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Showdown at Little Big Horn
On Sunday afternoon, June 25, 1876, Gen. George Custer and 264 members of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry engaged more than 3,000 warriors of the Lakota Sioux, Arapaho, and Cheyenne nations and were killed in the ensuing battle. Acclaimed historian Dee Brown traces the events of that day and of the weeks before, through the eyes and ears of seventeen participants from both sides, including Natives, scouts, soldiers, and civilians. Why did Custer divide his forces? Why did he not take his regiment’s Gatling guns? Why did he expect Sitting Bull to surrender without a fight? How did Sitting Bull’s vision at the sun dance on the Rosebud foretell the occasion and the outcome of the battle? How did war chiefs Crazy Horse and Gall take advantage of Custer’s tactical errors? And why did they preserve Custer’s body from mutilation? Showdown at Little Big Horn answers these and other questions, telling the story of the fight from many points of view, based on reports, diaries, letters, and testimony of the participants themselves. Together the accounts provide a gripping narrative of a punitive expedition gone badly awry and an assemblage of Native peoples who forestalled for a while the army’s domination of the northern plains.
220 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
4 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Dee Brown
110 books417 followersAKA: Dee Alexander Brown
Dorris Alexander “Dee” Brown (1908–2002) was a celebrated author of both fiction and nonfiction, whose classic study Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is widely credited with exposing the systematic destruction of American Indian tribes to a world audience.
Brown was born in Louisiana and grew up in Arkansas. He worked as a reporter and a printer before enrolling at Arkansas State Teachers College, where he met his future wife, Sally Stroud. He later earned two degrees in library science, and worked as a librarian while beginning his career as a writer. He went on to research and write more than thirty books, often centered on frontier history or overlooked moments of the Civil War. Brown continued writing until his death in 2002.
Dorris Alexander “Dee” Brown (1908–2002) was a celebrated author of both fiction and nonfiction, whose classic study Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is widely credited with exposing the systematic destruction of American Indian tribes to a world audience.
Brown was born in Louisiana and grew up in Arkansas. He worked as a reporter and a printer before enrolling at Arkansas State Teachers College, where he met his future wife, Sally Stroud. He later earned two degrees in library science, and worked as a librarian while beginning his career as a writer. He went on to research and write more than thirty books, often centered on frontier history or overlooked moments of the Civil War. Brown continued writing until his death in 2002.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 24, 2015
Written how Michael & Jeff Shaara write their books.
Great look at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Custers last Stand, or the Battle of Greasy Grass.
Permonitions abounded in this book, Both Custer and Sitting Bull had several premonitions about the battle. Custer cut his hair, was not operating like himself, and not enjoying the field movement like he normally did.
Sitting Bull had vision of pony soldiers falling from sky.
Discussion of use/non-use of gatling guns, splitting his command and look at senior staff of officers.
I enjoy Dee Brown and his books and the way he writes.
Great look at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Custers last Stand, or the Battle of Greasy Grass.
Permonitions abounded in this book, Both Custer and Sitting Bull had several premonitions about the battle. Custer cut his hair, was not operating like himself, and not enjoying the field movement like he normally did.
Sitting Bull had vision of pony soldiers falling from sky.
Discussion of use/non-use of gatling guns, splitting his command and look at senior staff of officers.
I enjoy Dee Brown and his books and the way he writes.
October 25, 2022
A very good book. Well researched and well written. Each chapter basically deals with one individual from the famous fight at the Little Big Horn. There is some repetition but it is a very quick and easy read. I enjoyed the Native Americans perception which is not usually included in a book about the fight on the Greasy Grass. If you are looking for a short, but very informational book on the fight on the at the Little Big Horn this is the book for you. There are other books that go into more depth if you are looking for a lengthier study of the Little Big Horn.
October 28, 2015
Geeft een goed beeld van de geschiedenis van de slag bij Little Big Horn. De manier waarop het verhaal wordt beschreven vanuit verschillende personen en gezichtspunten maakt het een uitermate leesbaar boek.
July 5, 2020
In Showdown at Little Big Horn, Brown has written the narrative of the battle as if it were fiction; dialogue has been reconstructed, facts and information get imbedded within the prose, and the transitions create a mosaic cloth portraying the overall story.
The narration favors the 7th Cavalry and Custer. Brown includes Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Foolish Bear but the slant is toward the valiant soldiers. Is this a flaw? Not necessarily.
I think this lively and engaging reading. I think it is ideal for a reader new to the overall story. It reminds me of Shaara's, The Killer Angels.
The narration favors the 7th Cavalry and Custer. Brown includes Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Foolish Bear but the slant is toward the valiant soldiers. Is this a flaw? Not necessarily.
I think this lively and engaging reading. I think it is ideal for a reader new to the overall story. It reminds me of Shaara's, The Killer Angels.
August 16, 2023
You are there. On both sides. Sitting Bull goes full Braveheart and it's hard not to agree:
Warriors! we have everything to fight for, and if we are defeated we shall have nothing to live for, so let us fight like brave men!
The tricolumn attack by the U.S. Army may have felt important for the higher command as it'd end the last large-scale Indian resistance, but for the troopers it was all part of the job.
Warriors! we have everything to fight for, and if we are defeated we shall have nothing to live for, so let us fight like brave men!
The tricolumn attack by the U.S. Army may have felt important for the higher command as it'd end the last large-scale Indian resistance, but for the troopers it was all part of the job.
September 1, 2020
Like reading a Western comics, vividly describing the story of the historic loss of the US army led by General Custer in 1876. Written sequencing the happenings to individual characters, which makes it a n absorbing history narration
November 6, 2015
This is a very good book about Custer's Last Stand. I think Custer was a brillant leader but on this day he made tactical mistakes. He should have never divided up his troops and allowing what he did have to get ambushed. He should have had more than 1 plan in place. He also did not estimate well how hard and many the Indians were and they were fighting for their land.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews