The Day the World Ended at Little Bighorn: A Lakota History

The author of The Journey of Crazy Horse presents a legendary battle through the eyes of the Lakota

The saga of ?Custer?s Last Stand? has become ingrained in the lore of the American West, and the key players?Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and George Armstrong Custer?have grown to larger-than-life proportions. Now, award-winning historian Joseph M. Marshall presents the revisionist view of the Battle of the Little Bighorn that has been available only in the Lakota oral tradition. Drawing on this rich source of storytelling, Marshall uncovers what really took place at the Little Big Horn and provides fresh insight into the significance of that bloody day.

 (32 customer reviews)

I have treasured much of Joseph Marshall's past writing, and have the deepest respect for him and the Lakota culture. Therefore this review is a little difficult to write as I was somewhat disappointed in this book.

The book has several VERY STRONG components. Specifically Mr. Marshall's sharing of the real and specific experiences of the Native peoples from the ~1890s forward. This is painful reading requiring deep soul searching for EVERY PERSON on how collective greed (be it national, business or individual) destroys. Much of this I never knew ("Indian insane asylums," homesteading/logging/mining scams, terrible condescending treatment and discrimination which continues). The horrible pain inflicted on native children in the schooling/re-education is unforgivable (IMO). Mr. Marshall brings the personal pain and tragedy of these actions to a personal, real level without being exploitive - the people exude GENTLE STRENGTH.

On the other hand, some of the...Read more

Custer's Last Stand...The Little Big Horn...Greasy Grass; call it what you will, the battles that took place between June 25 and June 26, 1876 hold a place in our history. While less of an issue now, the defeat of the Seventh Cavalry was as big a deal in 1876 as September 11 was in 2001.

And...the response to both was the same: eliminate the enemy.

Neither the US response to that defeat, nor the Global War on terror has achieved its goal. The former action cam a whole lot closer, however.

It is Mr. Marshall's dealing with the aftermath of the battle that casues this book to be - in my opinion - flawed. But, before I get to that, let me sing the praises of the first two-thirds of this book.

The Day the World Ended at Little Bighorn: A Lakota History is the 19th book I have read on this topic. They range from ficton to non-fiction; 'Little Big Man' through 'Song of the Morning Star' to 'The Custer Myth.' I've seen the goodly numbers of movies...Read more

I would have to completely agree with Mr. Freborg's review, both positive and negative. I found the discussion of weaponry at the battle to be fascinating, and the analysis of the role of men and women before and during the battle to also be exceptional. However, I do agree that Mr. Marshall at times seemed very defensive (understandably, but still...) and the book was very repetitive in parts. It was hard to get a sense of historical progression as I was reading. In other words, A came before B which came before C. The books skips around constantly, discussing issues before, during, and after the incident at Greasy Grass. Overall, though, the content is very good and, despite studying Native American culture for a few years now, I still learned some new things. Definitely worth the price.