new Little Bighorn Book

[history nut]

Just finished the new book on Little Bighorn, Custer and Sitting Bull titled "The Last Stand" by Nathaniel Philbrick (2010, Viking). Pretty good read for those who like to study the LBH battle. This has some new (at least new to me) first person recollections from the Army/scout perspective as well as some new-to-me info from the Native American perspective as well. Perhaps the best parts were the portions about the riverboat Far West and her master (stuff I'd never bothered to learn about) and the descriptions and detail of the march to LBH and the comparison of tactics used by both sides in the years leading up to LBH and how they were attempted again, or discarded, for the battle itself. Anyway, pretty good stuff if you're interested...

[SpeedyHedgehog]

I was looking forward to reading that, but when I saw it at Borders today I didn't have the money to buy it :-(. I was surprised to see it was #8 on the New York Times bestseller list.

[KB]

Read "Son of the Morning Star" by Evan S. Connell, which has been considered the classic work on LBH until Philbrick's book. Great review on "The Last Stand" and another new book on the Comanche tribe in today's NYT.

[history nut]

"Son" is indeed an excellent account. I've been waiting for a more contemporary work and think that the Philbrick book fit the bill pretty well.

Speedy - I was lucky in that my local library had a copy - may want to look there and save the $.

[SpeedyHedgehog]

Speedy - I was lucky in that my local library had a copy - may want to look there and save the $.
Funny you should mention that. I was in the library yesterday but didn't even look for it, "assuming" they wouldn't have it. I just checked online and discovered they DO have it, but it's checked out. Now I have to hope whoever has it is a quick reader:).

[miguelencanarias]

I have heard so many different versions (some of them downright revisionists) that I don't know what to think anymore of Little Bighorn. Some claim there wasn't even a last stand.

[KB]

According to Native American sources it was all over in a matter of a few minutes. Custer and his forces were overwhelmed quickly. There was a show on National Geographic a few years ago where forensic experts examined the debris trail of artifacts from the fight (spent rounds, arrowheads, belt buckles, buttons, pieces of belts and saddles, etc) and basically concluded there was really no "Last Stand".