Custer's Last Stand

by Will Henry

Book by Henry, Will

Genres: Westerns

192 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Also wrote westerns as Clay Fisher.

Henry Wilson Allen (September 12, 1912 – October 26, 1991) was an American author and screenwriter. He used several different pseudonyms for his works. His 50+ novels of the American West were published under the pen names Will Henry and Clay Fisher. Allen's screenplays and scripts for animated shorts were credited to Heck Allen and Henry Allen.

Allen's career as a novelist began in 1952, with the publication of his first Western No Survivors. Allen, afraid that the studio would disapprove of his moonlighting, used a pen-name to avoid trouble.[3] He would go on to publish over 50 novels, eight of which were adapted for the screen. Most of these were published under one or the other of the pseudonyms Will Henry and Clay Fisher. Allen was a five-time winner of the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America and a recipient of the Levi Strauss Award for lifetime achievement.

Henry Wilson Allen was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Allen died of pneumonia on October 26, 1991 in Van Nuys, California. He was 79.

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was probably 1972 when I got my Marx Toys General Custer 12” action figure to add to my growing collection of Johnny West series action figures. That was likely my original introduction to General Custer. I can’t remember if I had seen the Errol Flynn movie at that time, but my older brother, who owned this book, filled me in on the details of Custer’s last stand. Within a couple of years I had become a competent enough reader to read this book myself. That was at least 50 years ago.

Reading it now as an adult I was able to zip through its less than 200 pages in just a day. It is a bare bones treatment, covering from Custer’s Washita River attack on Black Kettle’s village in 1868 all the way through to the murder of Crazy Horse. The history is fairly solid, though fictional dialogue was added to it. The writing is serviceable if a bit pedestrian, although it does liven a bit around the battle descriptions. First published in 1966, it includes language that we no longer find acceptable, like savage and half breed. But it does attempt to give the native perspective as well as that of the Americans.

This probably isn’t your go to book if you want a thorough history of Custer, the Seventh Cavalry, and the Battle of Little Bighorn. But if you just want a quick primer, or are a Custer enthusiast who wants to read everything you can on the subject, Custer’s Last Stand may be worth your while.

[Miss Sunshine girl]

Ez a könyv sok mindenről szólt, csak arról nem, ami a címe. Vagyis, arról is, kb. 5-6 oldalon, a végén. Nem vagyok egy nagy indiánszakértő, nem tudom, mennyire hiteles írás, a szerző azt írja, hogy indián beszámolókon alapul, de az nem derül ki, melyik indiánok beszámolói ezek, mennyire voltak közel a tűzhöz és mikor is jegyezték fel ezeket a beszámolókat.
Az tetszik benne, hogy mind az indiánok, mind Custer hibáit beleírja, talán az indiánok felé hajlik kicsit jobban, ez vhol érthető is, de történelmi műben nem megengedhető szvsz. Ami nem tetszik, hogy túl rövid, felszínes és nem értem a címet.
A mű egyébként elég olvasmányosan van megírva, nem száraz tényeket közöl, olvastatja magát. Azért vmi térképnek, korabeli fényképnek örültem volna.
A Könyvudvarban vettem 100 Ft-ért.
Ezt is mértem stopperrel, csak elfelejtettem felírni, de olyan 2 óra körüli volt.

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Henry pored over documents and statements from both "pony soldiers" and their Indian adversaries in order to make this account of Custer's last stand as accurate as possible. The result is a stellar, well written look at a tragic event, and the situations, decisions, and choices that led to it.

Greed is depicted here, and fraud and arrogance and murder, but also courage and honor and sacrifice.

This chapter in our history infuriates me, but it is part of our story and it needs to be known.

I very much appreciated the absence of foul words in this book and recommend it to anyone who has any interest in the West of the time, the Indians, Custer, or American history in general.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fictionalized account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the events leading up to it based on eye-witness testimonies of the Sioux and Cheyenne who fought the battle. Good analysis of battle tactics on both sides leading up to the last stand. Custer was an egomaniacal narcissist who had delusions of becoming president once he exterminated the Indians. He ignored known military battlefield procedures at the time so that he could garnish all glory for himself. Crazy Horse was the inspirational leader of the Indians, but he also was blinded at times by his all-consuming hatred of the soldiers. There was no suspense since everyone knows how the battle ended, but it was valuable to learn the Indians' side of the story and to see how Custer's every tactic backfired on him in battle. It was also interesting to note that many of Custer's fellow officers mistrusted him, although they never disobeyed him, while the enlisted ranks worshiped him.