in the early 20th century. Just thinking about such a venture makes me tired, but Curtis was tireless (hence the "short nights" in the title -- he rarely slept). The series would include not just photographs but a lexicon preserving languages, and in the making of this Curtis would make film and audio records of songs and ceremonies that would have been lost forever.
His ambition seems quite unrealistic, almost delusional, to someone from present day. Traveling thousands of miles with bulky photographic equipment, in unmapped territory without the benefit of conveniences we take for granted -- GPS, airplanes, cell phones, overnight delivery, fax machines. He and his team made a photographic and textual record that has never been equalled, and probably never will be. And during this time he made a movie and developed a stage presentation that wowed even the most sophisticated audiences.
Even if you're not particularly interested in photography or American Indians, Egan's book is fascinating as a look at the early 1900's, movers and shakers, people like J. P. Morgan and Theodore Roosevelt. Egan's writing is brisk, his descriptions evocative. It never bogged down, even when things weren't going well for Curtis.
The book is full of flavor and color, success and hardship, but more important, Egan, through showing us Curtis's life and his work, has brought home the devastation and loss of American's First People. Destruction and loss of their cultures has hurt every American, not just Indians. That's what I took from this book.
The epilogue was heartening, and it's also heartening that Curtis knew the value of his work, even if it wasn't fully realized until after he was dead.
Timothy Egan's book gives a detailed, balanced look at Curtis's life and his life's work: Publication of a 20-volume look at American Indian communities in the early 20th century. Just thinking about such a venture makes me tired, but Curtis was tireless (hence the "short nights" in the title -- he rarely slept). The series would include not just photographs but a lexicon preserving languages, and in the making of this Curtis would make film and audio records of songs and ceremonies that would have been lost forever.
His ambition seems quite unrealistic, almost delusional, to someone from present day. Traveling thousands of miles with bulky photographic equipment, in unmapped territory without the benefit of conveniences we take for granted -- GPS, airplanes, cell phones, overnight delivery, fax machines. He and his team made a photographic and textual record that has never been equalled, and probably never will be. And during this time he made a movie and developed a stage presentation that wowed even the most sophisticated audiences.
Even if you're not particularly interested in photography or American Indians, Egan's book is fascinating as a look at the early 1900's, movers and shakers, people like J. P. Morgan and Theodore Roosevelt. Egan's writing is brisk, his descriptions evocative. It never bogged down, even when things weren't going well for Curtis.
The book is full of flavor and color, success and hardship, but more important, Egan, through showing us Curtis's life and his work, has brought home the devastation and loss of American's First People. Destruction and loss of their cultures has hurt every American, not just Indians. That's what I took from this book.
The epilogue was heartening, and it's also heartening that Curtis knew the value of his work, even if it wasn't fully realized until after he was dead.
5.0 out of 5 stars My first biography is among my most memorable books September 26, 2012
By Tactitles
Edward Curtis was a man consumed by an almost inhuman drive, aided it seemed by an energy supplied from the universe itself, to record and create. Like many substantial historical figures, it seemed that circumstances and coincidences were resolved by and around his presence, to whatever outcomes most favored his mission. In other words, to place a word on it, "destiny" seemed to have a corner carved out just for Curtis. His vision was to be fulfilled, even at the cost of all else in his life. Something bigger had fallen upon him, and claimed him for its own.
This was my overwhelming impression after reading my very first biography. Throughout the book I knew I would struggle to remain concise as I tried to put words to my praise for this work. I am a reader of fiction, the authors of which have the advantage of being able to create emotions from imagined events. The author here creates the same powerful effects with facts. Adventure, surprise, wonder, inspiration, heartbreak and incredible sadness are all found here. This is real history, and not a history lesson. Readers will learn many things without being aware of it.
Here is my attempt at conciseness. Why does this book work so well?
1. The subject matter is interesting by itself. The time period is filled with adventure, achievement, and people larger than life.
2. Edward Curtis is a likeable figure, as evidenced by all those he influenced. His dream was contagious, and many others leaped at the chance to witness it.
