Writing with high school students as an audience, Gunther (history, California State U., Fullerton) presents a biography of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indians, within the context of their history, from their entrance into the Columbia Plateau through their relations with the US. She details the arrival of the Nez Perce in the Columbia River region; their social and political life, laws and customs, and religion; contact with white settlers, including Lewis and Clark and missionaries; and how Joseph led the tribe through loss of their land and freedom and threats to their culture. She describes how he led them from their homes in Oregon and Idaho to Canada after settlers wanted to move them to a reservation, their surrender, and the myths about him, like his role in the Nez Perce War of 1877, which is seen as considerable when it wasn't. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)