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About Bootheel Man by Morley Swingle

FINALIST FOR WILLIAM ROCKHILL NELSON AWARD FOR FICTION!

When Allison Culbertson takes the case of Joey Red Horse, an Osage Indian charged with stealing a sacred artifact from The Heartland Mound Builder Museum, she is propelled into a courtroom battle pitting contemporary American Indians against a private museum over legal rights to the bones of “Bootheel Man,” a Native American who lived, fought, and loved in Cahokia and Southeast Missouri in the year 1050. Swingle combines the historical mystery of the disappearance of the 30,000 souls who inhabited Cahokia ten centuries ago with a contemporary murder mystery and legal thriller in a suspenseful mix of history, law, and fiction.

“Move over Tony Hillerman — Morley Swingle has transformed the contemporary conflicts over deep American history into a page-turning book that I couldn’t put down. As a professional museum archaeologist, I found Bootheel Man to be a nuanced appreciation of the reburial and repatriation issues now playing out across the country. Swingle is a true storyteller. The conflicts are real and so are Swingle’s characters — no wooden Indians here.” David Hurst Thomas, Curator of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History.

“This exciting and clever tale adeptly entertains and educates about the serious and dangerous problem of desecration of sacred tribal cultural items. Swingle takes us from a dramatic present-day crime back to 1050 Cahokia to introduce readers to the artist Gazing Woman and chunkey-player Thunder Runner, then back again to the present and the indigenous people who try to protect ancestral remains. Learning about the passion and tenacity of the Old Ones while they were a living man and woman, rather than simply as “artifacts” to be studied, displayed or sold on the black market, elevates the story to an important, personal level.” Devon Mihesuah, Cora Lee Beers Price Professor, University of Kansas

“Bootheel Man is Morley Swingle’s third book and second novel, and it proves that some lawyers can actually write entertainingly.” Harry Levins, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Bootheel Man is an engaging story—educating readers about police investigations, ancient history and legal strategy while providing hours of entertainment—written by a skillful author. Swingle cements his place as Southeast Missouri’s resident wordsmith.” Matt Sanders, Southeast Missourian

“Move over Michener, here’s Morley Swingle with high adventure on the Mississippi. It’s the most amazing historical novel I’ve ever read, opening and closing with absorbing courtroom drama.” Elmore Leonard, Former President, Mystery Writers of America (on Morley Swingle’s The Gold of Cape Girardeau)

“Morley Swingle is a terrific writer and an even better entertainer.” Alan J. Courture, Forward, Reviews of Indie Books.

“I highly recommend this engrossing book.” Vincent Bugliosi, Author of Helter Skelter (on Morley Swingle’s Scoundrels to the Hoosegow).

“Morley Swingle is a rarity among lawyers, and almost unique among prosecutors: a man who loves the books as much as the courtroom, and who writes as well as he dissects witnesses on the stand.” Robert H. Dierker, Jr., Retired Circuit Court Judge

“Morley Swingle knows how to tell a good story. It’s a skill the veteran prosecutor honed in his opening and closing arguments at countless trials.” Mark Bliss, Southeast Missourian

Morley Swingle From the 2023 Afterward to the E-book Second Edition of Bootheel Man

Bootheel Man was published in 2007. I was immersed in its world when I wrote it. I loved the legal research about the conflict between archaeologists and American Indians. I loved the characters. I loved its twists and turns, some of which surprised even me.
I held it with pride when it was published by Southeast Missouri State University Press. I felt a glow not unlike holding one’s newborn baby. I gave talks about it and had book-signings. But then I got busy trying cases in my real job as a prosecutor.
When it first came out in 2007, e-books were in their infancy. Kindle was created the exact same year. It didn’t occur to me or Southeast Missouri State University Press to put out an e-book edition.
Times have changed. These days, 21% of books sold are e-books. I decided to create an e-book edition of Bootheel Man to give more people an opportunity to read it.
I first thought I’d simply retype it exactly as I wrote it back then. Couldn’t do it. Turns out, it is impossible to issue a book exactly the way you wrote it sixteen years ago. I spotted lots of places where I could improve the writing.
So, valued reader, this is a Second Edition, not simply the exact same book. The overall story is the same, but I hope the writing is better.
As of 2023, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act still doesn’t apply to private museums, so this story could still take place; but it does seem that in the last decade the public has developed a greater sensitivity to the feelings of American Indians about the display of the bones of their ancestors. No doubt, the first edition of Bootheel Man deserves all the credit!

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