Thomas Fall

This 1970 title from the Crowell Biography series does an alright job of detailing Jim Thorpe's struggles as a child - including the loss of his brother and running away from school. The material is still accurate, and it does touch on the stripping of Thorpe's medals, but does not go into enough detail about how he went from being a football player to a decathlete. The illustrations are a bit dated. For young people still interested in Jim Thorpe, it is an alright starting place, but provides no additional references and is a little too light on important details.… (more)

I recently got a copy of this book in a package deal through an online bookseller. While I had read it many years ago, some of the details of the story were still clear in my memory, though not all.

Roberto is a half breed boy, roaming the American southwest deserts in the 1870s with his Mexican grandfather. He longs to be a wild horse wrangler like his father, but does not have the skills he needs. And the immediate goal is to capture the wild white horse that killed his father.

This story is full of information about the people and places of this time in history, and would be interesting for those who like horses, soldiers, or adventure tales of the Comanche tribes.… (more)