Monday, April 15, 2024

Book Review - Crazy Horse and Custer

Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors
Title - Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors
Author:Stephen E. Ambrose
My Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍
My Review: I love books about Native Americans and this book is one of the better ones I've read. The displacement of Native Americans by white American settlers through 
manifest destiny was tragic. The majority of the book covers the lives of George Custer and Crazy Horse. The eventual description of the Battle of the Little Bighorn was disappointingly short but overall, I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

Description (Audible): On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 men of the US 7th Cavalry rode toward the banks of the Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory, where 3,000 Indians stood waiting for battle. The lives of two great warriors would soon be forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer. Both were men of aggression and supreme courage. Both became leaders in their societies at very early ages; both were stripped of power, in disgrace, and worked to earn back the respect of their people. And to both of them, the unspoiled grandeur of the Great Plains of North America was an irresistible challenge. Their parallel lives would pave the way, in a manner unknown to either, for an inevitable clash between two nations fighting for possession of the open prairie.

Description (ChatGPT): Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors by Stephen Ambrose offers a fascinating (and sometimes bewildering) dance between two men who couldn’t have been more different, yet shared a singular destiny: the American frontier. Ambrose weaves their stories with a historian’s precision, but also a novelist’s flair, showing how the lives of these two warriors—one a fierce Native American leader, the other a brash, doomed cavalry officer—ran in parallel like two trains speeding toward the same tragic collision. It’s a deep dive into history’s contradictions, where heroism and hubris meet in the dust of battle. If you’ve ever wondered how a man can be both a martyr and a fool, this book will clear that up—while reminding you that history isn’t always as simple as "good guys vs. bad guys." Prepare to be enlightened, and perhaps a little mystified, but never bored.

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