Mr. Riggs does an excellent job of putting the battle of Gettysburg in its proper light. The battle was won on the East Cavalry Field by Custer. Had he not held off Stuart,with Fitzhugh Lee and Wade Hamptons cavalry, Pickett's charge would have broken through the Union defenses and the South could have won the war. It was Custer that stopped the Confederate forces from coming behind the northern troops and causing a panic as Pickett's men were charging.

Richard "Dutch" Hardorff is one of the most thorough and objective students of General Custer's "last stand". His love of the truth and respect for the Indian tribes and their homeland is inspiring. His writing is captivating and fresh, especially considering the extensive treatment of the subject. Mr. Hardorff provides a lively and thought-provoking perspective that one would never get from the 'history' books. Truly an exceptional book and consistent with his fine other writings.

This book was entertaining as well as historically enlightening. It provides the reader with an interseting look at see the "politics" at work in the midst of what oftentimes seems to us as a cut-and-dried period in our Nation's history. It certainly adds dimension to the reader's perception of that era.

I truly enjoyed the pristine and perceptive photography combined with the accompanying narrative. This is a work of substance and a good companion for one planning a visit to this location. If one cannot visit in person, I highly recommend visiting via this outstanding publication. Mr. Raventon and Mr. Horsted are to be commended for their contribution to capturing this piece of the natural history of this fascinating area.

Don Horn's book finally portrays General George Armstrong Custer accurately as one of the great heroes in US military history. Instead of learning history from modern-day revisionists, Mr. Horn's research and factual accounts taken from peers of Custer capture the feelings of the day of Custer. Portrait of a General takes you back one hundred years and allows you to hear first-hand what the people who really knew Custer thought of him. Their comments indicate Custer was truly an American hero.

The cover photograph of the markers of where Custer and his troopers fell on "Last Stand Hill" at the Little Bighorn Battlefield is a great choice because what makes the battlefield unique are all those white markers, scattered across several acres. Unlike other national parks established at battlefields, such as Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, at the Little Bighorn you get a visual sense for the battle. The largest group of markers is on Last Stand Hill, just below the monument on top of the mass grave of the troopers of the 7th Calvary.

Beyond the cover photograph the strength of R. Conrad Stein's juvenile history of "The Battle of the Little Bighorn" is how the battle is put in historical perspective. Stein's perspective is that the battle represents the only time the Indians successfully defended their homeland against white settlement. Stein relates how the search for gold in the Black Hills put the prospectors and miners on a collision course with the Lakota tribes, making war on the Great Plains inevitable. The campaign of 1876 and the Battle at Rosebud Creek set the stage for what happened to Custer at the Little Bighorn. The battle itself is sketched out in terms of the major elements and my only reservations about this book are that Stein pretty much takes it easy on Custer. It was his standard tactic to attack a village and start killing the women and children to make the braves surrender; this was what he was trying to do that day only he had grossly underestimated the size of the village he was attacking. Stein relates how Custer was considered a hero and does nothing to seriously challenge that idea in this volume.

The aftermath of the battle is covered in only a couple of paragraphs and Stein ends with the observation that whatever the two sides might think about the battle, they both agree the battlefield is a sacred site because of all those who lost their lives. This book is illustrated with not only contemporary color photographs of the battlefield, but historic photos and illustrations of the participants and the battle. Like all of the volumes in the Cornerstones of Freedom series this is an excellent place for teachers and students alike to find out more details about key events in American History that go well beyond what little can be found in your standard textbook. You should also check out "It Is A Good Die to Die: Indian Eyewitnesses Tell the Story of the Battle of the Little Bighorn."

I found this book highly informative. It gives the names and tells about the backgrounds of each trooper and civilian involved in the 7th Cavalry. It tells where each one is from, what they did for a living before the Army, where they enlisted, and which officer they served. I enjoy this book so much because it lists one of my ancestors. It's a must for anyone studying Custer, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and Western or Montana history.

This brick has over 600 pages but it's never a tedious read. Reaching the pinnacle of the Plainsmen-series in this volume Terry Johnston wades deep into history and excels with his impressive knowledge of the area and the correct historical facts. Little known history is restored and fictionalized without, looking from a historical perspective, loosing its truth, a feat Johnston has not always succeded in. The only tiny fault is that Johnston repeats himself too often at the end of the novel, repeating word by word a earlier paragraph, clearly something the editor should've discovered before it was printed. ****(*) on the barometer.