Custer: Lessons in Leadership

Great Generals

by Duane P. Schultz, Wesley K. Clark (Foreword)

Colorful, charismatic, and controversial, George Armstrong Custer became a national hero at the age of twenty-three when he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general—barely two years after graduating at the bottom of his class from West Point. He was idolized both by his men and by the American public, though he endured two courts-martial and temporary dismissal from the Army.

Custer pushed himself harder and longer than most, owing to an intense ambition to succeed and a hunger for glory and fame. He was contemptuous of danger, taking chances that no one else would take, which earned him the reputation among some observers of being reckless. Redeeming himself through his actions at the front, he resurrected his former glory with a stunning victory over the Cheyenne Indians using tactics he had perfected during the Civil War. General Custer was one of those larger-than-life figures whose flamboyant personality, daring, and seeming invincibility became legendary. Here, author Duane Schultz shows why he remains one of the most fascinating figures in American military history.

Genres: Biography, History, American Civil War

206 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2010

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read several books about Custer, so I'm not a novice when it comes to a basic understanding of him, his times, his passions, his faults and his fame. Custer deserves more than a high school nod. He played a very important role in the evolution of America's systematic slaughter of the Indians who roamed the plains of the Midwest. It is important to mention that General Custer didn't dislike Indians in the way that many Generals approached the "Indian problem." Custer liked to fight, in fact, he loved war. He thrived in the bloody baths of the Civil War and then moved on to the Indians of the West. It wasn't so much the Indians or even killing; he just liked to fight. Nothing brought his blood to a boil faster than a good battle. So, the man was complex.

If you haven't read anything about him, "Lessons in Leadership" is a good introduction. It's just the facts, ma'am. Custer did have a true love, his wife Libbie. And, by any standards, they had a reasonably good marriage. Custer was faithful to Libbie and his vices were minimal. He wasn't really a drinker. At a time when military men drank themselves into stupors, he certainly did not have a problem. He read a lot, loved the theater, enjoyed music and was a decent writer. If he had a problem, it was his ego. His favorite military person was Napoleon and in that respect he saw himself certainly bigger than life and most definitely a lucky man who constantly cheated death.

If you have an interest in the old West, I do recommend that you give Custer: Lessons in Leadership a read. It is a good point by point introduction to Custer, the "Indian problem" and the movement of Americans into the West. It's not a happy story, but one that more Americans should have more than just a superficial knowledge of if the want to understand the American character and how it developed. The genocide committed against the Indians was certainly as vile as the one Hitler perpetrated against the Jews of Europe. It seems that most Americans would prefer to remember the games of cowboys and Indians they played as children than face the truth about the cruel slaughter of the Indians in something that was not a game.

[Craig Schwinden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short (designed that way) but dependable piece on George A. Custer, who along with a part of the 7th Cavalry, was lost at the Little Bighorn in 1876. This piece gives a brief history of the young boy who became the young man who was, arguably, one of the finest cavalry officers in U.S. Army history.

While this book contained very little in detail being only 70-some pages, it did have a fine ending comparing the Custer to the Civil War battles he fought to the Custer who led soldiers in the Indian Wars on the American Plains. He was far more suited to the former than the latter, as was most of his contemporaries trained at West Point. Yet, he is remembered for the latter.

A nice, quick review of Custer....recommended.

[David Engel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise, interesting work on this important historic figure. I enjoyed how this fleshed out his non-military life along with his campaigns.

[Nick Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite its brevity, this is actually one of the better biographies of Custer I have read. His leadership style was that of strict disciplinarian who won respect through personal example. While I undoubtedly would have hated him based on his penchant for "chickenshit discipline" and love of glory, I can at least respect that fact that he never sent a man to do something he wouldn't do himself.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slender biography that tracks Custer from his youth in Monroe, Michigan, through his formative years as a young officer in the Civil War, to his demise on the Great Plains, this is a good place for those with limited or no knowledge of Custer's story to begin their study. A longer review may be found at: www.cloquetriverpress.com.
Peace.
Mark

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, decent biography of Custer hitting the high points and briefly looking at his lesson for current and future generals. Part of the Great Generals Series.