Last in Their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point [Hardcover]

James S. Robbins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2006

Today's Goat, the West Point cadet finishing at the bottom of his class, is temporary celebrity among his classmates. But in the 19th century, he was something of a cult figure. Custer's contemporaries at the Academy believed that the same spirit of adventure that led him to carouse at local taverns motivated his dramatic cavalry attacks in the Civil War and afterwards. And the same willingness to accept punishment from Academy authorities also sent George Pickett into the teeth of the Union guns at Gettsyburg. The story James S. Robbins tells goes from the beginnings of West Point through the carnage of the Civil War to the grassy bluffs over the Little Big Horn. The Goats he profiles tell us much about the soul of the American solider, his daring, imagination and desire to prove himself against high odds.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...stirring, often hilarious, frequently embarrassing biographies of men who may have been last but were first in battle later." -- Brad Miner, American Compass Book Club

From the Back Cover

James Robbins' Last in Their Class provides a fascinating look at Generals George Armstrong Custer, George Pickett, and other West Point under achievers who outside the academy found both successful and notorious careers. While Robbins laments the modern demise of the meritocratic system of stigmatizing students for low achievement, he also explores why and how the same audacity, individualism, and even occasional insubordination that earned a cadet low marks at school often later proved indispensable for officers in the real world on the battlefield. A much needed and timely investigation about the nature of military leadership.

Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution, author A War Like No Other.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: Encounter Books; First Edition edition (March 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159403141X
• ISBN-13: 978-1594031410
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #660,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Last" is First-Rate, April 8, 2006

By 

Actium Blue - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last in Their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point (Hardcover)

"Last in Their Class" is about those West Pointers of the early- to mid-19th century who literally graduated last. Does this matter? The author makes a strong case throughout the book, especially in the final chapter, that heroism, capability, and duty, are not simply confined to the top students; in fact, those "goats" who graduated last seemed to think outside the box better and be as well, if not more, well-rounded than those who graduated toward the top of their class. What makes this book truly interesting is the interconnectivity of those "goats" throughout their careers. Robbins deftly ties in the Seminole, Mexican-American, and Civil Wars and contributions made by the "goats." Fully half of the book is devoted to the Civil War and any readers interested in that subject will find more than enough material. Robbins also follows through with Custer's Last Stand at Little Big Horn. Interspersed throughout the book are lessons from America's 19th century wars, including public opinion, congressional budgets, and wartime news coverage, that are particularly applicable today.

In over 400 pages, I found no weaknesses but only one omission. A list of all the Goats in the index would have helped keep track of them through the reading.

"Last in Their Class" was original, extremely well researched, the narrative flowed easily and the characters such as Custer, Pickett, and especially Henry Heth, were brought to life. This book is how history should be written.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent history, entertaining, insightful, thought-provoking, June 20, 2006

By 

Joseph Pallone (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last in Their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point (Hardcover)

Here is a fine military history that informs us about the United States, and how our country was shaped by those who "stood at the foot" in class rank at the US Military Academy. Robbins describes in excellent and interesting detail how much of our national history pivoted on the actions taken by the Goats of West Point, and how "...the crucible of West Point produced men of many and varied abilities, which were then tested in the arena of life." Robbins shows us the Seminole War (the "War Without End") and how the threads of national policy that were touched and sustained by USMA graduates like Ephraim Kirby Smith (the Goat of USMA 1826) run through Little Big Horn, where George Armstrong Custer (the Goat of USMA 1861) ended his brilliant but sometimes questionable and inexcusably savage career. Along the way Robbins tells about the court-martial of Cadet Jefferson Davis and his distinguished service in Mexico, washouts like Edgar Allan Poe and James McNeill Whistler, Manifest Destiny, heroic Zeb Inge (the Goat of USMA 1838) at Resaca de la Palma, George Pickett (the Goat of USMA 1846) in the lead at Chapultepec and on a long field at Gettysburg, and their achievements in building America, averting war, and reconciling a divided nation. Robbins does much more than tell the stories of these famous Goats and those like Powhatan Clarke (USMA 1884) and Charles Young (USMA 1889) who distinguished themselves but are less than famous. He tells us about the richness of character, courage in the face of danger, daring, mischievous tendencies and audacity that seem to characterize those who worked to stay just above the line as Cadets when it came to academics and discipline, but "who persevered to live extraordinary lives of service and sacrifice."

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling, September 17, 2006

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C. Falzone "Imperator" (San Jose, ca United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Last in Their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point (Hardcover)

Just finished this book, and it was imho enthralling, very hard to put down..its takes us on a tour of West Point graduates ranked as "immortals" (those being the bottom 10 of their class) and the Goat, the last in their class.,..some famous names were goats or immortals; Heth, Pickett, Custer, Kirby Smith the Crittenden(s) Grant ( whose worst subject was..Infantry tactics go figure) among many others..... Great reading regards the Seminoles wars, Mexican-American War the Civil war......the trials and tribulations at West Point, their pranks and punishments etc....many great complimentary bios to be found here, Whistler, Poe et al...all wound up with stories of their military performance's and stories regards their paths criss-crossing in the Civil war etc....a comparative analysis as to why so many of the Immortals and Goats had an impact all out of proportion to the top 5 and their relative ranks, which in the end, means nothing...