The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, And The Battle Of The Little Bighorn (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Philbrick renders an exhaustive (and at times exhausting) account of the U.S. campaign against the loose confederacy of Sioux nations culminating in the Battle of Little Bighorn. As can be expected, Philbrick leaves few details undercounted, but is at his best when seeking to give voice to Native American accounts of the campaign. The book concludes with a fascinating meditation on the closure of the American West and the near immediate expansion of Manifest Destiny to include the Caribbean, the Pacific, and eventually the globe. I can't fathom why this reader was chosen for this book. His voice and delivery are incredibly annoying. Not only does he sound like a heavy smoker suffering from a cold, but his staccato delivery is odd, to say the least. In addition, there is quite a bit of variance in the timbre of his voice, with obvious differences between recording sessions. This is one of those rare cases where the author would have done a much better job reading the book than the hired pro. (Exceptions to my "authors should never narrate their own books" dictum, however, are Oliver Sacks, Simon Winchester, Bill Bryson, and Neil Gaiman.) I heard Nathaniel Philbrick read excerpts from one of his work at the National Book Festival in DC a few years back and I'm sure he'd have done a much better job than this reader. I tried to get used to this narrator, as occasionally I find I can mentally tune out the more annoying features of some voices, but I finally gave up in exasperation at the end of the first of ten CDs, just as I was becoming engrossed in Philbrick's account. Guess I will have to find this book in print, which is annoying as I'm having eye trouble and have been relying on books on CD to get my reading fix.
What do You think about The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, And The Battle Of The Little Bighorn (2010)?
Another excellent history written by Nathaniel Philbrick. Focusing on two men-George A. Custer and Sitting Bull- he details the events that led to their final confrontation on June 25, 1876, on the Little Bighorn River in Montana. It is really the story of two Last Stands. It was the end of Custer, but it was also the end of the freedom of the Northern Plains Indians. When a nation celebrating the centennial of its independence heard the terrible news of the death of Custer with his men,there arose a demand to completely defeat the last free Indians. Philbrick does a great job covering the battle itself, but also tells what happened to individuals affected by the battle, such as Sitting Bull and Libby Custer, the widow of General Custer, who spent the rest of her life promoting Custer as figure of legend.
—jordankeane
Philbrick renders an exhaustive (and at times exhausting) account of the U.S. campaign against the loose confederacy of Sioux nations culminating in the Battle of Little Bighorn. As can be expected, Philbrick leaves few details undercounted, but is at his best when seeking to give voice to Native American accounts of the campaign. The book concludes with a fascinating meditation on the closure of the American West and the near immediate expansion of Manifest Destiny to include the Caribbean, the Pacific, and eventually the globe.
—lcmagana512
great story told from both sides of the line...
—stefi
