Story of the Little Big Horn (Custer Library) [Hardcover]

W. A. Graham (Author)

Book Description

Series: Custer Library | Publication Date: June 1, 1994

First published in 1926 and respected ever since for its measured view of the most famous battle in the American West, The Story of the Little Big Horn asks questions that are still being debated. What were the causes of the debacle that wiped out Custer’s command? Was it due to lack of a definite battle plan? To lack of correct information about the number, organization, and equipment of the Indians? To Custer’s hot-headedness and thirst for glory? To Reno’s alleged cowardice? To Benteen’s delay in providing reinforcement? In his factual but dramatic account, W. A. Graham suggests that an awesome concatenation of attitudes and circumstances ensured the defeat of the Seventh Cavalry. On that Sunday in June 1876, the Indians were simply better (though not braver) soldiers.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Graham] has weighed and presented all the available evidence in a commendably judicious manner. . . . [The] undeniable facts . . . make a fairly simple story, and that story is essentially the record of an unnecessary sacrifice of brave men’s lives."—New York Times

(New York Times )

"[Graham''s] report [is] very convincing, because marked by justice, conscientiousness, and industry."—New York Herald Tribune

(New York Herald Tribune ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (June 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811703460
• ISBN-13: 978-0811703468
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,712,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Straight Foreward Review of LBH: Reno held Objectively, January 15, 2000

By 

Daniel Hurley (Chesapeake, VA.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Story of the Little Big Horn (Custer Library) (Hardcover)

Classic account by Graham who appraises the LBH battle objectively in one sense but clearly seems to favor Reno's and Benteen's actions over Custer. The Reno Court of Inquiry testimony which Graham obtained in the 1920s in a limited release fueled much of the book.What was most interesting was a lengthy letter from a member of General Terry's staff officer who wrote the letter just after Terry's death. The letter is a defense of Terry who is characterized as a kind man who did not want to criticize Custer after death too harshly. The letter details how in the opinion of the staff officer, how Custer disobeyed orders particularly in the lack of use of scouts that were suppose to contact Colonel Gibbon's column prior to attacking. Fuels more fire in the controversy. The Custer Myth is the better of the two Graham books.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic exposition on the Battle of the Little Big Horn, October 20, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Story of the Little Big Horn: Custer's Last Fight (Paperback)

This is one of the classic books on the Little Big Horn fight. The author, W.A. Graham, was a retired Army lawyer who spent his retirement in the study of the 1876 Sioux Campaigns. Graham is almost unique within the tightly knit universe of Little Big Horn scholarship. His training and career as a lawyer made him attempt to be as objective as possible in his gathering and assessment of the evidence he presents. Graham indulges in little, if any, of the polemics and special pleading which seems to characterize much writing about Little Big Horn. For that reason alone, this volume is recommended highly. While somewhat dated by more recent scholarship (this is a reprint of the 1941 Second Edition) it is a "must have" in the library of anyone interested in this famous battle of the Plains Indian Wars.

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT READING!, August 6, 2011

By 

susan landrith - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Story of the Little Big Horn (Custer Library) (Hardcover)

This book is well written and very detailed, as i read one chapter i had to read another!