Holt Collier: His Life, His Roosevelt Hunts, and the Origin of the Teddy Bear

Ignore the few one star reviews. When truth doesn’t fit the the narrative, some people are inclined to disregard it, even ridicule it. This book is more than just a record of the life of Holt Collier. For me, having grown up in Greenville, Ms, I was able to so see familiar names of cities, counties, parks, streets and landmarks come to life from prominent families of Mississippi’s past. Holt basically wrote one of the greatest events ever told about a US president. His life was truly unique. He was a great American. It’s a shame that his story has largely been overlooked. This is an excellent read.

Taught Academic history for 35 years; great assetto African-American history.

Slavery is abhorrent and the right side (ha) won.I have no problem with the man being profiled. He was a product of his times and did what was necessary to survive. I knew of Mr. Collier's exploits and they are still admirable, even through retrospective lenses, but I stopped reading after finishing part one... which is basically another Civil War history book with bits of Collier's life interspersed. I get it; there's a dearth of information on the man, but spare us the fluff. The tone indicates a "lost cause" leaning author, and when that's not being made apparent it's, "Meet Holt Collier, noble savage twice removed."When he is being neutral he does a decent job at presenting facts, and I do appreciate that he poured research into an underrepresented icon of his era. Due to his sacrifice you can google Holt Collier, and save yourself time and money.

Great story of a great American! I bought two, one is signed by the author and the other I am going to donate to our local school library. 10 stars!

Great book on an unknown subject!!!

I knew only a little bit about this extraordinary man. This book was a real joy!

Great history novel of area I grew up in

There will be those who hate this book because it flies in the face of the "narrative" about the people and culture of the Deep Deep South during and shortly after the Civil War, especially the Mississippi Delta. I had second hand stories told to me by my great uncle who heard them first hand from former slaves in the Mississippi Delta which told a totally different story that you get from the history books. My grandmother also had letters written during that period in her attic. This book aligns perfectly with those stories and letters.