Collection
Publication
Back Bay Books (2009), Edition: Reprint, 560 pages
Description
In June of 1876, on a desolate hill above a winding river called "the Little Bighorn," George Armstrong Custer and all 210 men under his command were annihilated by almost 2,000 Sioux and Cheyenne. The news caused a public uproar, and those in positions of power promptly began to point fingers in order to avoid responsibility. Custer, who was conveniently dead, took the brunt of the blame. The truth, however, was far more complex. This is the first book to relate the entire story, and the first to call upon all the research and findings of the past 25 years--which have changed significantly how this controversial event is perceived. It is also the first book to bring to light the details of the U.S. Army cover-up--and unravel one of the greatest mysteries in U.S. military history.--From publisher description.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member MerryMary
This excellent book is the latest and most comprehensive treatment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. It incorporates the newest forensic finds, includes much first hand information from the Native Americans involved in the battle, and traces the fates of not just the major players in the drama,
The book is thorough and very readable. I felt I knew these people, smelled the sweat of the riders, heard the crash of battle while I stood on the hillside with Benteen and Reno and did nothing.
The bibliography is extensive, and the chapter notes are most thorough. In fact, I ended up using two bookmarks - one for my place in the text, and one in the Notes section to keep abreast of the citations and additional information the author added.
The book also covers in detail the hearings and the coverup in the aftermath of the battle. In addition, the author details the Wounded Knee Massacre and its connections with the Little Bighorn Battle. Thorough, well-supported, minutely detailed, but readable and exciting. Highly recommended.
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but also every minor character that has even a scrap of information available.The book is thorough and very readable. I felt I knew these people, smelled the sweat of the riders, heard the crash of battle while I stood on the hillside with Benteen and Reno and did nothing.
The bibliography is extensive, and the chapter notes are most thorough. In fact, I ended up using two bookmarks - one for my place in the text, and one in the Notes section to keep abreast of the citations and additional information the author added.
The book also covers in detail the hearings and the coverup in the aftermath of the battle. In addition, the author details the Wounded Knee Massacre and its connections with the Little Bighorn Battle. Thorough, well-supported, minutely detailed, but readable and exciting. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member santhony
This book is a well researched and comprehensive history of the Battle of Little Bighorn, its back history and subsequent events. The author does a good job of providing historical perspective by providing just enough background on the key figures, without detracting from the focus of the book
It is true that the author takes a very kind view of Custer, seeking to deflect much of the blame for the event on both his superiors and his subordinates. He does not, however, completely absolve Custer and presents a relatively well organized and presented argument for his position.
While much can be faulted in the performance of Terry, Reno and Benteen, the ultimate responsibility for the results of the battle must rest with Custer. It should not be forgotten, however, that while the reader, and historians, are presented with detailed maps, timelines and the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, none of these luxuries was available to Custer or the other actors in the drama.
Was Custer reckless and impetuous? Certainly, but the absence of such characteristics in a cavalry officer fighting plains Indians most times resulted in a lack of results. History had highlighted few times that cavalry was able to identify and attack a massed Indian force. To wait, after locating such a force would have likely resulted in a repeat of past history; the dispersal and melting away of the targeted enemy.
Unknown to Custer and his subordinates was the size, scope and fighting spirit of the Sioux at Little Bighorn. While he had received intelligence on the size of the encampment, such intelligence was conflicting and not usually completely reliable. Virtually no one, not in the Seventh Cavalry, not in the Army in general, and certainly not in the country at large, could possibly conceive of an Indian force capable of defeating Custer's army.
While the performance of Reno and Benteen can be faulted, and the later inquiry was certainly a stage managed farce, it is difficult to argue that alternate actions by the forces under their command could have done anything but expand the scope of the slaughter. Reno, a confirmed alcoholic who likely was drunk throughout the battle could have done little to improve the performance of the troops under his command once overwhelmed by vastly superior numbers. While his retreat and repositioning could have been more orderly and better executed, it did at least manage to save many of the soldiers in his command.
Benteen, on the other hand, in command of a fresh regiment and in possession of orders to advance and provide support for Custer's forces, somehow escaped as the hero of the battle. No explanation was ever provided as to why these orders were disregarded.
In any event, Custer's last stand and the Battle of Little Bighorn have become historical legend and provided the last gasp of the Lakota Sioux in the long effort of the United States government to subjogate the plains Indians and settle the Dakota Territory. This book is a very good overview of the events leading to and following that legendary clash.
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itself, the days immediately preceding and following the battle. It is true that the author takes a very kind view of Custer, seeking to deflect much of the blame for the event on both his superiors and his subordinates. He does not, however, completely absolve Custer and presents a relatively well organized and presented argument for his position.
