When the Legends Die

When the Legends Die, We get the pleasure of a forced read.

I was forced to read this for an English class, unfortunately. Nothing happens in this book, I assure you. If you read bits and parts, you've pretty much read the whole story. The first few chapters were okay, but once Thomas grows up, he runs into boring, cheating characters and predictable events. The chapters are long and thoughtless, the characters are plain, and the action is limited. Do not waste pleasure reading on this;put it to better use.

Real Life

A real life look at what the Native people had to go through. A great book with much insight if you want to find it. Yes it is sad but definitely not boring. We read it every year in school and the students always gain a new appreciation and perspective on life.

depressing.

this book was pretty good, but i felt extremely depressed when tom was forced to live on the reservation and go to school. i thought it was sad, and i like to read books for pleasure, not like this. but never the less, the book is still good, but sad and depressing at the same time, especially since it was written during the great depression.

I wish this 'legend' would die

I was assigned to read this book for a school project, so unfortionately had no choice but to read it. I wish that I could've read something else because this book is a big bore. Everything is predictable and it seems like it's the same thing repeated in most of the chapters. There is no excitement or cliff-hangers. Take my warning: don't waste your time reading this boring and predictable novel.

holy smokes

This book is truly a masterpiece. It had some of my favorite qualities in a book. Some of these qualities include suspense, survival, and heart. The book did have some parts where you wonder why didn't he do this or that. In towards the end you figure out why. The author leads you on leads you on, then just as you think something is going to happen the author sends you another direction. I love it when the author does that! Something in this book I do not like is when something is going so perfect then a bad guy comes in and ruins it, but that adds suspense. This book takes you on a ride without one dull moment. It will keeping you awake late at night and you won't close the book until the very end.

A reviewer

I am the Thomas Black Bull that became a famous cowboy and was in the film with 'Richard Widmark' called 'When The Legend dies' released in June 1972 and is still sold in video. I won twenty(20) World titles and will soon put my web site on the internet. I have spent the last 25 years in Brazil working in the Amazon - I hold Rodeo titles in all the Nations of South America, Again, get the video with 'RICHARD WIDMARK' it will be the greatest rodeo ever 'When The Legend Dies' I'm still alive--Thomasblackbull@hotmail.com

when the legends die

i liked this book, but at the end when he was going through all this wierd stuff, it got pretty stressful. you start to feel like the character in this book.

The legend lives on

When the Ledgends Die is a great book that i very much enjoyed reading and i reccomend it to anyone who likes to read. If you like suvival stories this is the book for you. This book is about a young Indian boy named Tom who runs away with his mom in the middle of the night to be with his father who is wanted for murder. After Tom's father dies his mother also dies in grief. Tom being all alone decides to return to his ancesters ways of life. Tom lays down a vow saying that he will never return to the white man's world. This is a good story because it shows how Tom finds his true idenity. The story is full of Tom facing obstacles in the wild and how he learns to survive them. The conflicts in the story are man vs society and man vs nature. If those are the book you like then this is the book for you.

Crossen's Opinion

Hey i'm Mike Crossen and I just wanted to share that I thought this book was very thought out and written well. I thought the plot was very creative, how Tom and his mother leave in the night to be with his father who is a fugitive. Then Tom's father dies and later his mother dies in grief. I thought it was creative that Tom stays in the wild by himself making a vow that he will never return to the white man's world. I thought the detail put into the story was good and it so that i could image what was going on at times. For example i could picture Tom all alone surrounded by tons of forest waiting and preparing to kill for food. I give this book three and a half stars and recomend it to anyone who likes survival stories or just likes to read. Bye

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Awesome book of survival

I first read this book about 20 yrs ago and I loved it then and have been looking for it to read again.

I wish I'd read another book...

This book was o.k. I had to read it this summer as a school assignment. Parts of the book are extremely descriptive but the majority of the book is dull. The characters are well portrayed and the book it's self as a good message, but all together it was a Snooz to read. I wish we'd been assigned another book.

Borland and Blackbull: A Winning Combination

Hal Borland writes an action packed novel involving descriptions of the Ute Indian tribe, the transition from a Native American way of life to the ¿white¿ ways, and the dangerous life of a rodeo star. I liked this novel because it had great messages for the reader. The author did a great job of explaining how isolated a person can feel when life does not go as planned. I would recommend this book to young adult readers interested in learning about the struggle to find out who you are. Thomas Blackbull, the main character in the novel, is a person that everyone can relate to in one sense or another.

legends is amazing

I read this book for Native American Arts class, and it soon became one of my favorite books! Not only was it impecably written, but it was written at a level where just about anyone 7th and up could understand it. It addresses many issues that are apparent in today's society especially discovering one's own identity. This is an excellent must read book for people of all ages.

what i feel about the book

When the ledgens die would have to be some of my fav. books ever. Tom grew up in the mountains he only speaked ute and only new the old way.One day a old family friend searched for tom and convinced him to come with him and teach the old ways. He tricked tom and had him at a reservation school and changed his came to thomas. he refused to learn the white mans way and sune found his way riding bronks to death.

It pulled up feelings long forgetten

This book started out as a task but as I read on the need to read more and more overcame me. It was like breathing or eating. It brought up new thoughts and old thoughts I never wanted to deal with, but seeing Tom's courage made me get out of my seat and do something. If you like to have new thoughts provoked then this book is the book for you.

Great book about finding who you are!

This is a great book about finding who you are...but it is a little too slow for my taste at first. After a while, when the story is developed, it gets exciting. This is a good book for people of all ages, especially guys.

An Emotional Story

This story was very uplifting and reflects the stages of normal growth.

BETRAYAL OF FRIENDS FOCUS OF BORLAND'S NOVEL

In When the Legends Die, Hal Borland discusses the themes of finding your identity and betrayal of friends. He covers these topics perfectly by taking the reader through all sections of Thomas Black Bull's life. Thomas Black Bull, lonely Ute Indian, goes through life fining out that people he thought were his friends were really not. 'He was alone,' and 'he was a throwback right out of the old, old days.' This book didn't have enough action, and it was really boring. That is why I didn't like it. I would not recommend this book to anyone unless they are an indian that had trouble with friends betraying them, or people that do not like a lot of action in their books.

When the Legends Die

In When The Legends Die Hal Borland incorporates many themes. For example he writes about discrimination and mistreatment of indians. He covers these themes in detail throughout the book showing us the many changes in Thomas Black Bull. For instance he changes his name from 'Bear's Brother' to 'Killer Tom Black'. He suffers many losses through each of these changes. He mournes the loss of both his parents,Bessie and George Black Bull. Although this book is hard for me to understand, it may not be the same for you. Any teenager that has dealt with the loss of a loved one can relate to this book. This book is ok,but I don't really recommend it.

When the Legends Die

In When The Legends Die Hal Borland talks about the themes of betrayal and remembering your heritage. He implies these themes by giving the reader menatal images about Tom and Blue Elk throughout the novel. Tom ' a typical Ute' has to deal with Blue Elk or 'Fat Belly' decieving him. Any person who has had traditions passed down can relate to the book which is why I enjoyed it. The book also has many of the same situations that teenagers go through. I also recommend this book to anyone who believes in doing what they want. Hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I did.