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“Little Big Man” made Custer look like an idiot.

When he and his command were killed, it was viewed as a National tragedy; he’d been a hero in the Civil War, and this country loved the guy.

There’s a very good book written some years ago called “Son Of The Morning Star” about Custer and the Little Bighorn. It also deals with the Indian side of the battle as well. It’s an excellent read, and it dispels a lot of the bullsh*t revisionist crap we get.

I always taught my kids - you read history that was written by the people who were there; not some 30-something Marxist Professor who was taught by another Marxist professor.

I've read three books on Custer in the last year including SOTMS. The most recent was by Robert Upton "Cavalier In Bucksin" which was also a big coffee-table type book. Custer was not the villain recently portrayed by leftist moviemakers and historians. Neither was he deserving of unstinted praise. He was interested in glory and money, and he achieved a measure of the first.

But regarding his death, according to Utley, Custer's battle plans were not unsound. He simply didn't achieve the coordinating effect he wanted from Reno and Benteen. And to be fair, all the previous, similar battle plans had worked. But this time "Custer's luck" ran out. Custer was always a big risk taker, and fortunate to survive the Civil War. But if Benteen (who hated Custer) had not been slow and Reno not retreated at the first sign of difficulty, Custer might have won that engagement.

I've read three books on Custer in the last year including SOTMS. The most recent was by Robert Upton "Cavalier In Bucksin" which was also a big coffee-table type book. Custer was not the villain recently portrayed by leftist moviemakers and historians. Neither was he deserving of unstinted praise. He was interested in glory and money, and he achieved a measure of the first.

But regarding his death, according to Utley, Custer's battle plans were not unsound. He simply didn't achieve the coordinating effect he wanted from Reno and Benteen. And to be fair, all the previous, similar battle plans had worked. But this time "Custer's luck" ran out. Custer was always a big risk taker, and fortunate to survive the Civil War. But if Benteen (who hated Custer) had not been slow and Reno not retreated at the first sign of difficulty, Custer might have won that engagement.