by Tom Clavin
First published 2026
George Armstrong Custer rides toward the Little Bighorn River in June 1876, driven by his hunger for fame and glory. The Civil War hero has become America's first true celebrity, courting newspaper attention and chasing headlines. He envisions another massacre of Native Americans to cement his reputation. But waiting along the Montana riverbanks are Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and thousands of Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors. The collision between Custer's 7th Cavalry and the combined tribal forces will reshape the American West forever. Clavin tells this story from both perspectives, showing how the devastating defeat of U.S. forces marked not just Custer's end, but the beginning of the final chapter for Plains Indian resistance. The victory that seemed to promise Native American survival instead triggered a vengeful campaign that would culminate at Wounded Knee fourteen years later.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, historical-figures
Setting: Little Bighorn River, Montana, Wounded Knee
Period: 1876, 1890
352 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press
Content warnings: violence