Summary: Edward Curtis was the Annie Leibovitz of his time - charismatic and handsome, a passionate mountaineer and famous photographer. In 1900, at 32 years old, he gave it all up to pursue his great idea: to capture the American Indian nation on film before it disappeared. "Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher" tells the story behind Curtis' iconic photographs. Curtis spent three decades documenting the stories and rituals of more than 80 tribes. His most powerful backer was Theodore Roosevelt, and his patron was J. P. Morgan. He took more than 40,000 photographs, preserved 10,000 audio recordings and is credited with making the first narrative documentary film. In the process, this charming rogue with a grade school education created the most definitive archive of the American Indian. Timothy Egan writes an online opinion column for The New York Times and is the author of seven books. His nonfiction account of the Dust Bowl, "The Worst Hard Time," won the 2006 National Book Award. A graduate of the University of Washington and father of two, Egan lives in Seattle.
