Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing Into Thunderbird is an innovative and rich biography of this charismatic and troubled figure. Drawing upon years of extensive research, including interviews with Morrisseau himself, Ojibwe poet and author Armand Garnet Ruffo evokes the artist's life from childhood to death, in all its vivid triumphs and tragedies: his first solo and breakthrough exhibition at the Pollock Gallery in Toronto; his legendary Garden Party where he and his agent Jack Pollock flew a coterie of critics and patrons from Toronto to remote Beardmore for an afternoon tea party. Here too is Morrisseau's heart-wrenching battle with alcoholism, then Parkinson's disease, and exultant Shaman's Return to national status in the Canadian art scene and his solo show at The National Gallery of Canada. Armand Ruffo draws upon his own Ojibwe heritage, and experiences to provide insight into Morrisseau's life and iconography from an Ojibwe perspective. Captivating and readable, this is a brilliantly creative evocation of the art and life of Norval Morrisseau, a life indelibly tied to art. Told in a style that draws in the reader and keeps them enthralled, this narrative is an important and overdue work about the larger than life persona of the artist who established the Woodland School of Art. Highly recommended. Accompanied by archival photographs and an extensive index.