A well-written book that takes an outdated, romantic view of its subject (the "Tragedy" of the title hints at this). We know where we stand from the introduction, where the author laments "one of the most startling defeats in the military history of the United States" and dismisses most eyewitness accounts of the battle as "Indian legend."

Halliburton does show some sympathy for the Great Plains Indians and their sense of betrayal by the U.S. government in its violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. But his perspective unquestionably skews toward George Custer and his cohort as they plot the invasions leading up to Little Bighorn and finally the battle itself. Halliburton softpedals the brutal Battle of Washita River--which many historians say is properly labeled a "massacre"--yet calls the Battle of Little Bighorn a "massacre." He also glosses over Custer's many disastrous tactical errors. It's choices like these that expose Halliburton's biases.

The book ends with this revealing sentence: "Not only did Little Bighorn bring to a close the life of an American hero, but, in time, the end of a great culture as well, that of the Plains Indians." I think there are some Plains Indians who would dispute both the "American hero" status of Custer and the nonexistence of their culture. ( )