An engrossing and tautly written account of a critical chapter in American history. -Los Angeles Times Nathaniel Philbrick; author of In the Heart of the Sea; Pulitzer Prize finalist Mayflower;and Valiant Ambition; is a historian with a unique ability to bring history to life. The Last Stand is Philbrick's monumental reappraisal of the epochal clash at the Little Bighorn in 1876 that gave birth to the legend of Custer's Last Stand. Bringing a wealth of new information to his subject; as well as his characteristic literary flair; Philbrick details the collision between two American icons- George Armstrong Custer and Sitting Bull-that both parties wished to avoid; and brilliantly explains how the battle that ensued has been shaped and reshaped by national myth.
#723253 in Books 2010-10-26 2010-10-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 2.70 x 6.00l; 2.33 #File Name: 01431184041200 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. parts greater than the sum?By brydurkI have read this book. However; I did not manage (or attempt) to read it straight through. Rather; I picked it up every now and then when I wanted to escape into a different place and/or time and maybe just gain some perspective on a region I didn't know very much about. I like Vollmann's writing and I am also interested in the Imperial County region and its history; so I was happy. This book is not for everyone. Hell; it's probably not for most people. Between the size; the price; and the subject matter; it's not light reading or light carrying. It's not all great. Some of it is quite tedious and overdone. But if you've any interest in the growth of southern California; life in a border region; or the evolution of agriculture in this country; you might want to give it a try. And it's Vollmann; so there are the assortment of prostitutes and view of the seedier side of things that you'd expect.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Total ImmersionBy Joan ColbyIf one best learns a language by total immersion; then one can likewise learn of place as William Vollman sets out to prove in his massive study "Imperial" which bombards the reader with every sort of datum on the California-Mexican area. Major themes include distribution of water; the transformation of small farms to vast agricultural domains; the plight of the Mexican illegal immigrant; the history of the Chinese in Mexico; accounts of early settlers; and more; much more. "Imperial" documents the conflicting cultures of American domination and Mexican poverty that poses a political and so far insoluable problem.18 of 20 people found the following review helpful. A rich collectionBy Chris C. HillWilliam Vollmann has been reporting on the interface of the underclass with popular American culture for over twenty years. Since collaborating with Ken Miller on a book of photographs; a number of Vollmann's documentary books; including "Rising up and Rising Down;" "Poor People;" and "Riding to Everywhere" have included his own photographs of persons encountered in the texts. Vollmann's latest work; "Imperial;" seems to have exacted the most effort of his documentaries; being at least ten years in the making. Apparently; the number of photos he wanted to include with his work exceeded the resources of Viking Penguin. Hence this coffee-table book from powerHouse Books.Vollmann's documentary photos are published as 8x10s in black and white; as (approximately) 11x14s in sepia; or as landscape formats of various dimensions printed across two-page spreads. Apart from seven pages at the end; there is no commentary because the Viking Penguin book of the same title has the relevant text.Some may find this collection of (mostly) posed portraits technically limited. I would not disagree. However; within those limits something eloquent can be found in virtually every page opening. To mention a few of this collection's striking moments at random: the way the shadow falls across the face of the border patrol cop on page 7; the portrait on page 11 in which the man and his cap encapsulate the closeness and distance between haves and have-nots; the contrasting mothers on facing pages 84/85; the similarity of character and visage between the ranch owners on facing pages 154/155.Vollmann's chief subject is the human condition; and his chief interest as a photographer is capturing what people both present and inadvertently manifest to the unhidden camera. Thus the subtleties in these pictures spring from the undisguised and unpredictable way their willing subjects relate to the camera's eye. In this sense the photographic medium constantly announces itself throughout the collection. Here the camera is no voyeur. The trade-off is a lack of (apparently) unselfconscious moments; which have their own telling power. For those; however; one can view the work of almost any other documentary photographer.Can this collection stand on its own apart from the text it accompanies? Clearly; the publisher believes so. They have produced a handsome; well edited volume that can without apology continue a lineage extending through "Forgotten Village" and "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" back to (at least) "People of the Abyss." One doesn't need the companion prose to enjoy Vollmann's pleasure and belief in the power of the artifact and his empathetic witness to and celebration of people and environments seldom encountered by us book readers.