3. The American Dream, if it ever existed in definable terms, can be found here. Curtis was not highly educated, grew up poor, and achieved his goals using only his natural talents, his charisma, and extraordinary hard work. Others helped, but it was Curtis who championed the cause, and persuaded others to do so. He was a leader.
4. Curtis was not perfect, and the author is honest. But he was an extraordinary man, which the author's writing conveys time and time again.
5. The author himself. His writing is moving and seems sincere at all times, and the story unfolds like a great adventure/drama, and not a biography.
I had never heard of Edward Curtis. It has been my loss not to have known his story sooner. This is fascinating stuff. The Indians that Curtis was obsessed with recording, were the stuff of legends and myths. It is fitting that Curtis's own legend should rival any of his studied subjects. He was larger than life, with a will and determination familiar to the Indians. He became part of them, and they of him, the minute he first photographed an old Seattle Indian woman. His subsequent journey was filled with the heaviest burden. The remaining Indians of North America were on one shoulder, and an exploding white population was on the other. Curtis stood tall, and after reading this you can almost believe he never felt a thing. His legs, powered by his dream, were of iron. He would be glad to meet you, no matter your race, but rest assured he was moving on. Time was short.
Thanks are due to the author, for pulling me away from my comfort zone for reading, and into another world of books that I eagerly look forward to exploring.
This was my overwhelming impression after reading my very first biography. Throughout the book I knew I would struggle to remain concise as I tried to put words to my praise for this work. I am a reader of fiction, the authors of which have the advantage of being able to create emotions from imagined events. The author here creates the same powerful effects with facts. Adventure, surprise, wonder, inspiration, heartbreak and incredible sadness are all found here. This is real history, and not a history lesson. Readers will learn many things without being aware of it.
Here is my attempt at conciseness. Why does this book work so well?
1. The subject matter is interesting by itself. The time period is filled with adventure, achievement, and people larger than life.
2. Edward Curtis is a likeable figure, as evidenced by all those he influenced. His dream was contagious, and many others leaped at the chance to witness it.
3. The American Dream, if it ever existed in definable terms, can be found here. Curtis was not highly educated, grew up poor, and achieved his goals using only his natural talents, his charisma, and extraordinary hard work. Others helped, but it was Curtis who championed the cause, and persuaded others to do so. He was a leader.
4. Curtis was not perfect, and the author is honest. But he was an extraordinary man, which the author's writing conveys time and time again.
5. The author himself. His writing is moving and seems sincere at all times, and the story unfolds like a great adventure/drama, and not a biography.
I had never heard of Edward Curtis. It has been my loss not to have known his story sooner. This is fascinating stuff. The Indians that Curtis was obsessed with recording, were the stuff of legends and myths. It is fitting that Curtis's own legend should rival any of his studied subjects. He was larger than life, with a will and determination familiar to the Indians. He became part of them, and they of him, the minute he first photographed an old Seattle Indian woman. His subsequent journey was filled with the heaviest burden. The remaining Indians of North America were on one shoulder, and an exploding white population was on the other. Curtis stood tall, and after reading this you can almost believe he never felt a thing. His legs, powered by his dream, were of iron. He would be glad to meet you, no matter your race, but rest assured he was moving on. Time was short.
Thanks are due to the author, for pulling me away from my comfort zone for reading, and into another world of books that I eagerly look forward to exploring.
TIMOTHY EGAN
Timothy Egan is an American author and journalist. For The Worst Hard Time, a 2006 book about people who lived through The Great Depression's Dust Bowl, he won the National Book Award for Nonfiction ... Wikipedia
Awards: Washington State Book Award, Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, More
Nominations: National Book Award for Nonfiction
Timothy Egan worked for The Times for 18 years – as Pacific Northwest correspondent and a national enterprise reporter. In 2001, he was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team that wrote the series "How Race Is Lived in America.” He is the author of several books, including "The Worst Hard Time,” a history of the Dust Bowl, for which he won the National Book Award, and most recently, "The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America.”
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