100 books like Dances with Wolves

I'm a Sagittarius. Promise me a journey that takes me to a far-away land, which along the way initiates into some secrets of our existence, and I will not resist the call. This book is a wonderful blend of adventure and mysticism. It reveals a world that you can access once you open your senses for the perception of energies.

I loved this book so much that I named my forest retreat in the Northern Highlands of Hungary Little Viciente. In the book, Viciente is a place of high vibrational energy located somewhere in the Andes Mountains of Peru. 

This book tells the autobiographical journey of Dannion Brinkley through the trauma and revelations experienced through two near-death experiences (NDEs), having been struck by lightning twice. 

The suspense in the story lies not only in the shock of spiritual visions upon entering the nether world but the transformation of character and choices made upon return to the living.

Full disclosure. I have personally witnessed the ongoing spiritual transformation of the author after the publication of his seminal work and his first two NDEs. Dannion has been a dear friend of mine for over 25 years. I first met him when we were interviewed on a radio show in 1998 on the topic of integrative and complementary medicine.  

Since the book’s publication, Dannion has experienced two additional NDEs. One occurred following aortic valve replacement surgery for a bicuspid aortic valve, originally traumatized by lightning shocks. The second occurred following redo aortic… show more.

This is a fictional narrative based on true events immortalized in the stunning film directed by John Boorman from the adapted screenplay by Rospo Pallenberg. 

It recounts the spiritual transformation of a father seeking to find his lost young son and the son’s embracing of a spiritual destination that neither could have foreseen.

Bill Markham, an engineer, with his family, including his 7-year-old son, Tommie, ventures to the Brazilian rainforest to destroy it for the construction of an electrical dam. This incursion creates the forced migration of indigenous tribes.

One tribe happens upon Tommie at the edge of the rainforest during a picnic with Bill’s family. The tribe kidnaps Tommie, not with malevolence, but rather to rescue him from an upside-down worldview by which the rainforest could be destroyed. They can do so by camouflaging themselves with the foliage of the rainforest, thus appearing invisible.

Bill sets off on a… show more.

This is a picture book published by National Geographic Kids, but equally applicable for reading by adults of our day. 

It is a rendition of, perhaps, the most important Lakota sacred legend, relaying how the Great Spirit presented to the People of the Lakota Nation the Sacred Calf Peace Pipe with which to pray and communicate with the Universe. 

I found this story particularly intriguing as the heroine is an animal spirit sent by the Universe, transformed from a White Buffalo calf into a beautiful spiritual Lakota woman. 

She comes forward at a particularly troubled time for the Lakota Nation, forced into a traumatic migration from mid-western forest lands to the Great Plains by indigenous wars and European colonizing transgressions. The relationship of the tribes to sustenance provided by buffalo herds became the mainstay of the Lakota Nation.

Of all my choices, this story most directly depicts the impact of… show more.

Dead Man’s Walk is the third book in the Lonesome Dove series. It is difficult for me to write a review because the book and film are part of my family story. Dead Man’s Walk is a true story inspired by McMurtry’s research into the failed Santa Fe Expedition of 1841. His fictional characters Matilda Jane Roberts, Gus McCrae, and Woodrow Call make a brutal story of humanity, a fun read. Most of the characters' names are fictitious, however, the Comanche Indian Chief named Buffalo Hump was real. His tribe in 1841 killed my great-great-great grandfather Thomas W. Smith and his son James in separate attacks. The Comanche also captured my great-grandmother’s nine-year-old cousin Fayette Smith in the attack that killed his father Judge James Smith on the banks of Shoal Creek. I have written their story in my book and its soon-to-be-released sequel.   

The Comanche Kid is a breathtaking book that follows Jane, who witnesses her family's murder and her sister's kidnapping during a Comanche raid.

She disguises herself as her brother and embarks on a journey to find her sister and seek revenge. Along the way, she joins a cattle drive, encountering cowboys, Buffalo soldiers, and Comanches, experiencing the beauty and wrath of the West.

This intense novel fearlessly exposes the atrocities committed by all parties, while highlighting the destructive nature of vengeance. Nonetheless, it remains a compassionate tale of bravery and forgiveness. Trust me on this – you will not forget this novel. It’s on my shelf next to True Grit.

If you’d like to understand why Elmer Kelton was voted the greatest Western writer of all time by the Western Writers of America read The Wolf and the Buffalo. Though every word of the dozens of books he authored are saturated in the authenticity of the Texas cattleman that Kelton was, this novel holds a special place in my heart.

Published in 1980 before there was a widespread appreciation for the achievements of the Buffalo Soldiers against great odds, Kelton presents fully-realized portraits of the formerly enslaved men tasked with protecting white settlers. 

All Kelton’s writing is alive with the language of the frontier. I am grateful to the master for helping me feel the rhythm of 19th Century, Western speech. On just one page, Kelton has his characters speak of fires that they “get to goin’,” of someone departing rapidly “skinning out the door,” and of how,… show more.

The Comanche Empire turns imperial history on its head. I like how Hämäläinen puts the spotlight on Comanche Indians instead of European colonizers. Indigenous people were powerful empire builders too.

I love how the book is also a story of horses, bison and how Indigenous people harnessed the resources of their environment. Horse riding and bison hunting, as much as Indigenous adaptability, were the foundation of the Comanche Empire.

I’ve been hearing about Cynthia Ann Parker since I was a child growing up in the part of northern Texas once ruled by her Comanche captors–and her Comanche compatriots! Captured as a child by Comanche raiders at the Parker family’s frontier compound at the time of the Texas Revolution, Cynthia Ann fully became a Comanche. She married a warrior, Peta Nocona, and together they had a son, “Quanah Parker,” who eventually became the most famous “Indian” in America.

I was amazed by the authors’ ability to penetrate the myths surrounding Cynthia’s recapture by Texas Rangers. Speaking virtually no English, she was desperate to return with her infant daughter to her Comanche family, but both of them died in captivity, being held now as sad, unwilling captives of the Texans.

I cannot speak highly enough of Gwynne’s book! This book is only a few hundred pages, but he somehow manages to detail the very complex relationships between Texas, Mexico, the United States government, and the Comanche Indians while making a believable case for the Comanche being an empire in its own right.

While I’m a big history nerd, I tend to focus on European history. But lately, I’ve come to have a deeper appreciation for U.S. history. It certainly gave me a broader understanding of the Wild West, indigenous people, and the socio-political atmosphere.

The best part is that it wasn’t dry and boring, as some history books can be. It read like a novel. As a writer myself, I’m still amazed at how he managed to pack so much information inside the covers. Not a single word was wasted. That’s an impressive feat!