LITTLE BIGHORN & ISANDLWANA; Kindred Fights, Kindred Follies
by Paul Williams
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Book Summary Information
Author: Paul WilliamsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-05-23
ISBN: 1419665790
Number of pages: 410
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
Book Reviews of LITTLE BIGHORN & ISANDLWANA; Kindred Fights, Kindred Follies
Book Review: Well Done but Needs More Maps
Summary: 4 Stars
Years ago, I read James Gump's academic treatment of the Zulu War and the Great Sioux War, THE DUST ROSE LIKE SMOKE in which he compared the broad causes and consequences of these two similar wars against aborginal peoples. This book though gets at the most compelling aspects of these two wars, namely, their most famous battles--Little Big Horn (June 1876) and Islandhlwana (January 1879). Williams compares Custer and Durnford as people and commanders. He examines both battles by alternating back and forth between the two as they progress along similar lines--Reno's valley fight, the opening of the Islandhlwana engagement, the fate of Custer's column, the route of Durnford's command, the seige of Reno Hill compared to Rorke's Drift, etc. Both British and American commanders fully expected, with justifiable reasons, that their main problem would be simply catching their elusive foes and bringing them to battle. He points out some similar controversies--accusations that both Custer and Durnford disobeyed orders, the author coming down with a no (correctly) on these key questions. He readily admits that Durnford enjoys nowhere near Custer's fame and name recognition but the comparisons, nevertheless, work, right down to the fact that some of the Reno Court of Inquiry took place simulataneously with the British military court of inquiry conducted immediately after the January 22, 1879 Islandhlwana fight.
As a student of the Little Big Horn, the one map provided of that battle was more than adequate as I have a library full of maps in other books to draw on plus the ones "in my head." For Islandhlwana though, due to my relative lack of knowledge on the battle, the one provided proved insufficient as it can't document the various developments with the corresponding approximate times. Yes, one book on Islandhlwana is buried somewhere on my shelves but maps in the context of the book can't be beat.
Also, readers should note that this book is drawn from secondary sources and is without footnotes but all this is forgivable as it is an entertaining read and isn't striving to be the end-all book on these two battles. Instead, it entertains and enlightens.
Summary of LITTLE BIGHORN & ISANDLWANA; Kindred Fights, Kindred Follies
In 1876 Custer's 7th Cavalry was savagely defeated during an unprovoked war to seize the Sioux hunting grounds. Turning former notions regarding the Little Bighorn battle on their head, Paul Williams penetrates Custer's mind, revealing the devastating logic for the fatal regimental division leading to the annihilation of his immediate command. Three years later the redcoat troops of Queen Victoria launched an equally outrageous grab for Zulu lands in South Africa, and repeated Little Bighorn history at Isandlwana with their own humiliating destruction. Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and Lieutenant Colonel Anthony W. Durnford had much in common, from mode of dress to tactics employed, and the way they died. Here the riveting stories of the two soldiers and their final battles are interwoven, revealing how, to an astonishing degree, similar aims, tactics, personalities, weapons and underestimation of so-called savages led to tragic defeat.General Books
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