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Title: The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars by Thom Hatch ISBN: 0-8117-0477-7 Publisher: Stackpole Books Pub. Date: 10 August, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: With a vividly presented history of the Plains Indian Wars
Comment: The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide To The Life Of George Armstrong Custer And The Plains Indian Wars by historian and Custer expert Thom Hatch combines an informative biography of George Armstrong Custer with a vividly presented history of the Plains Indian Wars. The Custer Companion covers The Surrender Flag Controversy; Custer's Mad Dash across Kansas; Wild Bill's Showdown with Tom Custer; Red Cloud's War; The Sand Creek Massacre; The Russian Grand Duke's Buffalo Hunt; The Arrest and Revenge of Rain-in-the-Face; The Midnight Ride of Charley Reynolds; and a wealth of other aspects of "Custeriana". Solid, straightforward text enhanced with numerous sidebars going into little-known details, as well as a profusion of black-and-white photographs coupled with the results of an exhaustive research, makes The Custer Companion an indispensable resource for anyone studying one of America's most colorful (and controversial) military figures of the 19th century -- a man whose turbulent character and impact on American frontier history evokes renewed interest in every new generation of Americans.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great Overview, Bios, Maps and References for Futher Reading
Comment: This is a well detailed overview of the life of General Custer from his roots to the aftermath of the LBH. The book is interlaced with a 100 or more biographies of all the key people associated with from family, soldiers, scouts, and politicians to Native Americans. The bios are outstanding and they fill in some holes even for the seasoned Custerphile. One example is the bio on Dr. Coates, the surgeon who served with Custer in Kansas and. Coates was a key witness on Custer's behalf in reference to the charge that he denied medical treatment for deserters. The bio covers Coates' short army career before and after the incident including his post army life. Another is Colonel Sturgis, the actual Colonel and actual commander of the 7th, who typically was on assignment or administrative duties deferring field command to Custer. In addition, when referencing a particular individual or place or battle, Hatch provides a detailed bibliography on the person or topic. When I read of the controversy regarding Custer's 1867 court-martial, the listed references led me to Lawrence Frost's detailed book on the subject. In addition to the bios sprinkled throughout the book are quotes by the General himself, which are highlighted outside the regular text, which adds depth to what Custer was feeling at that point in his history. It's also quite clear that he and Libby had one of the closest relationships in history. Although there may be more detailed works on the various prime subjects of Custer's life, this book captures it very well and closes ranks on information with people that intersected Custer's life from Reno, Benteen, Tom Custer, Belknap, Crazy Horse, Two Moons, Keough, Calhoun, Weir, Godfrey, Sitting Bull, Gall, Crazy Horse, Curley and on. The biographies sometimes seem a little redundant since they often overlap the text but they are well worth it. My only criticism was that there was not more on Lt. Wallace who was the timekeeper during the LBH command. Wallace appears to have aided and abetted Benteen and Reno at Reno's Court Martial. The fun part is at the conclusion of the LBH the author adds a little argument by critiquing other authors' views in what happened to Custer's brigade and he comes up with his own plausible theory. In Hatch's book, Reno and Benteen are held accountable for their wrong actions or inactions. A very good perspective and well worth reading as it even includes a review of the final Plains Indian campaigns.
Rating: 4
Summary: More Than an Afternoon in June: The Custer Companion
Comment: Although "The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars" is an invaluable collection of source materials on the life lived by the flamboyant and enigmatic General George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876), the book once again reminds us that the life of one man came down to ONE battle waged on a Montana hillside on June 25, 1876. If you were hoping to find a narrative of Custer's life, I would recommend Jeffry K. Wert's "Custer" as a first source and using Hatch's book as a source to garner further information.
Although the Battle of the Little Big Horn and Custer's remarkable failure there has seared the youngest general in United States' history image indelibly on the American imagination, the "myth", to the average 19th Century American was created long before that tragedy. It is the life lived during the American Civil War that provides fodder for the tragedy we recognize as a life cut short, a promise unfullfilled, and it is Custer's early life which is lacking in Hatch's narrative. I found an almost Custer-like impatience by the author in "The Custer Companion. . ." to get to the "big" story and it is this impatience that may contribute to some historical inaccuracies and a noted thinness in Custer's life story before the Plains Indian Wars.
The information on the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the numerous personalities that were factors in Custer's life story is, without a doubt, wonderful. But if you seek to "know" the man on his swift climb to prominence, "The Custer Companion. . ." would not be my first choice.
Use "The Custer Companion. . ." as a warehouse of bibiliographic material, but do not use it as a foundation for an introduction to one of the most fascinating figures in American history.
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Title: Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn: An Encyclopedia of the People, Places, Events, Indian Culture and Customs, Information Sources, Art and Films by Thom Hatch ISBN: 0786409649 Publisher: McFarland & Company Pub. Date: November, 2000 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Encyclopedia of Indian Wars: Western Battles and Skirmishes 1850-1890 by Gregory F. Michno ISBN: 0878424687 Publisher: Mountain Press Publishing Company Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of Little Bighorn by Douglas D. Scott, Richard A., Jr. Fox, Melissa A. Connor, Dick Harmon ISBN: 0806132922 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: September, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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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: Lakota Noon: The Indian Narrative of Custer's Defeat by Gregory F. Michno ISBN: 0878423494 Publisher: Mountain Press Publishing Company Pub. Date: August, 1997 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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