From the Town Hall Seattle web site, "Edward Curtis was dashing, charismatic, and famous—and a passionate mountaineer—until he gave it all up in 1900 to capture the Native American nation on film before it disappeared. In Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Timothy Egan tells the untold story behind Curtis’ iconic photographs, his struggles to document more than 80 tribes, and his tremendous perseverance (it took Curtis six years to convince the Hopi to allow him into their Snake Dance ceremony). The undertaking changed Curtis profoundly; he would die penniless in Hollywood—but the charming rogue’s adventure created one of America’s most stunning cultural achievements. Presented as part of the Town Hall Center Civics series with Elliott Bay Book Company. Series supported by The Boeing Company, the RealNetworks Foundation, and the True/Brown Foundation."