Well-written, and fair in its attempt to portray the good and bad of Custer's character. He was no doubt polarizing, attracting fans and detractors wherever he went. That he had faults can't be argued, but I saw no evidence that his faults were so large or so different from those of his peers as to define him. Much of his fame is the result of propaganda — positively by his wife and friends and those who seek heroes, negatively by his rivals and by those who believe Whites were always in the wrong where Indians are involved.

Utley's conclusion about the Last Stand is probably fair — Custer lost because the Indians won — not because of some great blunder on his part but because he confronted something rare, a huge number of Indians who were ready to stand and fight. His conclusion that Custer could have become the greatest Indian fighter of all time if he hadn't been killed by Indians is a bit too silly to consider.