Customer Reviews

My Life on the Plains (A Bison Book)

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This book lets the reader into the mind of one of America's most fascinating military men, George A. Custer. He shows his talent for writing and vividly paints a picture of what life was like on the Western Plains. This book is a MUST for any student of the Old West or military historian.

Called by Frederick Benteen, "My Lie on the Plains" this is Custer's personal description of his adventures on the Plains. Of necessity it minimizes his Court Martial and other acts of ommission and commission because of Custer's self-view. Notwithstanding this the book gives insights into the psychology of a man who wished to become a legend and did. Any student of Plains History and Custer's part in it, must certainly read the man's own words.

What first struck me about this book was George Custer's ability to paint vivid, fascinating word portraits of time, place and action. He was, in short, a damned good writer, and a very educated one, as well. From a reading standpoint, "My Life On the Plains" is easy to digest and, at times, even hard to put down.

What struck me next was that this is NOT the George Custer that we, as a nation, have been brainwashed into believing existed. Nowhere in his narrative did I find a hatred of Indians or any kind of racial prejudice against them. Custer was a hard man, yes, but so was anyone living on the frontier in those days. He brooked no nonsense and took very harsh action in the course of his duty. But in "My Life On the Plains" he is often openly admiring of the Indians of the Plains, and never once expresses the opinion of some of his superiors, like Sheridan -- that the only good Indian is a dead Indian.

And lastly, I was impressed by how amusing this book is. George Custer had a finely tuned sense of humor and could write with his tongue firmly in his cheek. Many of the scenes in this book brought me to outright laughter.

More than anything else, though, this book gave me an insight into the character and motives of one of America's most colorful figures. I found myself wishing I could have been with him in an Indian lodge, smoking pipes with warriors and keeping one hand close to my cocked revolver. A fascinating read that is well worth the time.