While much can be faulted in the performance of Terry, Reno and Benteen, the ultimate responsibility for the results of the battle must rest with Custer. It should not be forgotten, however, that while the reader, and historians, are presented with detailed maps, timelines and the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, none of these luxuries was available to Custer or the other actors in the drama.
Was Custer reckless and impetuous? Certainly, but the absence of such characteristics in a cavalry officer fighting plains Indians most times resulted in a lack of results. History had highlighted few times that cavalry was able to identify and attack a massed Indian force. To wait, after locating such a force would have likely resulted in a repeat of past history; the dispersal and melting away of the targeted enemy.
Unknown to Custer and his subordinates was the size, scope and fighting spirit of the Sioux at Little Bighorn. While he had received intelligence on the size of the encampment, such intelligence was conflicting and not usually completely reliable. Virtually no one, not in the Seventh Cavalry, not in the Army in general, and certainly not in the country at large, could possibly conceive of an Indian force capable of defeating Custer's army.
While the performance of Reno and Benteen can be faulted, and the later inquiry was certainly a stage managed farce, it is difficult to argue that alternate actions by the forces under their command could have done anything but expand the scope of the slaughter. Reno, a confirmed alcoholic who likely was drunk throughout the battle could have done little to improve the performance of the troops under his command once overwhelmed by vastly superior numbers. While his retreat and repositioning could have been more orderly and better executed, it did at least manage to save many of the soldiers in his command.
Benteen, on the other hand, in command of a fresh regiment and in possession of orders to advance and provide support for Custer's forces, somehow escaped as the hero of the battle. No explanation was ever provided as to why these orders were disregarded.
In any event, Custer's last stand and the Battle of Little Bighorn have become historical legend and provided the last gasp of the Lakota Sioux in the long effort of the United States government to subjogate the plains Indians and settle the Dakota Territory. This book is a very good overview of the events leading to and following that legendary clash.
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LibraryThing member noblechicken
A thorough and engaging book about the Battle of Little Bighorn, Custer, Sitting Bull and most all the parties involved in the Spring / Summer of 1876. Donovan does a wonderful job of setting up the political environment, the plight of the Native Americans, and the greed of the United States, all
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of these factors leading up to the Battle, which is covered with equal meticulousness, and finally the aftermath. Donovan's point of view seems to place fault on a lot of factors, not just the traditional Custer's ego; Officers Reno and Benteen's behaviors toward their superior officer, the lack of communications, the sheer numbers involved. Really a terrific read and perhaps the best book about the subject available without necessarily taking sides. Show Less
LibraryThing member jztemple
This is an excellent book in all respects, brilliantly structured and written. Extensively noted, almost exhaustively so, but the notes are definitely worth the reading, some are as fascinating as the main text. The author's decision to include a detailed look at the campaign as well as the battle
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is a great help to better understanding why things happened as they did. To anyone looking to read up on this battle, whether for casual reading or academic study, this book is the best place to start. Show Less
LibraryThing member teckelvik
I really enjoyed this. I've read other books on this battle, so I knew in advance what happened (see also - lived in the US my whole life, and generally considered sentient), but Donovan pulls it all together really well. Prior to this, I would have said Son of the Morning Star was my favorite book
Highly recommended.
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on this topic, but now I'd have to think about it. SOTMS is more lyrical, more free-ranging, but it really focusses on Custer. Terrible Glory gives us the other officers - Keogh, Benteen and Reno particularly, but not exclusively - with enough detail to give their place on the battlefield and the decisions they made there some context. He also goes into some detail about what happened to the major characters after the battle. Sadly, no one seems to have ended well, withe the possible exception of Libby Custer. She never remarried, even though she was still young, and spent her life campaigning for Custer's reputation, but she was sucessful, travelled widely, was respected and liked even by people who despised her husband, and died wealthy. At this point, I'm thinking that a biography of Libby would be well worth reading.Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member busterrll
A well written and well researched on George Armstrong Custer's feats and misdeeds with the American Indians. It is amazing as how when we read of these people a hundred years after the fact, we so clearly see their follies and errors. Definitely worth your time. Also some mental comparisons
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between the enlisted soldiers attitudes after the batles and our currently returning home veterans from the middle east is in order. We may label it differently but the outcome in the same. Show Less
LibraryThing member LyndaInOregon
I was a bit disappointed in this book, which I purchased after visiting the Custer Battlefield National Monument (highly recommended, by the way). There were, of course, dozens of books on offer there, and the docent who led our tour group there recommended this one. One of the selling points was
If such “details” were utilized in the book, they weren’t obvious. In fact, despite devoting a whopping 400 pages (plus extensive footnotes) to the buildup to and aftermath of the event, the section of the narrative on the battle itself is confusing and inconclusive. Much more ink is devoted to the actions of Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen, whose mutual failure to follow the battle plans sketched out by Custer played a large part in the Seventh Cavalry’s devastating loss. In a way, this may be excused – there were many survivors in the Reno and Benteen camp whose testimony painted a clear picture of both groups’ actions, while the lack of survivors among Custer’s contingent made firsthand testimony impossible. Native American testimony, however, has long been available and one wishes more use had been made of those sources.
