The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn

by Nathaniel Philbrick Narrated by George Guidall

Overview

The bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea (Winner of the National Book Award) the forthcoming Valiant Ambition (May 2016), 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.

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

A master storyteller's vivid take on "one of the most notorious military disasters in U.S. history."In the centennial year of 1876, President Grant, intentionally slighting George Armstrong Custer, placed General Alfred Terry in command of the Seventh Cavalry's campaign to force Sitting Bull's Sioux and Cheyenne followers out of the Black Hills and onto reservations. For Custer, the country's most famous Indian fighter, a greater indignity awaited. Philbrick fans, accustomed to his invigorating treatments of American history, will happily recognize an unaltered talent for fresh insight as he tackles one of the most written-about events ever: the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The author opens with an unexpected story about the riverboat journey of legendary pilot Grant Marsh up the Missouri and Yellowstone tributaries to provision the Seventh Cavalry and closes by following the harrowing return in the battle's aftermath that carried wounded soldiers to the Dakota Territory's Fort Lincoln. Philbrick (Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, 2006, etc.) dwells instructively on the importance of the strikingly peculiar landscape-the rolling hills, depressions, heat and dust that contributed so mightily to the usual fog of war. The author frankly acknowledges the difficulty of piecing together the battle's details, weighing contemporaneous accounts against those collected well after, resolving repeated inconsistencies as to how it unfolded. He establishes confidence in his judgments, however, by his meticulous portraits of the chief antagonists, rejecting caricatures of Custer, from blameless martyr to vainglorious fool, and of Sitting Bull, from murdering savage to Native-Americansaint. Philbrick supplements his nuanced appraisal of each man-they had surprising similarities-with deft depictions of subordinate players, including the drunken Major Reno, the brave but vindictive Captain Benteen and the calculating Terry, more responsible than any single individual, the author persuasively argues, for the calamity. A stirring, perceptive retelling of an endless fascinating battle. Agent: Stuart Krichevsky/Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency

Publishers Weekly

Philbrick here takes on an oft-told tale, replete with its dashing, flawed main character, its historically doomed, noble Native chief, and a battlefield strewn with American corpses. While off his usual stride with a surfeit of unnecessary detail, bestselling author and National Book Award–winner Philbrick (In the Heart of the Sea; The Mayflower) writes a lively narrative that brushes away the cobwebs of mythology to reveal the context and realities of Custer's unexpected 1876 defeat at the hands of his Indian enemies under Sitting Bull, and the character of each leader. Judicious in his assessments of events and intentions, Philbrick offers a rounded history of one of the worst defeats in American military history, a story enhanced by his minute examination of the battle's terrain and interviews with descendants in both camps. Distinctively, too, he takes no sides. In his compelling history, Philbrick underscores the pyrrhic nature of Sitting Bull's victory—it was followed by federal action to move his tribe to a reservation. 32 pages of b&w photos, 18 pages of color photos, 18 maps. (May 4)

From the Publisher

"An engrossing, thoughtfully researched, and tautly written account of a critical chapter ni American history."
—Los Angeles Times

"An evocative and cinematic narrative."
—The New York Times

"A carefully historical account that is also a ripping good yarn."
—The Wall Street Journal

Praise for Mayflower, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History

"Vivid and remarkably fresh...Philbrick has recast the Pilgrims for our age of searching and turmoil."
—The New York Times Book Review

"A signal achievement. Philbrick enlightens and even astounds."
—Salon.com

Praise for Sea of Glory, winner of the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize

"Brilliantly told...has to be among the best nonfiction books of this or any other year."
—Los Angeles Time Book Review

"A breathtaking account of one of history's greatest adventures."
—Entertainment Weekly

Booklist

[A] compellingly readable rendition of the famous battle . . . that should rivet [Philbrick's] audience.

Library Journal

After 2006's eye-opening account of the fanatical Pilgrims in Mayflower, Philbrick tackles another American legend. Neither the golden-haired general nor the Indian chief here is the bloodthirsty warmonger often portrayed in other accounts. Both are top soldiers and natural leaders zealously looking out for their respective peoples' interests. There have been so many contrasting accounts from both sides over the years that's it's difficult to get a truthful picture of what transpired on June 25, 1876, along the banks of the Little Bighorn River. There was also such infighting and backstabbing among Custer's senior officers that even their accounts are highly suspect. Philbrick therefore incorporates multiple perspectives for a very round portrait of events. Custer's fatal errors were in divvying up his already meager lot of mostly inexperienced troops into smaller units for a multiangled attack and launching an assault without first appraising the behemoth enemy force. VERDICT More than a detailed chronology of events—at which it excels—this book is an in-depth portrait of the two combatants—it's Sitting Bull's story as much as Custer's. Both shared tragic and triumphant lives indelibly woven into the fabric of American lore. Philbrick humanizes history, not only putting a recognizable face on the players in one of our nation's most notorious events but also providing insight into their hearts and minds. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/10.]—Mike Rogers, Library Journal

JUNE 2010 - AudioFile

Nathaniel Philbrick brings a sailor's eye and an extraordinary knowledge of nineteenth-century maritime life to the landlocked tragedy of Custer and Sitting Bull. It’s hard to miss the parallels between Custer’s fate and that of the sailors on the ill-fated whaling ship ESSEX, as recounted in Philbrick’s notable IN THE HEART OF THE SEA. In THE LAST STAND, the polyglot army on the alien plains acts and drinks like the crew of a whaling ship. Philbrick sorts through the extensive and often-contradictory evidence of what happened at the Little Bighorn. Much of his narrative focuses on accounts of the battle. George Guidall provides an avuncular delivery as he tells the long and complicated story in a gruff, clear, and unhurried voice. Understanding what happened at the Little Bighorn requires a map. There are many available on the Internet. F.C. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169437997
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	05/04/2010
Edition description:	Unabridged

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