Holt Collier: His Life, His Roosevelt Hunts, and the Origin of the Teddy Bear

by Minor Ferris Buchanan

On November 14, 2002, the 100th anniversary of the world famous Teddy Bear will be celebrated. The origin of the Teddy Bear stems from an occasion when President Theodore Roosevelt visited the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1893062376
• ISBN13: 9781893062375
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Centennial Press of Mississippi
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Spellbinding!!

This is a must-read book for anyone interested in any of the following topics: African-American History, hunting, Theodore Roosevelt, Southern History, the Civil War, and William Faulkner. As an avid Faulkner reader, I cannot help but conclude that Holt Collier is the real-life person upon which the pivotal character of Sam Fathers is based. Beyond this observation, the book is well researched and is an excellent read. You will not be disappointed. HOLT COLLIER deserves a wide audience and should be assigned reading.

The Ultimate Man of the Delta

As a history major in college I developed a taste for the truth that can only be found in biographies. Over the years I have kept a small library in my home and under my bed to read at night, prior to retiring. The book by Mr. Buchanan is a detailed, accurate account of this man and his relationships to the men around him and his world. Being a product of the Mississippi Delta, I can see Holt Collier in the deep bayou's of the old Delta, hunting the bears. I admire the writer's style in his ability to place me there beside Holt all along the way in this book. There, in the realities of Holt's world, the reader walks his paths, thinks his thoughts, and feels the anger he feels.Finally I would like to thank Mr. Buchanan for this effort and look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

Phenomenally intriguing, accurate, and detailed.

Minor Ferris Buchanan excells in this historical document of Holt Collier: an ex-slave, Confederate soldier, and excellent big-game hunter. I found the portrayal of this very accomplished individual more intriguing and inspiring than any other Afro-American biography I've ever come across (including those of Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X)I loved it!

AN AMAZING MAN

I have never written a review before, but here goes....I had never heard of his name before this book was recommended to me, but this fellow Holt Collier is one of the most amazing men to come out of the American scene in years. Just think, to have been born a slave, to have become a runaway--to seek out his master and fight for the confederacy--unbelievable. And then he out-fought his master during the entire conflict, and it is all backed up by detailed research. Amazing.Then to become an independent hunter in the lower Mississippi delta where he made a small fortune every year, ultimately becoming a hunter of legendary status, a cowboy and a lawman as well. And those white men he killed in duels--and not to be prosecuted in Mississippi of all places.Then, when he was getting pretty long in the tooth, to be selected to take Roosevelt on two hunts, arguably the most famous hunts ever on American soil, it seems like it must be fiction, but it is not.And for this man to be the sole person responsible for the event that gave us the teddy bear. Why has his story not been told before? Anyway, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in southern history, hunting, Theodore Roosevelt, black history, teddy bears, and the civil war.

Most significant new character on American scene in years:

This is just an amazing story. How could it be that this person escaped everyone's notice for the last century? The character of Holt Collier is no less important that Daniel Boone or Davy Crockett. And for those who want to say he was just a loyal servant, I am sure none of the many white men he killed in combat would have called him an Uncle Tom. This book gives us a core look at the old South. This guy Buchanan has written a masterpiece. It is all good history backed up by apparently good sources. Personally I believe that in time--because of this book--the name of Holt Collier will become a well known name.