Rating: 
Summary: Great in any genre
Review: I have read this book cover-to-cover four times. I never fail to find something new and revealing in it-some fresh aspect I had not properly explored previously. All history should be written this well. But beyond history, Connell brings a novelist's eye as to which details are telling and worth the reader's time. This book should have won the pulitzer, but that is another matter.
Rating:
Summary: Enduring impact
Review: I read this book for the first time in 1986 and as I recall, I could not put it down until it was finished. It has held a favored spot in my bookcase ever since. I was and remain fascinated by the battle and the lives of the men who fought it, so much so that I find myself now in 2002 planning a summer motorcycle trip to the Little Bighorn for no reason other than I must. I will re-read this book before I go.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Very Best Book's I ever
Review: I think the book "Son of the Morning Star" was one of the best books ever written. I could not put it down. And, it was all true facts. It was filled with loads of factual information. I learned many great things by reading this wonderful book. I have ordered a Hardback copy of "Son of the Morning Star" to keep for good.
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Summary: A MAGICAL WESTERLY TOUR WITH CUSTER
Review: I thought I should add my comments, as a foreigner to your culture and language. This has been my very first book on Custer and the Little Big Horn, and hoping that my opinion as a fervent admirer of American History could help maybe any foreign reader I have to admit that the way in which this book is written and intermingles stories has left me with a want to re-read it. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and as obviously I don't have the reading background that any American Custer buff could have I can assure that this book has created in me the need to read more. This book has converted me, if any more is possible, to the American West. It's so full of anecdotes and details that one would say the author was contemporary. I have to pick it up and read it once more!
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic ride through Custer's west!
Review: I was saddened when I finished Connell's work -- saddened because I didn't want it to be over. I wanted to read it forever. Connell's book is an absolutely fabulous read! I liken it to sitting around a campfire and listening to him tell marvelous stories surrounding the players, both white (and black), and native American. He even holds your interest while tracing the path of a pocket watch taken in the battle. Connell gives a very good account of Custer, Reno, Benteen, Gall, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Rain-in-the-Face, and virtually every player in that conflict. When Connell flitters about going from one theme to another, it is fun to follow him. I cannot recommend this book too highly. Read it over and over again!!!
Rating:
Summary: The finest military history book by an American author
Review: I'm a great fan of military history of the American Civil war and I've read more than my share of historical accounts of various battles. This book violates every "convention" of traditional historical accounts of military engagements by jumping from event to event in a non-chronologic order. Character vignettes are scattered throughout the text in different places and important period facts are added here and there. Surprisingly (or not given Mr. Connell's reputation), the result is a crystal clear presentation of the events, facts, personalities and overall picture of the horrible events that unfolded at the Battle of Little Bighorn. It is a wonderful example of what a true writer and literary artist can do in this genre. This is an unsurpassed achievement and I heartily recommend it to those who are avid readers of military history and to those who usually abhor such topics. This is literature, not merely facts and figures.
Rating:
Summary: Son of the Morning Star
Review: It is a shame this book is out of print as I have found it one of the best books I have read on the Custer Saga.New info on troops movements, Based after the parire fire on Little Big Horn in the 1980's It has mostly what you have read in the past but is wriiten in a very egaging manner that it is hard to put down. I believe the mini series(also on video with same name) is based off of this book. There are a large amount of books on Custer and the Little Big Horn,and there are a few others that are very good on this topic.This is a great book to get a good feel(or primer) of the Custer Big Horn Battle. If you can get hold of a copy to read, Enjoy
Rating: 
Summary: Father of the Little Big Horn
Review: It was on June 25 1876 that the military debacle known as the Battle of the Little Big Horn occurred, when that American enigma General George Armstrong Custer led his troops into a Sioux trap that left more than 200 men, including Custer, dead. Detractors Custer never lacked (his memoir "My Life on the Plains" was derided as "My Lie on the Plains"); and there are historians, armchair and otherwise, who consider Custer directly and solely responsible for that fatal Sunday afternoon. Evan S Connell used this famous tragedy as the basis for his 1984 non-fiction bestseller "Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Big Horn". Because Connell is a novelist, you'd expect his re-telling to have a great deal of smooth tension, but I found the narrative loose and choppy. Though there are some startling passages (including a description of how it feels to be scalped), the overall effect is too scattered to leave a lasting impression. Custer himself, obviously a bold subject, enters the story almost diffidently, his colorful personality revealed by fits and starts. There are too many pages devoted to the other officers at the campaign, none of them as intriguing as "Ringlets" or "Iron Butt", to name two of Custer's less heroic sobriquets. Equally digressive but more pertinent are the profiles of Custer's two great adversaries Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. In fact, readers may find that one of the most attractive features of "Son of the Morning Star" is the space given the Native Americans and their dilemma. Connell describes frankly the cavalry sorties in which villages were destroyed, women and children were killed. After one such foray, 100 Cheyenne scalps were displayed on the stage of a Denver theatre to a rapturous audience causing an anonymous Britisher to observe that "America might be the only nation in history to have slipped from a primitive estate into decadence without ever knowing civilization". Ouch! Sharp passages like this prick the reader's interest, but a more consistent tone would have held his attention throughout.
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Summary: A GOOD OBJECTIVE LOOK AT A WESTERN LEGEND
Review: Like many historic events of the nineteenth century--especially those of a tragic nature--the events that took place at The Little Bighorn were shrouded for decades in sensationalism to a greater or lesser degree. Misconceptions and inaccuracies have abounded as the story of Custer and his ill-fated troops has been told and retold in print and on the big screen.I was looking for a book that would go a long way in providing an objective view of the events surrounding The Battle of the Little Bighorn and found such a book in Son of the Morning Star. Evan S. Connell does a masterful job of telling the story. He provides excellent background history and tells how information, or the lack thereof, available to Custer at the time may have contributed to his ultimate demise. Arrogance and racism have long been attributed to Custer's disastrous campaign but Connell helps paint probably the most accurate and objective portrait of the colorful general to date. Custer was arrogant but Connell shows that there was much more to the story. A great read!
Rating:
Summary: The most concise summary of the Custer legend available.
Review: Prior to reading this book I knew very little about Custer or his time. After reading this book my interest in Custer and the era were awakended. If you are a history buff, this is a book for you. Facts and information are absolutely fascinating.
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