Record Details
1 of 1
Book cover

The pale-faced lie : a true story

Crow, David (author.).

Growing up on the Navajo Indian Reservation, David Crow and his three siblings idolized their dad. Tall, strong, smart, and brave, the self-taught Cherokee regaled his family with stories of his World War II feats. But as time passed, David discovered the other side of Thurston Crow, the ex-con with his own code of ethics that justified cruelty, violence, lies--even murder. A shrewd con artist with a genius IQ, Thurston intimidated David with beatings to coerce him into doing his criminal bidding. David's mom, too mentally ill to care for her children, couldn't protect him. One day, Thurston packed up the house and took the kids, leaving her with nothing. Soon he remarried, and David learned that his stepmother was just as vicious and abusive as his father. Through sheer determination, and with the help of a few angels along the way, David managed to get into college and achieve professional success. When he finally found the courage to stop helping his father with his criminal activities, he unwittingly triggered a plot of revenge that would force him into a showdown with Thurston Crow. With lives at stake, including his own, David would have only twenty-four hours to outsmart his father--the brilliant, psychotic man who bragged that the three years he spent in the notorious San Quentin State Prison had been the easiest time of his life." -- Amazon.com.

Book  - 2019
979.1 Cro
1 copy / 0 on hold

Available Copies by Location

Location
Stamford Available
  • ISBN: 9780997487176
  • ISBN: 0997487178
  • ISBN: 9780997487152
  • ISBN: 0997487151
  • Physical Description print
    346 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
  • Publisher Boulder, CO : Sandra Jonas Publishing, [2019]

Additional Information

Syndetic Solutions - Publishers Weekly Review for ISBN Number 9780997487176
The Pale-Faced Lie : A True Story
The Pale-Faced Lie : A True Story
by Crow, David
Rate this title:
vote data
Click an element below to view details:

Publishers Weekly Review

The Pale-Faced Lie : A True Story

Publishers Weekly


(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In this painful memoir, Crow recounts his experience growing up with a mentally ill mother and a violent, psychologically abusive father who expected his son to be "a Cherokee Indian of superior intelligence and courage." With a degree of emotional dissonance, Crow explores the circumstances that led to his father Thurston's arrest for nearly beating a man to death before the author was born, and how his disarming charisma and fabrications led to a light sentence. Crow grapples with the realization that Thurston unsuccessfully attempted to murder his mother, nearly making good on his frequent threats to make her disappear ("I was three and a half the first time my dad told me we had to get rid of my mother"). As an adult, Crow confronts the impact of Thurston's violence and insatiable lies on his psychological development, while acknowledging his history of enabling his father's crimes; at last, he confronts the monstrous man who raised him. Despite instances of stiff dialogue, Crow vividly characterizes a complex, deeply intelligent, and volatile figure whose lies would extend as far as fabricating his Native American heritage. Crow's work delivers a truthful and ultimately empowering missive about the long shadow cast by an abusive parent. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.