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    Magic Words: The Tale of a Jewish Boy-Interpreter, the Frontier's Most Estimable Magician, a Murderous Harlot, and America's Greatest Indian Chief
    Unavailable
    Magic Words: The Tale of a Jewish Boy-Interpreter, the Frontier's Most Estimable Magician, a Murderous Harlot, and America's Greatest Indian Chief
    Unavailable
    Magic Words: The Tale of a Jewish Boy-Interpreter, the Frontier's Most Estimable Magician, a Murderous Harlot, and America's Greatest Indian Chief
    Ebook446 pages6 hours

    Magic Words: The Tale of a Jewish Boy-Interpreter, the Frontier's Most Estimable Magician, a Murderous Harlot, and America's Greatest Indian Chief

    By Gerald Kolpan

    4.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    In a riveting novel of love and adventure, young Julius Meyer comes to the New World to find himself acting as translator for the famed Indian chief Standing Bear Young Jewish immigrant Julius comes of age surrounded by the wild world of 1867 Nebraska. He befriends the mysterious Prophet John, who saves his life when the two are captured by the Ponca Indian tribe. Living as a slave, Julius meets the noble chief Standing Bear and his young daughter, Prairie Flower, with whom he falls in love. Becoming the tribe’s interpreter—its “speaker”—his life seems safe and settled. But Julius has reckoned without the arrival of his older cousin, Alexander—who, as the Great Herrmann, is the most famous young magician in America. Nor does he suspect the ultimate consequences of Alex’s affair with Lady-Jane Little Feather, a glamorous—and murderous—prostitute destined to become the most scandalous woman on two continents.  Filled with adventure, humor, and colorful characters, Magic Words is a riveting adventure about the nature of prejudice, the horror of genocide, and a courageous young man who straddles two worlds to fight for love and freedom.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPegasus Books
    Release dateMay 1, 2012
    ISBN9781453249208
    Unavailable
    Magic Words: The Tale of a Jewish Boy-Interpreter, the Frontier's Most Estimable Magician, a Murderous Harlot, and America's Greatest Indian Chief
    Author

    Gerald Kolpan

    Gerald Kolpan, author of Etta (2009), previously was a contributor to NPR's All Things Considered and for twenty years was the Emmy award-winning features reporter for Philly's WXTF TV. He lives in Philadelphia.

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    Reviews for Magic Words

    4.5/5

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    • 4/5
      Very good read
    • 5/5
      Before Houdini, the greatest magicians were probably the Herrmann brothers, Alexander and Compars (Carl) They were German Jews who divided up the "civilized world" between them (North America to Alexander and Europe to Compars) to avoid competition. Inevitably, they ended up trying to outdo each other, creating more and more dangerous and outrageous tricks. The main focus of the book however, is Julius Meyer, Alexander's nephew, who settles in Omaha, Nebraska and becomes a great defender of Indian rights, living with the Ponca tribe and becoming the translator (he was a remarkable polyglot) and eventually the adopted son of their greatest chief, Standing Bear. This chief figured in a famous 1879 trial where he actually had to prove that he was a human being entitled to the same constitutional rights as everyone else. He's regarded as a hero in Nebraska. I had never heard of any of these people prior to reading this fascinating book, which seamlessly interweaves their stories with those of fictional characters.