Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-333) and index.

Apache youth -- Apache manhood -- Battle and massacre -- "Americans" -- War with the Americans -- Return of the bluecoats -- Cochise : war and peace, 1863-72 -- Cochise : peace at last, 1872 -- The Chiricahua Reservation, 1872-76 -- Removal to the Gila River -- Geronimo's first breakout, 1878 -- Back to San Carlos, 1878-79 -- Geronimo's second breakout, 1881 -- Geronimo abducts Loco, 1982 [1882] -- Mexico : massacres and raids, 1882-83 -- Geromino confronts Crook in the Sierra Madre, 1883 -- Return to San Carlos, 1883-84 -- The last breakout, 1885 -- Back to the Sierra Madre, 1885 -- Chased by Crook's scouts, 1885-86 -- Canyon de los Embudos, 1886 -- Miles in command, 1886 -- Geronimo meets Gatewood, 1886 -- Geronimo surrenders, 1886 -- Prisoners of war, 1886-87 -- Geronimo at Mount Vernon Barracks, 1888-94 -- Geronimo's final home, 1894-1909 -- Geronimo's last years.

Renowned for ferocity in battle, legendary for an uncanny ability to elude capture, feared for the violence of his vengeful raids, the Apache fighter Geronimo captured the public imagination in his own time and remains a mythic figure today. This thoroughly researched biography by a renowned historian of the American West strips away the myths and rumors that have long obscured the real Geronimo and presents an authentic portrait of a man with unique strengths and weaknesses and a destiny that swept him into history. Utley unfolds the story through the alternating perspectives of whites and Apaches, and he arrives at a more nuanced understanding of Geronimo's character and motivation than ever before. What it was like to be an Apache fighter-in-training, why Indians as well as whites feared Geronimo, how Geronimo maintained his freedom, and why he finally surrendered--the answers to these questions and many more fill these pages.--From publisher description.