April 2008

Scores of films have been made about the Battle of the Little Bighorn—or Custer’s Last Stand, as it is popularly known. According to historians, the number of books written on the campaign and its major participants, especially Custer and Crazy Horse, long ago passed the 1,000 mark.

Writer James Donovan author of Custer and the Little Bighorn(Voyageur Press, 2002), has added the latest volume on the subject with A Terrible Glory—Custer and the Little Bighorn(Little Brown, 2008). He has used comprehensive documentation and the latest forensic accounts to reconstruct the campaign of America’s most famous military disasters. Donovan spoke with American Heritage from his home in Dallas.

AH: Curiously, very little has been written about the battle of the Little Bighorn itself. Stephen Ambrose's Crazy Horse and Custer devotes maybe three or four pages to the actual battle. 

JD: There are books on the battle, but most of them are aimed toward the Custer/Little Bighorn specialist or fanatic.