Clements's study examines Americans' changing sense of Geronimo and looks at the ways Geronimo tried to maintain control of his own image during more than twenty years in which he was a prisoner of war.
His face has appeared on T-shirts, postage stamps, jigsaw puzzles, posters and an Andy Warhol print. A celebrity and a tourist attraction who attended three World's Fairs and rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade, he is a character in classic films. Clements's study samples the repertoire of Geronimo stories and examines Americans' changing sense of Geronimo in terms of traditional patterns—trickster social bandit, patriot chief, sage elder and culture hero.
