Lonesome Dreamer: The Life of John G. Neihardt

American poet and writer John G. Neihardt (1881-1973) possessed an inquiring and spiritual mind. Those qualities came to the fore in Black Elk Speaks, the story of the Lakota holy man Black Elk, for which he is best remembered. Over the course of thirty years he also wrote a five-volume epic poem, A Cycle of the West, which told the story of the settlement of the American West.

Despite Neihardt's widespread name recognition, the success of Black Elk Speaks, and a list of critically acclaim...