Post by bradandlaurie on Oct 31, 2007 11:39:12 GMT -6
Custerology: The Enduring Legacy of the Indian Wars and George Armstrong Custer
Sometimes I will read a book from cover to cover and then find myself going back to read it again. This is usually a good sign that I liked the book. It is an ever better sign that the book taught me something. After I finished Elliot's book the first time I found that I needed to read parts of it again. This book is not going to tell the avid historical reader anything new about Custer or the Battle of the Little Bighorn. What this book will give you is a fascinating look at the phenomena of interest that has evolved around Custer and the battle.
In terms of research Elliot has definitely done his leg work. He has visited with Steve Alexander and his wife in Monroe. He has attended the LBHA conference in Rapid City. He has been at the battlefield and the reenactments near the battlefield. Many of the names you find him talking about should be familiar to people involved in some way with historical research, reenactment or simple interest; Chuck & Diane Merkel, Father Vincent Heier, Bill Rini and many others.
What Elliot has created is a wonderful examination of the ongoing interest in this chapter of American history. He manages to look at the many different ways the general and the battle are remembered today. He also looks at how the perception of Custer has changed over the years as he has been immortalized as both villian and hero. Elliot does not try to judge this ongoing fascination. Even during the epilogue, though he does make some interesting historical comparisons, I don't see him trying to assess what he has related. He leaves this to the reader. I would heartily recommend this book to anybody interested in 'Custerology' both as an examination of the historical topic.
You might even see yourself in this book...
'Custerology: The Enduring Legacy of the Indian Wars and George Armstrong Custer', Michael A. Elliot, 2007, The University of Chicago Press, ISBN-13: 978-0-226-20146-7, ISBN-10: 0-226-20146-5
Sometimes I will read a book from cover to cover and then find myself going back to read it again. This is usually a good sign that I liked the book. It is an ever better sign that the book taught me something. After I finished Elliot's book the first time I found that I needed to read parts of it again. This book is not going to tell the avid historical reader anything new about Custer or the Battle of the Little Bighorn. What this book will give you is a fascinating look at the phenomena of interest that has evolved around Custer and the battle.
In terms of research Elliot has definitely done his leg work. He has visited with Steve Alexander and his wife in Monroe. He has attended the LBHA conference in Rapid City. He has been at the battlefield and the reenactments near the battlefield. Many of the names you find him talking about should be familiar to people involved in some way with historical research, reenactment or simple interest; Chuck & Diane Merkel, Father Vincent Heier, Bill Rini and many others.
What Elliot has created is a wonderful examination of the ongoing interest in this chapter of American history. He manages to look at the many different ways the general and the battle are remembered today. He also looks at how the perception of Custer has changed over the years as he has been immortalized as both villian and hero. Elliot does not try to judge this ongoing fascination. Even during the epilogue, though he does make some interesting historical comparisons, I don't see him trying to assess what he has related. He leaves this to the reader. I would heartily recommend this book to anybody interested in 'Custerology' both as an examination of the historical topic.
You might even see yourself in this book...
'Custerology: The Enduring Legacy of the Indian Wars and George Armstrong Custer', Michael A. Elliot, 2007, The University of Chicago Press, ISBN-13: 978-0-226-20146-7, ISBN-10: 0-226-20146-5