America's most famously unfortunate soldier has been the subject of scores of books, but The Custer Reader is unique as a substantial source of classic writings about and by him. Here is George Armstrong Custer as seen by himself, his contemporaries, and leading scholars. Those steeped in Custeriana will discover new insights in these pieces, some published for the first time, some difficult of access, assembled for easy reference. Those led by Custer's legend to make a fuller acquaintance will find here a reliable and complete introduction to his controversial personality and career and their transmogrification into myth. Combining first-person narratives, scholarly articles, photographic essays--as well as original selections by Robert M. Utley, Brian Dippie, Gregory J.W. Urwin, and Eric von Schmidt--The Custer Reader contains four sections, each introduced by Paul Andrew Hutton. Jay Monaghan, Brian Dippie, Charles King, and Chief Joseph White Bull are among those who illuminate Custer's Civil War years; his role in the Indian wars, particularly the Battle of the Little Big Horn; and the evolution of the Custer myth.