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Post by Tricia on Aug 21, 2005 14:29:47 GMT -6
Just heard of this novel (by Richard S. Wheeler) today from a pal ... and most reviews on Amazon are quite good.
Anybody read it? From what I understand, Custerphiles cringe!
Regards,
Leyton McLean
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Post by jdmackintosh on Aug 22, 2005 5:36:40 GMT -6
This is a well-written book and very entertaining. I like the fact that it starts at the end of Reno's life and his being approached by a newspaper reporter. Due to his cancer of the tongue, he has been robbed of his ability to speak. It gives a sympathic picture of Reno but I doubt it will change anyone's opinion of his conduct, well-worth reading as the author does an excellent job of taking the reader back in time. I imagine you will enjoy reading it, let us know.
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Post by Scout7 on Aug 22, 2005 6:48:56 GMT -6
I noticed Diane has added a new book section...Indian Wars & Civil War Books...thanks Diane!
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Post by Tricia on Jan 11, 2006 14:19:40 GMT -6
This is a well-written book and very entertaining. I like the fact that it starts at the end of Reno's life and his being approached by a newspaper reporter. Due to his cancer of the tongue, he has been robbed of his ability to speak. It gives a sympathic picture of Reno but I doubt it will change anyone's opinion of his conduct, well-worth reading as the author does an excellent job of taking the reader back in time. I imagine you will enjoy reading it, let us know. John-- Finally got my hands on this yesterday and Wheeler has done an amazing job of bringing Reno to life. I've only read the first two chapters so far--and had to put it down because of other priorities--but this is easily the type of book that will keep you up some very late nights until you finish ... It's a brave author who can portray Reno's point of view ... Regards, Leyton McLean |
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Post by alfuso on Jan 12, 2006 4:52:31 GMT -6
this book read very well. The author caught the one element of Reno's personality that caused his downfall -- his pathological insistance on his "honor"
No matter what Reno did, he believed he was right and he would risk everything for his "honor" if he thought it besmirtched even though he had been in the wrong many times.
He just couldn't see himself.
alfuso
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Post by Tricia on Jan 12, 2006 22:37:42 GMT -6
Alfuso--
Or the other choice in Wheeler's narrative: Reno's "good name." Without it, what did ol' Marcus have? I did like the urgency of the first chapters, recorded the night before the major was about to get the majority of his tongue chopped off ...
Kind of tragic about the Northern Boundary survey, though ... was Reno kept with the detail that long after his wife died? Seems an awful waste and the whole business a bit boring to me.
Regards,
Leyton McLean
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Post by dcb188 on Jan 13, 2006 5:24:09 GMT -6
I seriously wonder what each of us, personally, not theoretically, would have done had we been in Reno' shoes, both of them, and specifically on June 25, 1876. (?) Wonder how our performance would have been rated, one to ten. With ten being the most perfect thing to do under the circumstances.
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Post by dcb188 on Jan 13, 2006 7:11:08 GMT -6
I will begin a new thread on this subject now because I think it is worth looking into a little more....
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Post by markland on Jan 29, 2006 19:27:15 GMT -6
Just an FYI, but I saw (and purchased) while wandering through the grocery store today the Richard Wheeler book in paperback. It has been renamed Major Reno.There is another Reno fiction book out there, I just can't find my copy to quote the exact title and author, but I believe it is entitled A Convenient Coward by Shiflett (or some such). Best of wishes, gotta go & burn the pork tenderloins on the grill  , Billy EDIT: It is still entitled An Obituary For Major Reno but the format of the paperback's title has "An Obituary For" above "Major Reno" at half the size. |
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Post by Tricia on Jan 30, 2006 14:36:19 GMT -6
Billy--
Blame me for the title error ... that's what I got for believing a friend who doesn't give a hoot about GAC! I have since modified the thread to reflect the actual title of the book. It is a great read so far; I hope you enjoy it.
LMC
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Post by markland on Jan 31, 2006 9:35:08 GMT -6
This is a well-written book and very entertaining. I like the fact that it starts at the end of Reno's life and his being approached by a newspaper reporter. Due to his cancer of the tongue, he has been robbed of his ability to speak. It gives a sympathic picture of Reno but I doubt it will change anyone's opinion of his conduct, well-worth reading as the author does an excellent job of taking the reader back in time. I imagine you will enjoy reading it, let us know. John, finished it at 4 a.m. this morning and it was very good. However, as a neophyte to this battle, it did change my opinion of Reno on the one thing I thought he should have been court-martialed for, i.e., the conduct of the retreat from the woods. I had never considered that there may have been a complete loss of command and control over the troops by both the commissioned and the non-commissioned officers. Granted that is Wheeler's slant but now, darn it, I am going to have to go to the COI to see what the other officers said about that. Now I know how Br'er Rabbit felt after encountering the tar baby. Best of wishes, Billy |
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Post by crzhrs on Jan 31, 2006 10:37:34 GMT -6
Re: Loss of command during Reno's fight . . .
Lt. Varnum and Dr. Porter both tried pleading with the men to stop running and form some type of defense for the retreat.
Apparently there was no one, officers or NCOs, who were capable or could do anything to stop the running. Where was Moylan & De Rudio? How about French and Sgt. Ryan. Some of these men were hardened veterans and had experienced combat, both in the CW and with Indians.
I don't think all the blame can be put on Reno when others were not able to take control either.
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Post by elisabeth on Jan 31, 2006 11:40:13 GMT -6
It was a pretty poor showing, it has to be said. (Speaking as one who's never been in combat, and would run like a rabbit at the first sign of same.) Interesting to compare it with the Weir Point situation. That was shaping up as a re-run of the Reno Hill Races until Godfrey stepped in and set up a skirmish line to cover the retreat.
Does that suggest that if one man in authority (Varnum and Porter failed in their attempt, perhaps, because they had none officially?) had kept his cool, the retreat could have been better handled? Or was it totally different because of the timber -- no-one able to see what was going on, no clear commands, everyone operating on rumour, so that panic could spread? Different too in that the Indians were literally breathing down their necks, while at Weir Point they were still at a distance.
I don't know. It's tempting to blame Reno for the failures of his subordinates, as he set such a poor example. But in a way the Weir Point retreat was very similar. Benteen tries to tell us he saved the day, but from other accounts it sounds very much as if he, as well as Reno, was setting Olympic-style speed records for high-tailing it out of there ...
DeRudio claims to have ordered men to stand, but they simply refused. Maybe the root of it was our old friend, loss of unit cohesion. Men scattered in little groups of two or three: isolated, convinced they were going to be left behind, and without the peer pressure that the eyes of their full company would exert. Which brings us back to Reno again, as he was the one who got them into that position ...
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Post by crzhrs on Jan 31, 2006 12:03:25 GMT -6
The Weir Advance and the Reno fight are two different scenarios . . . but the same results.
Once Indians show they are ready to fight, the military "skedaddles", both times leaving wounded behind (many for the Reno fight and one for the Weir Advance) definately not a shining moment for the 7th.
And since we don't know exactly what happened to Custer's command, we can only speculate on their performance . . . but it appears there was some failure on their part when warriors pushed the fight . . . but only a opinion by me.
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Post by elisabeth on Jan 31, 2006 12:22:51 GMT -6
Hmmm ... yes indeed ... can we be sure Custer didn't do a Reno?
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