[People of the Dream is the story of the] tragic retreat and surrender of the Nez Perce as seen through the eyes of Chief Joseph who emerges less as a hero than as a curiously alienated observer…. [He] is a pessimist from the first, and the novel is permeated by a single emotion—overwhelming sadness—expressed not only in his reaction to major defeats, but in small incidents such as the graphically described killing of a grizzly bear in which the wounded animal cries like a baby before its death. The novel's considerable strength lies in its adoption of the Indian point of view; however, in the midst of Joseph's extended sufferings the narrative thread does become a bit fuzzy. This one isn't intended to be read for the battles, but for the ambiguities of Joseph's character and the epic dignity of the Indians' defeat.