Post by elisabeth on Sept 18, 2005 10:42:19 GMT -6
Regarded by some as pretty outdated (which is why I've only just got around to reading it, shameful to say) -- but I'd really recommend it.
It's very much a book of two halves; once he gets to the Custer portion of the battle, his theories are, um, unconventional to say the least. While he's laying out the minutiae of the Reno/Benteen segment, however, it's unquestionably brilliant. He has an intimate knowledge of the terrain, he's researched everything to the hilt, but above all he brings to the table a supreme understanding of human nature. He's great at spotting when somebody's lying, why, and what they're trying to conceal ... and best of all, he doesn't MIND. He accepts people's flaws and foibles without condemning them: no villains, no hysteria, no name-calling, just a thoughtful appreciation of the situation they found themselves in. Lovely.
Of course, if you get the Stackpole edition, which also includes his 'Did Custer Disobey Orders at the Little Big Horn?' pieces, you'll find all the name-calling anyone could desire! A thoroughly devastating rebuttal of the Hughes defence of Terry, with plenty of sideswipes at others (e.g. Brisbin) along the way. Spirited stuff.
It's very much a book of two halves; once he gets to the Custer portion of the battle, his theories are, um, unconventional to say the least. While he's laying out the minutiae of the Reno/Benteen segment, however, it's unquestionably brilliant. He has an intimate knowledge of the terrain, he's researched everything to the hilt, but above all he brings to the table a supreme understanding of human nature. He's great at spotting when somebody's lying, why, and what they're trying to conceal ... and best of all, he doesn't MIND. He accepts people's flaws and foibles without condemning them: no villains, no hysteria, no name-calling, just a thoughtful appreciation of the situation they found themselves in. Lovely.
Of course, if you get the Stackpole edition, which also includes his 'Did Custer Disobey Orders at the Little Big Horn?' pieces, you'll find all the name-calling anyone could desire! A thoroughly devastating rebuttal of the Hughes defence of Terry, with plenty of sideswipes at others (e.g. Brisbin) along the way. Spirited stuff.