Publisher's Weekly Review
What most people know about Custer's life centers on one day: his fatal last stand at Little Bighorn in 1876. Not fair, claims Spur Award winner Hatch (for 2005's Black Kettle), who briskly and convincingly sets out to rescue the Union Army's youngest general from this ignominy. Hatch leads a romp through the Civil War, describing Custer's involvement in many key confrontations, including both Bull Runs, Brandy Station, Gettysburg, and Appomattox. An undistinguished graduate of West Point in 1861, Custer made a name for himself early in the war with daring cavalry charges and smart military strategies. His rapid advance through aide-de-camp positions for three generals, coupled with his willingness to get out on the battlefield with his men and his flair for self-promotion, made Custer one of the most colorful characters of the war. The deftly detailed narrative undergirds Hatch's emphasis on the importance of Custer's early military career while delivering the drama of the larger swirl of the Civil War. However, Hatch reveals little about Custer's private life or his inner self, elements of character that might have helped flesh out how and why this popular, accomplished general died so young. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Before he became the most famous man in America, George Armstrong Custer wasonly moderately famous. By the end of the Civil War, very few cavalry commanders' reputations stood higher than Custer's. From First Bull Run, where he was cited for bravery, to Appomattox, where he observed Robert E. Lee's surrender, Custer enjoyed a glittering war, distinguishing himself in battle and earning the love of his troops and the adulation of the public. Hatch (The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 2013, etc.) offers a bit about Custer's boyhood and more about his West Point years, where the prank-loving youth famously piled up demerits and endeared himself to fellow cadets, but the author mostly focuses on the battlefield exploits and Custer's wartime, tortuous courtship of Libbie Bacon. He won the woman (she remained devoted to polishing his reputation until her death in 1933) and did as much as any Union officer to win the war. In his gold-looped, velveteen jacket and red tie, with his long hair flowing from under his soft hat, Custer's flamboyance was exceeded only by his bravery, demonstrated at places like Williamsburg, Gettysburg and Culpeper. He had mounts shot out from under him, received wounds and appeared on the cover of Harper's Weekly. His horsemanship, stamina, intuitive grasp of cavalry tactics, talent for sensing the enemy's weakness and propensity to lead from the front impressed his superiors and accounted for his astonishing rise through the ranks. By 23, he was the youngest general in the Union army; by war's end, a genuine national hero. Still ahead lay Little Bighorn and his curious transmutation in history from hero to martyr to object lesson to object of ridicule. An admiring, fast-paced, thoroughly readable account of Custer at war.]]]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
George Armstrong Custer's achievements in the Civil War, for which he won national fame and was promoted to brigadier general in the U.S. Cavalry at age 23, are reviewed here by popular historian Hatch (The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). Rightfully giving Custer his due for his brilliant early career as a Union cavalry officer, Hatch particularly celebrates his role in the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, wherein he out-generaled the Confederate cavalry legend Jeb Stuart to protect the Union rear position during Pickett's ill-fated charge, a success that not only bolstered his reputation but was essential to the survival and eventual victory of the entire Union Army. Custer is best known today for his later role in the Plains Indian wars and his death at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, but Hatch sympathetically emphasizes what Custer formerly achieved to make him a national figure in the first place. He describes battle scenes vividly; Custer's legendary pluck, luck, and sheer audacity shine throughout the narrative. VERDICT Recommended as a lively read for Civil War history buffs during the 150th anniversaries and beyond. [See Prepub Alert, 6/10/13.]-Nathan Bender, Albany Cty. P.L., Laramie, WY (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
