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Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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About this ebook
A New York Times bestseller from the author of Band of Brothers: The biography of two fighters forever linked by history and the battle at Little Bighorn.
On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 men of the United States 7th Cavalry rode toward the banks of Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory, where three thousand Indians stood waiting for battle. The lives of two great warriors would soon be forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer. Both were men of aggression and supreme courage. Both became leaders in their societies at very early ages. Both were stripped of power, in disgrace, and worked to earn back the respect of their people. And to both of them, the unspoiled grandeur of the Great Plains of North America was an irresistible challenge. Their parallel lives would pave the way, in a manner unknown to either, for an inevitable clash between two nations fighting for possession of the open prairie.
On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 men of the United States 7th Cavalry rode toward the banks of Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory, where three thousand Indians stood waiting for battle. The lives of two great warriors would soon be forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer. Both were men of aggression and supreme courage. Both became leaders in their societies at very early ages. Both were stripped of power, in disgrace, and worked to earn back the respect of their people. And to both of them, the unspoiled grandeur of the Great Plains of North America was an irresistible challenge. Their parallel lives would pave the way, in a manner unknown to either, for an inevitable clash between two nations fighting for possession of the open prairie.
Author
Stephen E. Ambrose
Stephen E. Ambrose was a renowned historian and acclaimed author of more than thirty books. Among his New York Times bestsellers are Nothing Like It in the World, Citizen Soldiers, Band of Brothers, D-Day - June 6, 1944, and Undaunted Courage. Dr. Ambrose was a retired Boyd Professor of History at the University of New Orleans and a contributing editor for the Quarterly Journal of Military History.
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Reviews for Crazy Horse and Custer
Rating: 3.9620690317241385 out of 5 stars
4/5
145 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Crazy Horse and Custer by Ambrose is an excellent book that brings clarity and depth to these characters. Crazy Horse is portrayed as heroic in an impossible situation while Custer is seen as the seriously flawed perpetrator of failed American Indian policy. Ambrose delves into the personal lives of Crazy Horse and Custer and peppers the narrative with superlative anecdotes. The image of Custer shooting his horse while chasing a buffalo is memorable.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Just OK dual biography that suffers from too much already written on Custer and little more than an outline, coupled with informed speculation about Crazy Horse. "Son of the Morning Star" by Evan S. Connell is a better book on a similar subject.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent idea for a book. The lives of Crazy Horse and Custer do have a pronounced kind of parity. Personally, I think Custer was the poster child for vainglory, and I suspect Ambose thought more highly of him than I do. I like the book, though, and would definitely recommend it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stephen Ambrose is my absolute favorite author. I'm not wild about WW2 history but I've read most of his books of that era because they were written by him, and great. My very favorite books are Ambrose's books about the west.How could you not enjoy "Undaunted Courage" or "Nothing Like it in the World"?The idea of a dual biography is interesting and works very well. It is easy to guess that after reading the book I admire Crazy Horse more and Custer less. The book really seems to be thorough and accurate and definitely a joy to read.I am embarrassed how our country treated the American Indians and the natural resources but the migration across our continent has made us into what we are today.Several years ago I was able to stand by a rock where William Clark's signature is still visible above the Yellowstone River, northeast of Billing's Montana. I took in the view of the incredible landscape and closed my eyes, trying to imagine the herds of buffalo and elk that lived there 200 years ago. It was a moving experience. Books such as this give me a glimpse of what life must have been like in that time. It also explains part of why I live in "the last frontier" of Alaska, even though our existence is very civilized we live on the edges of the wilderness. As for the book, I heartily recommend it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/532. I did not expect to enjoy this book so much as it isn’t my usual genre. ... If you have some great stories like this one, you can publish it on Novel Star, just submit your story to hardy@novelstar.top or joye@novelstar.top
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great concept- a history of the parallel lives of the two leaders of forces at the Battle of Little Bighorn, in which General Custer and his company were all killed by Crazy Horse's Sioux. We learn in alternating fashion about their childhoods and early adult exploits- Custer as an 1860s West Point grad and Civil War hero, and Crazy Horse as a rising leader of the Sioux leading battles against the Crow Indian tribes and the United States Army in the Indian Wars of the late 1860s and 1870s. The book culminates in the battle in 1876 and its aftermath (Crazy Horse was forced to surrender the next year, as White men essentially killed all the buffalo that was their food source and had them cornered).The story doesn't speak well of the United States. First the Sioux are forced to sign away most of the Plains and stay in the Black Hills, and then when gold is found in the Black Hills, the US just abrogates the treaty and takes that too. Ugly.I had a tough time with some things in the book- first of all, the maps are terrible- lightly drawn and confusing. For people like me who are unfamiliar with the geography of Montana and the mountain west, good maps would have really helped. And the book follows many Native American and White generals and leaders, which frankly gets quite confusing- the cast of characters is large.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Military historian Ambrose examines the connections between the Indian chief and the cavalry officer. Typical Ambrose! Whatever your opinion about Custer, it won't change with this book. The text quantity seems to favor Custer, but there's not much written about Crazy Horse from that time, so most of Ambrose's statements are about typical Sioux life. Ambrose is particularly good about describing the intramural Indian conflict that likely put them where they are today....in addition to a technology gap,, .warring for glory and failure to follow leadership in a meaningful way. Custer's arrogance also comes out and at the academy, he epitomizes: "If the minimum weren't the minimum, it wouldn't be the minimum." Great gook comparing the two warriors and their cultures.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I picked this book up at a book festival in town that must deal in overstock. I've been to Mt Rushmore and seen the in-progress Crazy Horse monument, but really knew nothing about the man other than that he was some sort of hero. I also didn't know much of anything about Custer, aside of he was a prominent commander in the Civil War and against the Natives. I wasn't especially interested in him (people who senselessly murder those just trying to live (and excelling at it) really don't interest me much) but I did want to know about Crazy Horse, so I figured what the heck, knowing history is never a bad thing.So. I did enjoy reading this and picking up some history.However. I would be reluctant to pick up any more of Mr Ambrose's work, as personally, I found his opinions towards the Natives to be rather disturbing. Other people don't seem to have had this same issue with it, judging from some reviews I've read; however there were several instances where he asserts that the American people/military should not be blamed for what they did, and who knows what future would have been in store for the Natives had these events not occurred. Frankly, such bogus statements are quite upsetting to me, and I had trouble making myself continue reading after he spouted off things like this. For one thing, a historian should not be making such ridiculously biased statements as that. And for another, there is never an excuse for senseless huge-scale slaughter & massacre. The only thing to do in the face of such incidences is to own them, admit that they were terrible times in history that should never be repeated, and hopefully learn the lesson - do not repeat the atrocities! Denial of such blatant wrongdoing is just pathetic.The book had a lot of detail about the Custer, but less about Crazy Horse. Obviously given the differences in culture, that isn't surprising. However, yet again Ambrose seems awfully biased, in that, while he does mention some less than stellar qualities of Custer, he still paints him overall as a great shining hero. This attitude was largely perpetuated back in Custer's era, but these days a much mroe critical look is generally taken with regard to his actions. I did think it was an interesting read, no issue of being dry. Ambrose covered their lives from essentially birth until death, detailing what went on in each of their worlds at the time. While most of it is educated speculation regarding Crazy Horse, we do at least get a decent idea of what was going on at the time, presented in an entertaining manner.
Book preview
Crazy Horse and Custer - Stephen E. Ambrose
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