The author was a historian at Little Bighorn. He was not a fan of Custer, and didn't hold Crook's retreat responsible for Custer's defeat, although he was somewhat critical of the retreat too. Overall the book was well written, and the maps were great. Every so often, however, there would be a ridiculously-overwritten sentences. For example:Long-range firing occasionally spat mushrooms of dust from whining bullets impacting into the hard Montana gumbo.

The book was made more enjoyable by my recent visit to the battlefield. I parked near where the battle started, drove into Kollmar Creek Valley, and hiked two-thirds of the way up Crook Hill.