Mr. Skimin's book is not for people who have in-depth knowledge of the Little Big Horn; but I don't think it's for people who don't know much about it, either.

There is too much low-skill novelizing. Too many real people brought in just to make a book, mixed in with invented folk who read like cliches. The true and known stories from 1876 are strong enough without inventing sex in the tipi (Indian side), the jocular inventions in the Bismark brothel (soldier side), and the invented conversations between the Custers (tho fortunately Skimin does draw the veil with Autie and Libbie). And why use a real person's name and make him a racist/sadist if you're going to invent a Jewish victim? Why not invent the sadist too? That didn't seem fair to the real sergeant. Mr. Skimin willingly invented half a dozen Indians and gave them leading roles. Why not the sadist?

Aside from mixing up Miles and Myles, at the end of the book the man we've come to know and admire as Frederick Benteen suddenly becomes Thomas Benteen. Fred's brother was there? Clearly there was no editor on this project, but Mr. Skimin must have been napping when he read the galleys.

Mr. Skimin did a very good job of building a narrative around Custer's last winter. This may be the first time I can tell you where he was from December to May 1876, and I've read everyone from van de Water to Utley.

But I didn't appreciate the fictionalized last stand, with Keogh or Keough being run through by our Indian hero, nor the detailed inventions of how many times Tom Custer was shot or that Cooke was shot twice and also hit with an arrow. The book just isn't written well enough to make that stuff work. For someone who did that fine, try Hoffman Birney's "The Dice of God."

You can tell this book by it's cover. The photo of Custer is from the Civil War. He was photographed many times on the frontier. Why not use a photo more appropriate to the book? I don't know.

I was compelled to buy this book because of my long-standing interest in the conflicts between the whites and the Indians. This fictional novel, based on historical events, was found to be extremely light. Robert Skimin fleshed out characters, at times, in odd ways. I especially disliked the way real people were saddled with sexual, sadistic, and/or prejudicial characteristics. At times characters seemed to be introduced in a helter skelter manner just to add to the list of real people that he included in the novel. In places, I felt, he mixed combinations of traits just to add a new twist. For example, he had a former Jewish Russian solder, who was a black belt in Judo, defend himself against a sadistic, bigoted and not too bright sargent. Robert Skimin did stay with the historical facts surrounding General Custer and the events that led up to his defeat at the Little Bighorn but as a whole any grade school history student could have easily gotten the same information about the Sioux, Cheyenne, and the 7th Calvary.

Also recommended: Custer's Luck, Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas, Killing Custer, Black Elk Speaks, The Road to the Little Big Horn-and Beyond,

This book is a blend of fiction and history, but works better as history than as fiction. The dialogue is stilted. An example: Custer says to his wife Libbie, "You are uncommonly wanton, Madame." Libbie responds, "I like that term, you handsome devil, but you didn't answer me." (p 5) In addition, the characters are little more than caricatures, so the reader does not really get involved with them.

As history, the book demonstrates that Custer's decisions were arguably defensible based on the information he had--in one sense, "Custer's luck" had simply run out and the fates worked against him. All things considerred, though, Custer was responsible for the disaster because he was an egomaniac who, thinking he was invincible, recklessly entered into a battle he could not win. Although the book does a decent job of presenting the catastrophe from various perspectives, the book shows signs of carelessness. A minor but telling example is that the spelling constantly alternates between "Miles" and "Myles" Keough.

The River and the Horsemen will appeal to people interested in Custer's last stand, but will not hold the interest of the general reader.

this book covers a fair number of small rivers in new jersey. It has lots of background information on the towns they run through, but it seems to be aimed more at people who are "exploring" the rivewrs by driving near them in a car. If you're really interested in canoeng in New Jersey get Edward Gertler's Garden State Canoeing-it's fantastic and covers details about every conoeable stream in the state. This book (Exploring....) is better for sight seeing.

I have to admit, I had only a half-hearted attraction to the topic. When I first picked up this book I was curious, but skeptical if it would grab and hold my interest. What this little book has to offer is a bit surprising. The casual observer can learn towboat terminology and get a closer glimpse of what the job is like, all told with mild humor from the author. In the back there is a list of frequently spotted towboats and a little information about them.
If you have a secret fascination with river traffic and are curious to know more about what you see. This book is for you.