Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors: Amazon.ca: Stephen E. Ambrose: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Military historian Ambrose examines the connections between the Indian chief and the cavalry officer who fought at Little Bighorn.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Ingram

A dual portrait of the leader of the Oglala Sioux and the general of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry in 1876 cites the battle of June 25 and chronicles the sometimes striking similarities in the lives of both men. Reprint. LJ. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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First Sentence
The Great Plains of North America, on a cloudless day, stretch out forever under an infinity of bright blue sky. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index

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Customer Reviews

34 Reviews

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3 star:		(3)
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4.1 out of 5 stars (34 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars American Warriors, May 26 2004

By A Customer

In Crazy Horse and Custer the Parallel Lives Of Two American Warriors, Ambrose does a very good job of telling the life stories of the two warriors. He also makes this book very readable. He does not just state the information he really tells the story of the two men.
It starts on the plains of Nebraska. Ambrose writes about the Native American lifestyle and you can begin to see why our culture and theirs clashed so much. Then he talks of the culture in the United States during the 1800's. After that Ambrose begins to tell of the two warriors during their childhood, and then each of their separate journeys to manhood.
Ambrose keeps the readers interested throughout the whole book by going into great and gruesome details about the battles that each Crazy Horse and Custer had been involved in. The climax of the book was the Battle for Little Big Horn. I just could not put down the book he started out describing the battle by stating the mistakes that Custer had made, such as underestimating the power of the Native American forces. Then Amborse explains where Custer was and where Crazy Horse was and how Custer was caught on his flank by Crazy Horse. This book really made the history of Crazy Horse and Custer come alive.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heroes on the open prairie in 1876, Jan 17 2004

By	Simon Laub (Aarhus, Denmark, Europe) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors (Paperback)

The story of Crazy Horse and Custer is the story of two men, two societies and two ways of life. The story of the Sioux and those who tried to destroy them.
And when Ambrose tells the story you really get the feeling that this is all about us today. How we became who we are.

When Custer looked on a virgin forest, he envisioned sawmills, houses being build etc. Custer believed in progress, in the doctrine that things are going to be better.
Crazy Horse on the other hand saw the trees as they were at that moment. He lived in that moment. For Custer events marched forward, onward and upward. For Crazy Horse things were done because thats the way they had always been done.
Indeed, the European thought that a man should and could improve his station in life would have made little sense to Crazy Horse.

Ambrose lets us know that Custer might have been a buffoon, but he died for the thing called progress, the thing we, whites, also believes in.
Along the way we also get to know Crazy Horse, his love for Black Buffalo Women and his people, the Sioux. And it does seem just that Crazy Horse could outnumber and outmaneuver Custer on what is now Custers hill.
One final indian victory before the end.

An epic story where every little detail Stephen Ambrose tells us just makes us want more. A brilliant book!

-Simon

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5.0 out of 5 stars Custer, April 3 2004

By	Jeff Sartain "Jeff" (Olive Branch, MS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors (Paperback)

Very interersting book about the blind luck that Custer had in life that failed him in the end. Interesting points about the life style of Native Americans. Well written like all of Ambrose's books.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Put Down
Wonderful depiction of the parallel lives of two legendary western figures. Loved it from beginning to tragic end.

Published on Nov 5 2003 by tstroeb

5.0 out of 5 stars Ambrose Brings Both Crazy Horse And Custer Back To Life
This is simply the best history book I have read in years. If you like American history you will like this book. If you like history and have visited Mt. Read more

Published on Oct 22 2003 by Taos Turner

5.0 out of 5 stars An American Tragedy
Historical writing doesn't get much better than this.

In parallel chapters, Ambrose presents the story of these two warriors, from their births to their final tragic meeting at... Read more

Published on Dec 9 2002 by Therese Yeaton

3.0 out of 5 stars Thorough study, but not as good as his WWII books
Among Stephen Ambrose's earlier work was this effort, a study of the Western history he enjoyed greatly. Read more