American Character: The Curious Life of Charles Fletcher Lummis and the .... - Hardcover

Thompson, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1559705507 ISBN 13: 9781559705509

Publisher: Arcade Publishing, 2001

Synopsis

The life of Western maverick Charles Fletcher Lummis is laid bare in this entertaining biography of the journalist, photographer, poet, and Native American rights advocate who spent most of his life fighting injustice in the West. 25,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Mark Thompson graduated from Columbia Law School, but like Lum, headed west to write.

From Publishers Weekly:

Thompson, whose work has appeared in several eminent publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Atlantic Monthly and the New Republic, paints an honest, vivid portrait of a man whose life was nothing short of cinematic. Charles Lummis (1859-1928) author, journalist, editor, photographer, adventurer and fervent champion of Indian rights did more than capture the spirit of the Southwest at the turn of the century; he preserved its dignity and Native American tradition, even while his own dignity was called into question as the result of personal scandals and financial woes. It all began in 1885, when Lummis walked from Cincinnati to Los Angeles 3,507 miles to begin his writing career with the Los Angeles Times. He would go on to edit the highly popular magazine Out West, write poetry and books, teach himself photography and guitar, undertake an archeological expedition to Peru, become head librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library, keep a consistent diary and pen tens of thousands of letters not even allowing partial paralysis and blindness to hinder his productivity. A human dynamo who worked and socialized to excess, Lummis dedicated his writing and his enthusiasm to fighting racial violence, intolerance and discrimination. Thanks to his fond affiliation with Theodore Roosevelt, Lummis became a force in reshaping national Indian policy. Scholars have been quick to discredit his achievements because of his often inflated ego, obsession with sex, eccentric dress and demeanor, and lapses in common sense at crucial strategic moments but Thompson exalts Lummis's vital accomplishments without covering up any of his flaws. The result is a compulsively engaging and spirited biography detailing the rise and fall of a man as colorful as he was influential. (Mar.) Forecast: This is a natural sell in the Southwest, including southern California where the author will make publicity appearances and among readers of western history and Native American affairs wherever they reside.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Arcade Publishing
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1559705507
• ISBN 13: 9781559705509
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 372