A review by cascadienne
The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn by Nathaniel Philbrick

3.0

I had read In the Heart of the Sea a couple of summers ago and was really looking forward to reading this book. At the end of it... Not so much. I do appreciate the extensive use of primary source material from both sides in Philbrick's research, as well as all of the shades of grey and greater context that swirl around the Battle of the Little Bighorn. But it was - perhaps due to the nature of the events of those few days in 1876 - a very difficult narrative to follow once the author started recounting the blow-by-blow of the battle itself. I agree with another reviewer who stated that many of the people the reader encounters in the book are not fleshed out to a memorable degree, which makes it difficult to follow them through the battle and its aftermath.