Geronimo’s Story of His Life


Read by Sue Anderson

(4.5 stars; 1407 reviews)

Geronimo’s Story of His Life is the oral life history of a legendary Apache warrior. Composed in 1905, while Geronimo was being held as a U.S. prisoner of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Geronimo’s story found audience and publication through the efforts of S. M. Barrett--Lawton, Oklahoma, Superintendent of Education, who wrote in his preface that “the initial idea of the compilation of this work was . . . to extend to Geronimo as a prisoner of war the courtesy due any captive, i.e. the right to state the causes which impelled him in his opposition to our civilization and laws.” Barrett, with the assistance of Asa Deklugie, son of Nedni chief Whoa as Apache translator, wrote down the story as Geronimo told it --beginning with an Apache creation myth. Geronimo recounted bloody battles with Mexican troopers, against whom he had vowed vengeance in 1858 after they murdered his mother, his wife, and his three small children. He told of treaties made between Apaches and the U.S. Army--and treaties broken. There were periods of confinement on the reservations, and escapes. And there were his final days on the run, when the U.S. Army put 5000 men in the field against his small band of 39 Apache.

Geronimo had been a prisoner of war for 19 years when he told his story. Born in 1829, he was by then an old man, no longer a warrior, and he had come to an accommodation with many things “white,” including an appreciation of money. U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel took him to the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, where he roped cows in the “wild west show” and signed his name for “ten, fifteen, or twenty five cents.” By then he was perhaps the United States’ most “famous” Indian. In 1905 he was even invited to ride horseback in President Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade (though still a prisoner of war!).

Geronimo dedicated his book to Roosevelt with the plea that he and his people be allowed to return to their ancestral land in Arizona. “It is my land, my home, my father’s land, to which I now ask to be allowed to return. I want to spend my last days there, and be buried among those mountains. If this could be I might die in peace.” Geronimo died at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1909, still a prisoner of war. (Introduction by Sue Anderson) (3 hr 48 min)

Chapters

Dedicatory, Preface, Introductory 20:45 Read by Sue Anderson
The Apaches, Part 1 22:30 Read by Sue Anderson
The Apaches, Part 2 27:47 Read by Sue Anderson
The Mexicans, Part 1 20:04 Read by Sue Anderson
The Mexicans, Part 2 25:08 Read by Sue Anderson
The Mexicans, Part 3; The White Men, Part 1 18:36 Read by Sue Anderson
The White Men, Part 2 22:12 Read by Sue Anderson
The White Men, Part 3 34:43 Read by Sue Anderson
The White Men, Part 4; The Old and the New, Part 1 17:30 Read by Sue Anderson
The Old and the New, Part 2 19:35 Read by Sue Anderson

Reviews

amazing


(5 stars)

I love this book its my favourite on LibriVox, Geronimo was an amazing warrior chief of the apache’s and you must give this a listen at least once! The narrator is a bit monotone but saying that she entrances you into the story pronouncing places very well, all narrators are volunteers and i thank them all for bringing historical books to life, i knew of the trail of tears but never knew fully the betrayals the native Americans endured, this book should never be forgotten, enjoy!

My Eyes Have Been Opened Beyond The Skin & Bone...


(5 stars)

I knew that Geronimo was the Chief of the Apaches & was mistreated by the US govt. but not to such an extent as this. In the end its just a matter of who & what you believe. Geronimo's fight wasn't only with the insufferable Mexicans & their calvalry, but against the people that invaded his own land...land that had been part of his people's heritage since history began. All he wanted in the end was simply the liberty to die as a free man(which he had EVERY right in having)& the bonds of POW dropped.From all the promises that were given to him by many important men, including a personal treaty from Pres. Rooselvelt, were all what they've ever been to politicians...just a whole lot of f#€!en shite.From a man who rode on an exhausted pony in the middle of a winter snow storm all the while being deathly ill from pnuemonia for a meeting.When they asked Geronimo to explain the reason why,he hoarsely whispered bc he simply said he would come. Simply bc he said.Someone broke the mold after they created this man.100%✔

Well Done


(5 stars)

I spent 12 years living within the reservations of xia and Hammes in the Northern New Mexico mountains I am familiar with the cultures of the Indians to which I have had the privilege of interacting and joining in festivals dances and their life at home I have a great respect for the hardships endured by this old and ancient culture Geronimo story brings to life the struggles of not only the Apache but of almost all Indians that were in North America during this time that struggle continues today as they struggle to hold on to their old ways and new ways and even today live within the confines of territories given by the government but yet owned by


(5 stars)

Very somber and illuminating, a far cry from the hype of Hollywood and the box office pablum. As a Army Officer, and intimately familiar with the terrain of Arizona and the areas where he spoke of, I can truly respect his sentiments. The accounts he relays are no different from the Mexican Army’s present tactics with migrants traversing their country today, so authenticity is verifiable by their present day tactical examples. I have respect and admiration for this fellow warrior and salute his honor and integrity. I have no doubt he is reunited with his wife and children; he is gone from this plane but lives on in history, in honor in my mind, anyway.

A personal, historical and cultural account


(5 stars)

This was a very interesting book. To hear Geronimo's words and the things that were important to him to share. I enjoyed this book as a personal, historical, and cultural account. There is much in this account to admire about his character, as well as things that are so very different than the way I grew up. I also appreciated hearing from the point of view of a few others whose lives crossed Geronimo's. Clear and well read as well.

The Truth


(5 stars)

I believe the information you have in this book is correct. From personal experience I know that people are capable of any wrong doing. But, we will in the very near future, answer to a higher power for our actions. I respect Geronimo, and hope to talk to him on the new Earth promised by Jehovah God in the very near future.

excellent read


(5 stars)

The narration was clear and interesting. The book is amazing. I have learned a great deal. I feel that reading autobiographies and approved biographies are the very best way to learn history. This book has given me a much better understanding and appreciation of Geronimo and his Apache Nation.

amazing story


(5 stars)

2 lessons I learned from his story 1) it is unwise to fight when the odds are against you 2) if you fail, pick up yourself and move on, as long as you are not death, it is not over