The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (Wheeler Large Print Book Series)

the Bestselling Author Of mayflower Sheds New Light On One Of The Iconic Stories Of The American West little Bighorn And Custer Are Names Synonymous In The American Imagination With Unmatched Bravery And Spectacular Defeat. Mythologized As Custer's Last Stand, The June 1876 Battle Has Been Equated With Other Famous Last Stands, From The Spartans' Defeat At Thermopylae To Davy Crockett At The Alamo. in His Tightly Structured Narrative, Nathaniel Philbrick Brilliantly Sketches The Two Larger-than-life Antagonists: Sitting Bull, Whose Charisma And Political Savvy Earned Him The Position Of Leader Of The Plains Indians, And George Armstrong Custer, One Of The Union's Greatest Cavalry Officers And A Man With A Reputation For Fearless And Often Reckless Courage. Philbrick Reminds Readers That The Battle Of The Little Bighorn Was Also, Even In Victory, The Last Stand For The Sioux And Cheyenne Indian Nations. Increasingly Outraged By The Government's Indian Policies, The Plains Tribes Allied Themselves And Held Their Ground In Southern Montana. Within A Few Years Of Little Bighorn, However, All The Major Tribal Leaders Would Be Confined To Indian Reservations. throughout, Philbrick Beautifully Evokes The History And Geography Of The Great Plains With His Characteristic Grace And Sense Of Drama. The Last Stand Is A Mesmerizing Account Of The Archetypal Story Of The American West, One That Continues To Haunt Our Collective Imagination. The Barnes & Noble Review philbrick's Research Seems To Have Led Him To Some Tantalizing New Finds, But How Much the Last Stand Adds To The Agreed-on Facts Is A Judgment Best Left To Those Most Steeped In The Lore. As Literature, It Isn't In A Class With The Most Acclaimed Of All Custer Books: Evan S. Connell's 1984 son Of The Morning Star , to Which Philbrick Pays Due Tribute In His Notes. Yet Connell's Treatment Of The Material Was Primarily A Triumph Of Style, And His Saturnine Reductiveness Had A Grating Side. Less Ostentatiously Aestheticized And More Compassionate, Philbrick's Account Is A Better Introduction For Readers Who Want A Clear Picture Of What Happened And Why We Obsess About It.

• Watch a video

Read discussion questions for The Last Stand.

The bestselling author of Mayflower sheds new light on one of the iconic stories of the American West

Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer's Last Stand, the June 1876 battle has been equated with other famous last stands, from the Spartans' defeat at Thermopylae to Davy Crockett at the Alamo.

In his tightly structured narrative, Nathaniel Philbrick brilliantly sketches the two larger-than-life antagonists: Sitting Bull, whose charisma and political savvy earned him the position of leader of the Plains Indians, and George Armstrong Custer, one of the Union's greatest cavalry officers and a man with a reputation for fearless and often reckless courage. Philbrick reminds readers that the Battle of the Little Bighorn was also, even in victory, the last stand for the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian nations. Increasingly outraged by the government's Indian policies, the Plains tribes allied themselves and held their ground in southern Montana. Within a few years of Little Bighorn, however, all the major tribal leaders would be confined to Indian reservations.

Throughout, Philbrick beautifully evokes the history and geography of the Great Plains with his characteristic grace and sense of drama. The Last Stand is a mesmerizing account of the archetypal story of the American West, one that continues to haunt our collective imagination.

From the moment Lieutenant Colonel George Custer galloped out of sight on June 25, 1876, controversy commenced and continues, inspiring an immense and often minutiae-minded literature about the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Riding to the rescue of overwhelmed history buffs, Philbrick applies the skills of narrative synthesis that have produced best-sellers (Mayflower, 2006) and may do so again with this title. His storytelling ability especially challenged by this subject—for surviving evidence does not permit an unassailable reconstruction of Custer’s actions—Philbrick produces a fascinating integration of known fact and defensible speculation that should rivet his audience. Shifting between the movements of Custer’s cavalry regiment and the Cheyenne and Lakota village it was approaching, Philbrick both quickens the pace and flashes back to the lives of the principal characters in the drama: Custer; his subordinate officers Frederick Benteen and Marcus Reno; and on the Indian side, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Although in the aftermath of Custer’s annihilation, contemporary American blame fell on the dead man, Philbrick arraigns Reno (for being intoxicated) and Benteen (for being slow to link up with Custer). However, Philbrick keeps hold of a hint that Custer let Reno attack unsupported so as to garner the glory for himself. Evoking such tantalizing details, as well as the fight’s tragic context of being the Plains Indians’ own last stand, Philbrick delivers a compellingly readable rendition of the famous battle 'An engrossing and tautly written account of a critical chapter in American history.'--Los Angeles Times Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Hurricane's Eye, Pulitzer Prize finalist Mayflower, and Valiant Ambition, is a historian with a unique ability to bring history to life. The Last Stand is Philbrick's monumental reappraisal of the epochal clash at the Little Bighorn in 1876 that gave birth to the legend of Custer's Last Stand. Bringing a wealth of new information to his subject, as well as his characteristic literary flair, Philbrick details the collision between two American icons- George Armstrong Custer and Sitting Bull-that both parties wished to avoid, and brilliantly explains how the battle that ensued has been shaped and reshaped by national myth. Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer's Last Stand, the June 1876 battle was also, even in victory, the last stand for the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian nations. The author sketches in details about the two larger-than-life antagonists: Sitting Bull, and George Armstrong Custer At the flood The dream Hard ass The dance The scout The blue pencil line The approach The crow's nest Into the valley The charge To the hill Still point The forsaken Grazing his horses The last stand The river of nightmares. **The bestselling author of __Mayflower__ sheds new light on one of the iconic stories of the American West**