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Title: Custer: Cavalier in Buckskin by Robert Marshall Utley, Robert M. ISBN: 0-8061-3347-3 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: June, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: Do we need a revised edition?
Comment: The earlier paperback edition of Cavalier was the first book I read about Custer. At the time I was expecting Utley to take a strong stand as to whether Custer was a brilliant Indian-fighting hero, or an egomaniacal upstart. So I found the objective style and even-handed treatment a little disappointing. However, several years and books later, I have come to see this as the best book on Custer and LBH ever written, mainly because of his refusal to approach the subject with the pre-conceived notions others have.
Utley neither lauds Custer, nor does he cast blame. He makes it clear that Custer may have been somewhat over-rated in his Indian fighting abilities. Though he allows that he had gained a lot of knowledge of Plains warfare and might have become equal to the likes of Miles or Crook, had he lived. He points out that Custer did ignore the scouts who told him of the great number of warriors present in the camp on LBH. However, he also notes that Custer was not unlike other military leaders of the time in under estimating the fighting abilities of Indians, and therefore did not think that numbers really mattered. While he feels that Reno and Benteen did not support Custer as they could have, he also feels that not enough credit is given to the idea that the Indians merely outfought them all.
Of course, this was all included in the earlier editions. So the obvious question is, do you need to read the revised edition. This depends on what you're looking for.
With a few small exceptions the text remains the same. Utley has made a few changes based on later research, especially work by Larry Sklenar, but his overall theories have not changed. Also, for those interested in further reading, he has augmented his list of sources.
The main difference in the editions is physical. This is definitely "over-sized," fitted better to a coffee table than a bookshelf. And it is filled with illustrations, many of which seem to have been chosen more to improve the lay-out than for their applicability to the text. Take for example the photo of a Buffalo Soldier with the caption, "Custer disapproved of black soldiers...." (p.45) Or the photo of modern-day cadets at West Point captioned, "Cadet Custer had 726 demerits...."(p.22) And, of course, there are more portraits of Custer and renditions of LBH than one would ever dream existed.
My suggestion would be that, if you're a collector of Custeriana, or simply the type who likes to impress your guests with your choice of books, you might want to purchase this and place it somewhere prominent in your home. Otherwise you'd do just as well to stick with the paperback version.
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Title: Custer and the Great Controversy: The Origin and Development of a Legend by Robert M. Utley, Brian W. Dippie ISBN: 0803295618 Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr Pub. Date: March, 1998 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Archaeology, History, and Custer's Last Battle: The Little Big Horn Reexamined by Richard Allan, Jr Fox, W. Raymond Wood ISBN: 0806129980 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.16 |
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Title: They Died With Custer: Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn by Douglas D. Scott, P. Willey, P. Willey ISBN: 0806130954 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: My Life on the Plains: Or Personal Experiences With the Indians by George Armstrong Custer ISBN: 080611357X Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: February, 1977 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Custer Myth by W. A. Graham ISBN: 0811727262 Publisher: Stackpole Books Pub. Date: July, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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