Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for History From the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes and a National Book Award, a brilliant biography of Gen. George Armstrong Custer that radically changes our view of the man and his turbulent times. In this magisterial biography, T. J. Stiles paints a portrait of Custer both deeply personal and sweeping in scope, proving how much of Custer's legacy has been ignored. He demolishes Custer's historical caricature, revealing a volatile, contradictory, intense person--capable yet insecure, ...
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Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for History From the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes and a National Book Award, a brilliant biography of Gen. George Armstrong Custer that radically changes our view of the man and his turbulent times. In this magisterial biography, T. J. Stiles paints a portrait of Custer both deeply personal and sweeping in scope, proving how much of Custer's legacy has been ignored. He demolishes Custer's historical caricature, revealing a volatile, contradictory, intense person--capable yet insecure, intelligent yet bigoted, passionate yet self-destructive, a romantic individualist at odds with the institution of the military (he was court-martialed twice in six years). The key to understanding Custer, Stiles writes, is keeping in mind that he lived on a frontier in time. In the Civil War, the West, and many areas overlooked in previous biographies, Custer helped to create modern America, but he could never adapt to it. He freed countless slaves yet rejected new civil rights laws. He proved his heroism but missed the dark reality of war for so many others. A talented combat leader, he struggled as a manager in the West. He tried to make a fortune on Wall Street yet never connected with the new corporate economy. Native Americans fascinated him, but he could not see them as fully human. A popular writer, he remained apart from Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, and other rising intellectuals. During Custer's lifetime, Americans saw their world remade. His admirers saw him as the embodiment of the nation's gallant youth, of all that they were losing; his detractors despised him for resisting a more complex and promising future. Intimate, dramatic, and provocative, this biography captures the larger story of the changing nation in Custer's tumultuous marriage to his highly educated wife, Libbie; their complicated relationship with Eliza Brown, the forceful black woman who ran their household; as well as his battles and expeditions. It casts surprising new light on a near-mythic American figure, a man both widely known and little understood.
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Seller's Description:
Condition: GOOD-Used with some wear from use. May include stickers on cover, missing or wear to dustcover, inside cover, spine, slight curled corners, stains, and wear to the fore edge. All orders ship via UPS Mail Innovations-can take up to 14 business days from first scan to be delivered. The dust jacket shows little wear.
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Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
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Like New. Size: 9x6x1; HAS DUST COVER*MAY HAVE SLIGHT SHELF WEAR*USED LIKE NEW CONDITION-MAY HAVE SCHOOL STAMP/NUMBER/LIGHT SHELF WEAR-NEVER ISSUED TO STUDENT-AS GOOD AS NEW.
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Fine. Books In Good Condition. May Have a Small Publisher Mark. Ship Via Fedex. Shipping Time 7 To 10 Days. Bookseller With Over 20 Years In Book Trade.
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Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. 0307592642. A couple pages in one signature extend beyond the rest at fore-edge.; Illus., maps, no remainder mark, dust jacket (not price-clipped) now in a clear protector; 582 pages.
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Very Good. First edition stated. Dust jacket and book are clean, has a very good binding and crisp pages, no marks or notations. Dust jacket is wrapped, jacket price not clipped. Small red remainder dot on bottom page edge. HB HS.
Having read many very good biographies about Custer, I find this one the best since it covers so many areas of his life in detail. I have a greater understanding of this man as he acted within his time and place in American history. Stiles is an excellent writer who brings you into the story as a witness to an unusual man striving to be famous. (When I visited West Point, I parked near the cemetery. As I walked into the burial ground, I immediately came upon Custer's grave with the obelisk bearing a buffalo head on each side. A Native American, I believe, had hung an eagle feather on one of the horns which was spooky and powerful. Custer's wife is buried along side him under a large flat stone. All in all, a moment I won't forget.)