''Dances with Wolves'' is a 1988

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

novel by Michael Blake. Originally written as an unsold

spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...

, it was converted into a novel at the behest of

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

; it was finally adapted into a film of the same name, directed by Costner, in 1990. Union Lieutenant John Dunbar finds himself stranded in the wilderness and comes to live with a tribe of

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

people, soon taking the name Dances with Wolves. The novel and film later came under criticism for similarity to

Elliot Silverstein Elliot Silverstein (born August 3, 1927) is an American film and television director. He directed the Academy Award-winning western comedy '' Cat Ballou'' (1965), and other films including '' The Happening'' (1967), '' A Man Called Horse'' (1970) ...

's '' A Man Called Horse''. On September 4, 2001, Michael Blake published ''The Holy Road'', a sequel to ''Dances with Wolves''; the story is set eleven years later, and deals with the increasing conflict between the

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

and the white man, with tragic outcomes.

References

1988 American novels American novels adapted into films Novels set during the American Civil War {{1980s-war-novel-stub