Synopses & Reviews
George Armstrong Custer. The name evokes instant recognition in almost every American and in people around the world. No figure in the history of the American West has more powerfully moved the human imagination.
When originally published in 1988, Cavalier in Buckskin met with critical acclaim. Now Robert M. Utley has revised his best-selling biography of General George Armstrong Custer. In his preface to the revised edition, Utley writes about his summers (1947-1952) spent as a historical aide at the Custer Battlefield-as it was then known-and credits the work of several authors whose recent scholarship has illuminated our understanding of the events of Little Bighorn. He has revised or expanded chapters, added new information on sources, and revised the map of the battlefield.
Review
"Former Park Service historian Robert M. Utley is one of our most experienced and most respected students of the Western Frontier of the United States in the 19th century. His Custer biography, in the new University of Oklahoma Press Western Biography Series, is, as expected, competent, readable, and restrained, and its appearance now is especially welcome after the remarkable popularity of Evan Council's overrated Son of the Morning Star. The book, however, is much too short (series limitations, perhaps?), slighting Custer's early life and Civil War career, and even omitting crucial information about the Little Bighorn battle. More damaging, Utley's enthusiastically positive assessment of Custer's military capabilities is, to this reviewer, completely unconvincing. Although willing to acknowledge Custer's ample personality flaws, Utley tries too hard to absolve Custer of a large share of the blame for his defeat at the great Sioux village on the Little Bighorn in 1876— although Utley is surely correct to note that emphasis on Custer's mistakes often leads historians to ignore the competence of the Sioux warriors and their leaders, especially Crazy Horse. More noticeably wrong-headed is Utley's praise of the performance of the 'Boy General' in the Civil War; he fails to distinguish dash, bravery, and charisma from tactical, operational, and strategic competence, and too often accepts the judgments of the press, of loyal subordinates, and of such notoriously bad judges of character and competence as Grant and Sheridan. Custer entered combat only in 1863 and was rarely accorded independent authority. Utley has similar praise for the lackluster General Alfred Pleasonton and makes other minor misjudgments about the Civil War. While better than most books on Custer, this is disappointing." Reviewed by Andrew Witmer, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Synopsis
In his preface to the revised edition, Utley writes about his summers (1947-1952) spent as a historical aide at the Custer Battlefield-as it was then known-and credits the work of several authors whose recent scholarship has illuminated our understanding of the events of Little Bighorn. He has revised or expanded chapters, added new information on sources, and revised the map of the battlefield.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
About the Author
Robert "Bob" Utley served for 25 years in various capacities with the National Park Service and other federal agencies. Since his retirement from the federal government in 1980, he has devoted himself full time to historical research and writing. His specialty is the history of the American West. Ten of Bob's books have been selections of the History Book Club, eight of the Book of the Month Club.
Bob was born in Arkansas October 31, 1929, but reared in Indiana. He attended Purdue and Indiana Universities (BS 1951, MA 1952). Bob spent six collegiate summers as a ranger-historian at Custer Battlefield National Monument, Montana, now Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. He first pinned on the silver park ranger badge (not the present gold one) in June 1947 and took it off in September 1952 to be drafted into the U.S. Army. Bob also served four years, both as an enlisted man and an officer. Although trained as an infantryman, he served the final two years (plus one as a civilian), as a historian for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon.
Bob returned to the National Park Service in permanent status in September 1957 and served, successively, as Regional Historian of the Southwest Region in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1957-64; as Chief Historian in Washington DC, 1964-72; as Director, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, 1972-73; and as Assistant Director of the National Park Service for Park Historic Preservation, 1973-76. From 1977 to 1980 he was Deputy Executive Director of the President's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
One of the founders of the Western History Association, Bob served on its governing council 1962-74 and as its president 1967-68. He was a member of the editorial board of The American West Magazine, 1964-80. The Western Historical Quarterly was launched during my presidency, and Bob served on its editorial board 1968-73. Bob was also a founder of the Potomac Corral of the Westerners Club in 1955 and its sheriff in 1973, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Eastern National Park and Monument Association 1985-87 and 1989-92. He has appeared frequently on television productions related to the history of the West (Real West, for example, and How the West Was Lost, as well as others on the History, Discovery, and other channels).
In 1974 Purdue University awarded Bob an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree, followed by the University of New Mexico in 1976 and Indiana University in 1981. In 1971 Bob received the Department of the Interior's Distinguished Service Award.
Since 1980 Bob has been married to Melody Webb, also a National Park Service veteran and also a historian.