Grade 5-8-A standard history for young readers involves a carefully unbiased author who assembles a coherent account from various primary and (more usually) secondary sources. Viola has taken a more daring approach. He features excerpts from the memoirs of various participants and observers of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, arranged in such a way as to provide a sense of the chaotic, violent flow of that day. Since no whites survived the battle, all of the witnesses are Native Americans, but some of them worked as scouts for the U.S. Army and thus saw the battle from a different perspective than the victors. The testimony of the narratorsAincluding such prominent figures as Sitting Bull and Black Elk, as well as "unknowns"Ais direct and vivid, revealing aspects of Native American psychology and details of battle preparation. An introduction and epilogue accompany the eyewitness accounts, thus providing readers with an overview of events leading up to, and subsequent to, the battle itself. While the inclusion of multiple narrators might be confusing, readers can consult Viola's biographical notes to identify each speaker. Furthermore, the possible confusion can in a certain sense be defended as an analogue to the disorientation of battle. The note on sources allows for further and more in-depth research. A few black-and-white reproductions and maps are scattered throughout. This is a brief, but powerful, book about an event that still attracts much attention.
Coop Renner, Coldwell Elementary-Intermediate School, El Paso, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 5^-8. Viola, a former director of the National Anthropological Archives, has gathered together the accounts of Indians who took part in the battle that was known to whites as Custer's Last Stand and to Native Americans as the Battle of the Greasy Grass. The battle, at Little Bighorn River in 1876 was a resounding defeat for the U.S. Cavalry under the leadership of Lt. Col. George Custer, with more than 250 soldiers dead. But in the long run, the battle proved ruinous to the Great Plains Indians, who were pursued by cavalry until the vast majority surrendered and went to live on reservations. Viola alternates accounts of such well-known Indian leaders as Sitting Bull and Antelope Woman with those of ordinary Indian observers and participants. The effective introduction and epilogue frame the compelling eyewitness recitations. Even with maps, it is not always easy to picture the logistics of the Indian raid, but descriptions offer sturdy revelations and a way for young readers to walk around in other people's shoes. Only the introduction and epilogue have black-and-white pictures, and those are small, though crisp. Biographical notes identify the speakers. Ilene Cooper
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