Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors | Stephen E. Ambrose

Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors | Stephen E. Ambrose | Great introduction to 2 somewhat parallel lives

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Crazy Horse and Cu...

	Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors Stephen E. Ambrose Anchor, 1996 - 560 pages average customer review:based on 53 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 men of the United States 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.

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A new perspective

I have been a big fan of Ambrose and have read most of his books. I grew up in Montana and was aware of "Custer's Battlefield". The name was changed from Custer's Last Stand to the Battle of the Bighorn. Very appropriate.
Ambrose opened my eyes to the policy of the government as it related to the "Indian Wars". He does a great job in positioning both Custer and Crazy Horse throughout their lives and how they were destined to meet in SE Montana.

This book helps me understand how the Native Americans were treated and mistreated during the opening of the west.

If you are a history fan, I encourage you to read Stephen Ambose's works. His details allow you to put yourself in the shoes of an observer to history. Check out Undaunted Courage if you want to see the world through the eyes of Lewis and Clark.

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Great introduction to 2 somewhat parallel lives

I went into this book primariliy interested in crazy horse, yet by about half way through i was captivated with custer. Many of Mr. Ambrose's detractors say he stretches the facts. This could easily be true, i am in no way an expert on either crazy horse nor custer. Yet when i walk away from this book i dont remember many facts but more so feel as though i have a sense of who these two individuals were and how they operated in their respective worlds. If i was writing a dissertation on the topic i probably wouldnt cite this as a source, at the same time i think this is a great introduction book to crazy horse, custer, and the indian wars. Overall its a captiviating and fun read, enjoy!

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Good, Easy Read

Very good book that is true to the Ambrose style of writing - very easy and enjoyable to read. Ambrose has the luxury of having 130+ years of research and writing to reference yet the story, as told, is not mired in minute, inconsequential fact. Ambrose provides his opinion (in the final chapters he includes a short analysis/AAR of the battle at the Little Big Horn) in many instances yet it's not distracting nor does it detract from the telling of history - as a historian, that is what Ambrose was paid to do. His description doesn't glorify either Crazy Horse or Custer without balancing his portrayal with measured criticism.

As an ancillary benefit, this book describes the events surrounding Custer's activities in Kansas prior to his march to Montana. As a Kansas native, I found that to be extremely interesting.

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Thorughly Researched and Filled With Obscure But Interesting Facts

I recently re-read this book, having previously read it about 6 years ago. I was led to re-visit this historical piece after reading a biography of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall, himself a Lakota Sioux: "Crazy Horse, The Journey of Crazy Horse, a Lakota History". Ambrose's book is very thoroughly researched and written. He puts forth historical fact and well considered hypotheses. He shatters the larger than life, heroic personality we've been fed about Custer and reveals him to be a self-absorbed, irresponsible, undisciplined, despot but an military genius except in his understanding and knowledge about Native American Indians. Perhaps only in the Post Civil War years and the great movement to conquer the Western Plains and destroy the Native American Indian would such a personality have existed.

I think the book is weighted more heavily on Custer than on Crazy Horse, but that may well be because of the scarcity of first hand or written accounts of Carzy Horse's life. For his entire life, Crazy Horse refused to interact with whites. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to delve deeply into the history of how the west was "won" and the military actions that made it possible.

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Perhaps the Best Ambrose Offers before Lewis & Clark

Very well written account of Crazy Horse and the "crazy" attitudes of the US Government (big surprise---some things never change). Ambrose gives a detailed account of how each man came to be iconic---warts and all. Very well written---a page turner. I must admit, while I admire Ambrose and his significant contributions to the D-Day Museum, the accusations of plagiarism have kept me from reviewing his books---once these accusations appeared, I removed his books from my list---satisfied that the ones already read were enough.
All that to say, when my son, who graduated from college last year asked me what historical books I valued---this one made the list.

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