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The Last Stand

Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Aug 26, 2019ryner rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed Philbrick's previous book 'In the Heart of the Sea' a while back, so I added this to my to-read pile. In it he details, with as much accuracy as can be discerned nearly 150 years later, the events and decisions (and egos!) leading up to The Battle of the Little Bighorn. The logistics of just how the hostility went down were interesting and educational. However, I had read 'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee' a number of years back, and therefore couldn't help but bring to this reading experience a cloud of sadness, hopelessness and anger. While I don't remember the specifics regarding what I may have learned about Custer as part of our public school history curriculum, his cultural legacy as a result of his involvement in Little Bighorn certainly feels like that of a fallen hero. And like so many near-legendary figures whose deeds have become larger than life, let's just say that the real Custer isn't so deserving of anyone's adulation.