Custer, Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Big Horn

The Last Stand

The Sunday Times top ten bestseller. The ultimate mythic story of the American West: the story of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull's victory and General Custer's famous last stand - featuring remarkable new archival discoveries.

A mesmerising portrait of two extraordinary individuals and a thrilling blow-by-blow account of a landmark battle, it is a terrific achievement

Philbrick recounts this story with the clarity, colour and pace of a first-rate movie, and Jeffrey Ward's superb maps make the twists and turns easy to follow. Custer's Last Stand was America's Isandhlwana, where the shock of defeat was redeemed by the thrill of the tale

Fine new history...Philbrick has made excellent use of archival resources... and the resulting narrative is unlikely to be bettered. There is much more to savour... it is as brilliant an example of combat reconstruction as one is likely to find in any history of this scope and ambition

An absorbing retelling of the greatest Western of all. Philbrick is a stunningly evocative historian. It is a captivating story

Philbrick writes a lively narrative that brushes away the cobwebs of mythology to reveal the context and realities of Custer's unexpected 1876 defeat at the hands of his Indian enemies under Sitting Bull... compelling

Philbrick excels...Philbrick has pieced together the various testimonies with commendable skill

Philbrick's narrative gifts are such that although we know what is coming, the clash between the Sioux and the cavalry is immensely exciting... A mesmerising portrait of two extraordinary men and a thrilling account of a landmark battle, Philbrick's book stands out for sheer readability, and is a terrific achievement.

Philbrick's narrative gifts are such that, although we know what's coming, his story is still hugely exciting.

Philbrick comes as close to the truth as we are likely to get in this superbly researched and dramatic account'

Nathaniel Philbrick is an historian and broadcaster whose books include In the Heart of the Sea, which was a Sunday Times bestseller and won America's National Book Award (and is director Ron Howard's major new film), Sea of Glory (winner of the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize), Mayflower, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and the Sunday Times bestselling The Last Stand. 
He lives on Nantucket Island and is the founding director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies and a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association.

This is the archetypal story of the American West. Whether it is cast as a tale of unmatched bravery in the face of impossible odds or of insane arrogance receiving its rightful comeuppance, Custer's Last Stand continues to captivate the imagination. 
 
Nathaniel Philbrick brilliantly reconstructs the build-up to the Battle of the Little Big Horn through to the final eruption of violence. Two legendary figures dominate the events: George Armstrong Custer and Sitting Bull. Those involved are brought vividly to life, as well as the history, geography and haunting beauty of the Great Plains. 
 
This book provides a thrilling account of what happened there - and why - at the end of June 1876.

Nathaniel Philbrick

A notable merit of his account of the birth of the American revolution is its fairmindedness . . . readable and sensible.

Vivid, realistic and sometimes shocking . . . [character] is certainly the animating spirit of this fine narrative history and, in a sprawling, vibrant cast, the character that emerges most forcefully is that of the city of Boston itself: tumultuous, vigorous and fascinating.

Admirably even-handed . . . this perceptive account.

Brilliantly told.  Philbrick is a master narrator who has deployed every ounce of his considerable skill . . . to find the lifeblood of early America

This is popular history at its best: a taut narrative with a novelist’s touch, grounded in careful research.

A masterpiece of narrative and perspective . . . unforgettable.

Tightly focused and richly detailed . . . From the outset, Philbrick makes it clear that, unlike many other popular historians of the Revolution, he plans to be even-handed rather than merely glorify the colonial rebels . . . at his most vivid in conveying scenes of battle . . . what adds depth to the narrative is his fine sense of the ambitions that drive people in war and politics.

If you're interested in the military aspects of the war, this is a great overview of a complex story, and one that never loses sight of its human participants.

A City, a Siege, a Revolution

What lights the spark that ignites a revolution? 
 
What was it that, in 1775, provoked a group of merchants, farmers, artisans and mariners in the American colonies to unite and take up arms against the British government in pursuit of liberty? 
 
Nathaniel Philbrick, the acclaimed historian and bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea and The Last Stand, shines new and brilliant light on the momentous beginnings of the American Revolution, and those individuals – familiar and unknown, and from both sides – who played such a vital part in the early days of the conflict that would culminate in the defining Battle of Bunker Hill. 
 
Written with passion and insight, even-handedness and the eloquence of a born storyteller, Bunker Hill brings to life the robust, chaotic and blisteringly real origins of America.

Nathaniel Philbrick

Praise for Bunker Hill

A notable merit of his account of the birth of the American revolution is its fairmindedness . . . readable and sensible.

Vivid, realistic and sometimes shocking . . . [character] is certainly the animating spirit of this fine narrative history and, in a sprawling, vibrant cast, the character that emerges most forcefully is that of the ...

Admirably even-handed . . . this perceptive account.

A notable merit of his account of the birth of the American revolution is its fairmindedness . . . readable and sensible.

Vivid, realistic and sometimes shocking . . . [character] is certainly the animating spirit of this fine narrative history and, in a sprawling, vibrant cast, the character that emerges most forcefully is that of the ...

Admirably even-handed . . . this perceptive account.

A notable merit of his account of the birth of the American revolution is its fairmindedness . . . readable and sensible.

Vivid, realistic and sometimes shocking . . . [character] is certainly the animating spirit of this fine narrative history and, in a sprawling, vibrant cast, the character that emerges most forcefully is that of the ...

Admirably even-handed . . . this perceptive account.

Books by Nathaniel Philbrick

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