Geronimo by Robert M. Utley (review)

In the case of Geronimo, the newest book by Robert Utley, the stature of the author is perhaps only minimally eclipsed by that of his subject. Utley, a long-practicing western historian and veteran of the National Park Service, has added another engaging volume to an admirable corpus. In this latest work, a biography of Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo, Utley sets out to identify “the real person beneath the legend” (x).

In so doing, Utley seeks to correct previous works of academic and public history that have, as he puts it, “obscured” the complexity behind the legend (268). Although the extent to which one can identify the “reality” of an individual is debatable, Utley successfully traces Geronimo’s days from his childhood in the Southwest, to his armed resistance to American and Mexican forces, to his eventual death at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Organized chronologically, each chapter treats a clearly demarcated episode of Geronimo’s life such as “Apache Youth” and “Geronimo’s Second Breakout.” Although Utley’s focus is Geronimo the individual, he excels at describing the military strategies and maneuvers of both the Apache writ large as well as the United States and Mexican armies. With a keen attention to detail and campaign strategy, Utley adds contingency and suspense to a sweeping period of military campaigns and diplomatic negotiations amongst a triad of groups battling for control of the Southwest. Utley’s contention that Geronimo’s actions were less central to Apache politics than that of contemporary Apache leaders is utterly convincing. Moreover, Utley successfully humanizes the man behind the legend, showcasing Geronimo the individual, warts and all.

Utley’s conclusion, however, raises a host of intriguing questions that he chose not to consider. While Utley’s stated goal is to uncover the “real” Geronimo, he missed the opportunity to analyze the phenomenon of Geronimo the celebrity. Geronimo himself seems to have actively shaped his fame. For instance, Geronimo not only permitted the photographer C. S. Fly to enter his camp and photograph himself and his family during negotiations with General George Crook but also seems to have directed the composition of some of these images (156). Geronimo could have been a timely and substantive contribution to the existing scholarship on celebrity and fame, including works by Leo Braudy and David Blake. At the very least, Utley hints at a Geronimo who was an expert at self-promotion, a central feature of nineteenth-century United States culture. Although he died a prisoner of the United States government, he had already captured the attention of the American public. Geronimo’s greatest success and significance may very well be his fame.

Geronimo will engage both historians, particularly of the American West and American Indian History, as well as members of the general public. It is a compelling, well-written portrait of a man who continues to captivate the American public.