Garst has written novels about many real but legendary Americans who left their mark on American history and life, including Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok, Jim Bridger, Will Rogers, and Amelia Earhart. As she does in Crazy Horse: Great Warrior of the Sioux, Garst invariably details the character's life from birth to death. But despite similar plots and literary techniques, each of Garst's novels is different because each focuses on the individuality of its subject.

Garst's Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce closely parallels Crazy Horse. In both novels, the protagonists prove their mettle by taming and riding their own horses. In addition, both novels deal with the boys as they experience their first coups, buffalo hunts, encounters with white settlers, and killings. Both Crazy Horse and Chief Joseph eventually become great leaders, receive unfair treatment at the hands of...