Donovan does paint a broad canvas, however, and effectively places Custer’s campaign within the larger picture of American incursion into Native American lands. That may be the book’s greatest value to the amateur historian. The Battle at the Little Bighorn, and indeed the entire post-Civil War era of the Indian wars, did not occur in a vacuum, and Donovan evokes the era and its players with style.
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that Donovan was the first author to have access to the results of a 1984 forensic archaeological dig allowed on the battle site and which supposedly shed new light on details.If such “details” were utilized in the book, they weren’t obvious. In fact, despite devoting a whopping 400 pages (plus extensive footnotes) to the buildup to and aftermath of the event, the section of the narrative on the battle itself is confusing and inconclusive. Much more ink is devoted to the actions of Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen, whose mutual failure to follow the battle plans sketched out by Custer played a large part in the Seventh Cavalry’s devastating loss. In a way, this may be excused – there were many survivors in the Reno and Benteen camp whose testimony painted a clear picture of both groups’ actions, while the lack of survivors among Custer’s contingent made firsthand testimony impossible. Native American testimony, however, has long been available and one wishes more use had been made of those sources.
Donovan does paint a broad canvas, however, and effectively places Custer’s campaign within the larger picture of American incursion into Native American lands. That may be the book’s greatest value to the amateur historian. The Battle at the Little Bighorn, and indeed the entire post-Civil War era of the Indian wars, did not occur in a vacuum, and Donovan evokes the era and its players with style.
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LibraryThing member SCRH
I am not an expert on George Armstrong Custer by any means, but I have to say I have been very impressed by this book.
Potential readers should note that the book primarily covers the period in Custer's life which begins in Kansas, in October 1867, through Custer's defeat at the Little Bighorn, in
The author divides his work into four parts: I - Approach, II - Advance, III - Attack, and IV - Aftermath. Each part includes four to six chapters which are heavily end-noted. In fact, end-notes require 83 pages, and some of them are lengthy narratives. I encourage readers to read the end-notes, as they provide details that flesh-out and add value to the story.
The author includes numerous maps that help readers keep up with the locations of persons involved in the battle. Also in the middle of the book are 16 (unnumbered) pages of photos of key persons involved in the tragic event. There is an extensive bibliography and an excellent detailed index, which I referred to often.
I believe the author is even-handed in presenting the tragic story, but again, I am not a Custer expert. The fact that the book is fairly new (about 10 years old when I read it) is a plus in my mind. I would appreciate it if a reader of this little "review" who knows of a better book on the subject would let me know. In the meantime, I am glad to have received this book as a gift and have taken the time to read it.
Potential readers should note that the book primarily covers the period in Custer's life which begins in Kansas, in October 1867, through Custer's defeat at the Little Bighorn, in
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June 1876. In the book, roughly the first 54 pages recap Custer's life up to 1867, so persons desiring to learn a complete history lesson on Custer will need to read other materials.The author divides his work into four parts: I - Approach, II - Advance, III - Attack, and IV - Aftermath. Each part includes four to six chapters which are heavily end-noted. In fact, end-notes require 83 pages, and some of them are lengthy narratives. I encourage readers to read the end-notes, as they provide details that flesh-out and add value to the story.
The author includes numerous maps that help readers keep up with the locations of persons involved in the battle. Also in the middle of the book are 16 (unnumbered) pages of photos of key persons involved in the tragic event. There is an extensive bibliography and an excellent detailed index, which I referred to often.
I believe the author is even-handed in presenting the tragic story, but again, I am not a Custer expert. The fact that the book is fairly new (about 10 years old when I read it) is a plus in my mind. I would appreciate it if a reader of this little "review" who knows of a better book on the subject would let me know. In the meantime, I am glad to have received this book as a gift and have taken the time to read it.
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Subjects
Awards
Spur Award (Finalist — 2009)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008
Physical description
544 p.; 5.5 inches
ISBN
0316067474 / 9780316067478
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