This engaging biography examines the life of Olive Oatman, who was 13 years old when Indians attacked her Illinois Mormon family on its journey west; she was subsequently adopted and raised by the Mohave tribe. Mifflin (English, Lehman Coll., CUNY) tells Oatman's story, from the unorthodox religious convictions that led her family west, through her captivity and assimilation into Mohave culture, to her rescue and reassimilation. Mifflin engagingly describes Oatman's ordeal and theorizes about its impact on Oatman herself as well as on popular imagination. The author seeks to correct much of the myth that has sprung up around Oatman, owing partly to a biography written with Oatman's participation during her life. Mifflin takes the position that Oatman was almost fully assimilated into Mohave culture and resisted "rescue," and that her return to mainstream society was a cause of ambivalence, if not anxiety. Though Mifflin sometimes seems a bit eager to make this argument, her book adds nuance to Oatman's story and also humanizes the Mohave who adopted her. Recommended for general readers as well as students and scholars.
—Julie Biando Edwards
The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman
Narrated by Kaipo Schwab
Margot MifflinUnabridged — 6 hours, 47 minutes
The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman
Narrated by Kaipo Schwab
Margot MifflinUnabridged — 6 hours, 47 minutes
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Overview
Based on historical records, including letters and diaries of Oatman's friends and relatives, The Blue Tattoo is the first book to examine her life, from her childhood in Illinois-including the massacre, her captivity, and her return to white society-to her later years as a wealthy banker's wife in Texas.
Editorial Reviews
"Recommended for general readers as well as students and scholars." ---Library Journal
"The Blue Tattoo is well-researched history that reads like unbelievable fiction, telling the story of Olive Oatman, the first tattooed American white woman. . . . Mifflin weaves together Olive's story with the history of American westward expansion, the Mohave, tattooing in America, and captivity literature in the 1800s."—Elizabeth Quinn, Bust
“Although Oatman’s story on its own is full of intrigue, Mifflin adeptly uses her tale as a springboard for larger issues of the time.”—Feminist Review
“Mifflin’s treatment of Olive’s sojourns [provides] an excellent teaching opportunity about America’s ongoing captivation with ethnic/gender crossings.”—Western American Literature
"In The Blue Tattoo, Margot Mifflin slices away the decades of mythology and puts the story in its proper historical context. What emerges is a riveting, well-researched portrait of a young woman—a survivor, but someone marked for life by the experience."—Jon Shumaker, Tucson Weekly
"The Blue Tattoo is well written and well researched; it re-opens the story of white women and men going West and Native people trying to survive these travels."—June Namias, Pacific Historical Review
"Recommended for general readers as well as students and scholars." —Library Journal
The Blue Tattoo is well written and well researched; it re-opens the story of white women and men going West and Native people trying to survive these travels.—June Namias, Pacific Historical Review
— June Namias
In The Blue Tattoo, Margot Mifflin slices away the decades of mytho
— Jon Shumaker
The Blue Tattoo is well-researched history that reads like unbelievable fiction, telling the story of Olive Oatman, the first tattooed American white woman. . . . Mifflin weaves together Olive's story with the history of American westward expansion, the Mohave, tattooing in America, and captivity literature in the 1800s.—Elizabeth Quinn, Bust
— Elizabeth Quinn
“An important and engrossing book, which reveals as much about the appetites and formulas of emerging mass culture as it does about tribal cultures in nineteenth-century America.”—Christine Bold, Times Literary Supplement
"Mifflin, whose admirable and enjoyable book offers analysis of both the reality and the mythology of Oatman''s life, shows that there is much beyond the blue tattoo."—Spencer Dew, Rain Taxi
— Spencer Dew
“Mifflin catches the poignancy of this story that manages to combine the conquest of the West, life among its victims and the national myths that justified it.”—Doubleday Book Club
"Extremely well written, The Blue Tattoo is unquestionably a significant contribution to Oatman studies."—Deborah and Jon Lawrence, Overland Journal
— Deborah and Jon Lawrence
"Mifflin does a careful job of reconstructing the fascinating story behind how this woman came to wear that tattoo, ascertaining the most accurate possible accounting of the 1851 murder of Oatman''s family near Yuma, Arizona, her captivity by a band of Yavapai Indians, her sale to the Mohaves, and Oatman''s eventual return to white society."—Jenny Shank, NewWest.com
— Jenny Shank
“The book’s already received rave reviews, and for good reason. . . . A fascinating dose of both tattoo and American history.”—Tattoo History
“One can read this work of non-fiction as if it were a sensational novel—with progressive feminist implications.”—Irish Times.com
“Lucid and engaging, The Blue Tattoo contextualizes Olive Oatman''s life by delving into Mohave culture and history (including interviews with contemporary Mohaves) and by explaining why her story captured the American popular imagination and continued to be retold and revisited so many times, in so many different media.”—Kathryn Zabelle Derounian-Stodola, editor of Women’s Indian Captivity Narratives
“Margot Mifflin has written a winner. . . . The Blue Tattoo offers quite intense drama along with thorough scholarship.”—Elmore Leonard, best-selling author of Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories
"The Blue Tattoo tells the harrowing story of this forgotten heroine of frontier America. . . . This is a revealing read as it delves into the social morays and prejudice of the time."—Sandy Amazeen, MonstersAndCritics.com
— Sandy Amazeen
"The Blue Tattoo is a wonderful peek at an era and a literary genre by a first-class researcher. And if Olive Oatman could time-travel back to read the book, I think she''d be delighted to discover that finally there was a sympathetic author more interested in explaining than exploiting her captivity story."
— Jack Shakely, Internet Review of Books
"Ms. Mifflin did a amazing job in capturing the life of Olive Oatman; before, during and after her capture by the Indians. This is definitely a winner."
06/15/2016
Mifflin (English, Lehman Coll., CUNY) here describes the life of Olive Oatman. In 1851, 13-year-old Olive was traveling west with her family when they were set upon by members of the Yavapai tribe. She escaped the slaughter only to be taken hostage. Later, she was traded to Mohaves, who raised her as one of their own and even had her face tattooed as a symbol of belonging. She spent several happy years living with them until she was forced to return to white society and reassimilate. Meticulously researched, this tale will captivate listeners. Kaipo Schwab provides a wonderful narration, keeping the story flowing quickly and compelling audiences to keep listening. VERDICT A must-listen for fans of women's history, stories of the Wild West, and tattooing. May be of interest to teens as well as adults. ["Recommended for general readers as well as students and scholars": LJ 4/1/09 review of the Univ. of Nebraska hc.]—Erin Cataldi, Johnson Cty. P.L., Franklin, IN
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170746712 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
| Publication date: | 04/29/2016 |
| Series: | Women in the West , #1 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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