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Product Description
Review
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
"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
Book Description
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.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
All you could ever want to know and more . . .,
By
This review is from: The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (Hardcover)
This blow-by-blow account of Custer's last stand, alternating as it does between the perspective of Sitting Bull and Custer, is a strong candidate for "best popular account" and perhaps the "if you only read one book on this, read this one." The story aspect is very important to Philbrick and he unfolds the narrative as much like a drama as possible, getting into every conceivable detail and trying to tease out who was really responsible for what, and ultimately, why exactly did it all happen?Philbrick humanizes both Sitting Bull and Custer in a commendable way, leaving us with a better sense of the flesh-and-blood behind the dubious legends that quickly came to stand in the public imagination. Perhaps what suffers most here is that the detailed analysis ultimately doesn't lend itself to a strong big picture understanding of what was happening. Its very likely that the ultimate reduction of the Sioux to confinement on reserves was not strongly impacted by this battle - the disappearance of the buffalo from the plains was the decisive factor. However, as Philbrick points out, the Sioux have not disappeared, and they still have a preserved sense of culture and identity, so to view them as a defeated people is actually rather near-sighted. The results of military encounters do not a defeated or victorious people make. If you've not read Philbrick's other books, I would suggest reading Mayflower before this one, simply because its better. If you liked Mayflower, you'll very likely enjoy this book as well, since Philbrick employs a similar narrative method, albeit mostly confined to a shorter passage of time.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reads as a Fast-Paced Novel,
By
This review is from: The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (Hardcover)
This is my first book on the battle and Philbrick brings it to life with great clarity. No one debates the importance of the event or the inability of history to reveal what actually happened but the author does an incredible job delivering a compelling narrative from fact, witness confusion, and credible supposition (much like speculating on the Franklin expedition).One thing Philbrick cannot avoid is that "true prodigy of war - charismatic, quirky, and fearless" - none other than Colonel George Custer. As the author points out "Custer was more of a cultural lightning rod than a historical figure, an icon instead of man." But he does chip away at the hyperbole and saint-making that has made Custer a significant figure in American history. On the other side of the battle is, of course, Sitting Bull. He too has been oversimplified in many ways but Philbrick shares him as a spiritual and sympathetic leader who carried the burden of the loss of his way of life. These two eventually died alongside family members with Sitting Bull losing a son and brother at his later death and Custer dying at the battle with two brothers, a brother-in-law, and a nephew. The book is replete with other interesting facts like; 40% of the 7th Calvary were born outside the US, one gold mine in the contested Black Hills yielded an estimated $1 billion over the next hundred years, the practice of Counting Coup, though Custer was called "Long Hair" by his adversaries he was actually going bald, Custer finished last in his class at West Point yet experienced a meteoric rise in stature and rank when in battle, and Custer's brother Tom who died in the battle was the only soldier in the American Civil War to win two Medals of Honor. Given that this was one of the greatest defeats in American military history, analysis and debate will carry on and on. I especially enjoyed learning about Custer's subordinate officers Frederick Benteen and Marcus Reno who may or may not have reacted well tactically when confronted with their leader's obvious strategic flaws of underestimating the strength of the enemy and splitting his forces. As the author points out the battle "is much like an unsolvable crossword puzzle: a conundrum that can sustain a lifetime of scrutiny and debate." This book is a fine contribution to that debate.
5.0 out of 5 stars
300 years...,
By Regnal "caretaker" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (Hardcover)
..had passed before white people managed to end the Natives lifestyle.This masterpiece by Nathaniel Philbrick (who keeps writing extraordinary books) presents the symbolic struggle of Lakota/Cheyenne and their last confrontation with the invaders. Even when I was a small boy, I heard about Sitting Bull and Custer. But now, after many years, I have finally learned the details and significance of this tragic battle. The book is so colorful and vivid that I could not stop reading. I still cannot stop thinking about characters and people involved, those who died and survived. I endlessly wonder whether the whole story could have less dramatic conclusion. Probably not..as history teaches us repeatedly about English-Indian relations; check titles in chronological order: "Mayflower" (end of East Coast tribes), "The War that Made America" (fate of Mohawks and other Great Lakes People), "Blood and Thunder" (subduing Navajo Nation) and "Empire of the Summer Moon" (pacification of Comanche).
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