Viking Imprint from Penguin Press was kind enough to send us this book for review for our History Corner! Here's hubby's review!
Synopsis:
Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer’s Last Stand, the June 1876 battle has been equated with other famous last stands, from the Spartans’ defeat at Thermopylae to Davy Crockett at the Alamo.
In his new book, Nathaniel Philbrick sketches the two larger-than-life antagonists: Sitting Bull, whose charisma and political savvy earned him the position of leader of the Plains Indians, and George Armstrong Custer, one of the Union’s greatest cavalry officers and a man with a reputation for fearless and often reckless courage. Philbrick reminds readers that the Battle of the Little Bighorn was also, even in victory, the last stand for the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian nations. Increasingly outraged by the government’s Indian policies, the Plains tribes allied themselves and held their ground in southern Montana. Within a few years of Little Bighorn, however, all the major tribal leaders would be confined to Indian reservations.
Throughout, Philbrick evokes the history and geography of the Great Plains with his characteristic grace and sense of drama. THE LAST STAND is a mesmerizing account of the archetypal story of the American West, one that continues to haunt our collective imagination.
About the Author:
After grad school, Philbrick worked for four years at Sailing World magazine; was a freelancer for a number of years, during which time he wrote/edited several sailing books, including Yaahting: A Parody (1984), for which he was the editor-in-chief; during this time he was also the primary caregiver for his two children. After moving to Nantucket in 1986, he became interested in the history of the island and wrote Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People. He was offered the opportunity to start the Egan Maritime Foundation in 1995, and in 2000 he published In the Heart of the Sea, followed by Sea of Glory, in 2003, and Mayflower, in May 2006. He lives on Nantucket Island with his wife. Visit him at www.nathanielphilbrick.com
Review: The author does a wonderful job of building you an image of the players of the battle of the Little Big Horn. For example, Sitting Bull is not just a "Bloodthirsty Indian", he is a complex personality, from events in his pas,t and would really have appreciated it if Custer would have just came and negotiated with him rather than fighting. (What a concept huh? HOW different would history have been, had THAT happened???) Custer is not the arrogant womanizer and terrible officer, as most would have us believe, but at times was a very good officer and a fine negotiator, but he dis have many faults, like most people do.
The story is also about the hard time the 7th Calvary had just getting to the Little Big Horn because of logistics, and greatly builds our understanding of the politics, and the characters involved. The aftermath and results of the battle are explained, such as the decline of the Indian's after the battle. I personally loved the detailed description of the battle and the immense amount of research that must have gone into the telling of this story, and Nathaniel Phillbrich is to be congratulated for his labor. I personally would recommend this as a "MUST read".
Disclosure:
This book was sent to us free of charge, for review purposes, by Viking/ Penguin Press. We were not told how to
review it
however.
