Gift of Power: The Life and Teachings of a Lakota Medicine Man

Lame Deer here recreates his transformation from born hell-raiser to born-again ``holy man'' of his Lakota Indian tribe in South Dakota. Writing with longtime family friend Erdoes ( Living on the Brink of Apocalypse ), Lame Deer exposes his life in the so-called material world as an alcoholic and Hollywood stuntman. The spiritual ``gift'' was passed to him at his father's deathbed in 1976, which marked the beginning of his change. Lame Deer, now a lecturer on Lakota life and religion, discusses such noted ceremonies as the Sun Dance. Stirring and more worldly than similar works by other medicine men, this is instructive reading for those wishing to understand what it is like to be a Native American today. (Nov.)