Customer Reviews

An Obituary for Major Reno

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Not only is this a fascinating treatment of the Battle at Little Big Horn (I had visited the battlefield three times but never understood the action well until I read the book) but the narrative and the speech of the characters flow with a naturalness that must be difficult to create. The story engrossed me throughout, despite the unlikability of Major Reno, and I never found that, at any point, it became implausible. It's a very human story about a legend that has now grown out of control.

This well researched historical novel gives an account of Major Marcus Reno, one of the commanding officers with Custer at Little Bighorn. The loss of Custer and the scale of the defeat led almost immediately to finger pointing, and Reno found himself to blame. The charges were unfair and unfounded. But the mixture of character flaws and weaknesses in an otherwise commendable officer led to his eventual discharge from the Cavalry. He spent the rest of his life trying to regain his lost honor.

Wheeler takes on the task of providing a fair appraisal of the man, giving us a warts-and-all portrayal. A large section of the book is dedicated to the 7th Cavalry's search across the prairies of Montana for the Indian bands they were to encounter at the Little Bighorn. More is devoted to an account of the battle itself, from Reno's point of view. The second half of the book concerns his fall from grace, and it is sometimes a painful journey.

There's a lot to put into this story of a complex and contradictory man. Wheeler keeps you turning pages, shaking your head sometimes at Reno's poor judgment, sympathetic with him at others for how fate and circumstances turn against him. You read to the end before finding some resolution for your mixed feelings. Wheeler's book belongs on the bookshelf of battles set at key points in history. It cuts through the myth while revealing how myths come to be.

Marcus Reno ranks as one of the most interesting and tragic figures from the Little Big Horn campaign. His tale should be an interesting one. Richard Wheeler's novel on Reno does not take full advantage of a fascinating subject and that is what proves frustrating about this book. Wheeler sets the stage well. The first few chapters where a reporter interacts with a dying Reno are excellent. Once the novel turns to the Little Big Horn campaign, the book seems rushed. The familiar events of the campaign are replayed but, to be quite frank, the drama seems lacking. The urgency of Reno's desperate fight can not be found in Wheeler's book. Even the terror of Reno being splattered with the blown brains, blood and skull fragments of one of the chief scouts of the 7th cavalry is neatly put in a sentence or two. The endless array of courtmartials and Reno's downfall also seems rushed. Wheeler certainly has strengths as a writer and these include his solid use of secondary characters, preserving their historic integrity while still offering them important roles in the book. He does an excellent job with Godfrey, Benteen and General Terry. The Custers hover in the background and it would have been interesting to see Wheeler give them a greater role. Based on his use of Terry and Benteen, I suspect Wheeler would have done a fine job with George and Libby. But Reno himself, at least as Wheeler presents him, is not the type of character that a novel should be based around. At the start and end of the novel, Wheeler, through Reno and later in his brother in law, maintains that the early death of Reno's first wife explains much of his character. The problem is Wheeler tells his readers this and does not show them. This is a book that frankly could have used a few more chapters to flesh out Reno and the events that led to his tragedy.