I met him before his work began making him famous. He was at a book signing, and I was the only one there, for a while. I had read at least one of his books in preparation for the signing, and I was very impressed with how he made the descriptions at the beginning of some of his chapters so interesting (to me, anyway). He told me that he didn't know how he did it.

Since then, I attended a lecture he gave, which was much better attended. He was a kind and gentle man, and he felt very honored that the Navajos appreciated his work and considered him a good spokesman for their culture.

One of his books, THE GHOST WAY, was a wonderful example of how to tell back story (Jim Chee was worrying about whether to do what his non-Navajo girlfriend wanted him to do: give up his dreams of becoming a medicine man and take a job with the FBI) while also telling the regular story (Jim Chee went to Southern California as part of an investigation).

I'm not surprised he was such a gentleman in person; it came through in the characters, as well. that was a life well lived.

K---