Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth

This is a beautifully written book, and very readable. Having read a lot about the history of the period I already knew how fiercely the widow Custer guarded her husband's reputation and how much she did to enhance it. Unlike many female authors might do, however, Leckie does not judge Libby by modern standards, but puts her in the context of her time. She also touches on the possibility that remaining Autie's widow may have been far more liberating for her, in her times, than it would have been to become Mrs. Someone else. During her husband's lifetime she lived in his shadow, but after his death she was able to use that connection to become an author and lecturer in her own right. She also left an estate valued at over $300,000, after her husband had managed only to put them into debt. Having read her memoirs like Boots and Saddles and Tenting on the Plains, it was clear that Mrs.Custer never gave much insite into her true feelings. Nothing seemed to upset her except a criticism of her husband. Inspite of this, though, Leckie does manage to make her into a real person. I found her epilogue truly moving, and I came away with an understanding of an historical character, whom up to this point, I hadn't much cared for..

Sometimes, it's not how good you are, but how good your P.R. is that determines your reputation. And in the case of the (in)famous U.S. cavalry commander George Armstrong Custer, the P.R. was definitely good. Immediately after Custer's death (along with 200+ of his troops in what was, and arguably still is, the worst battle loss ever suffered by U.S. forces), his widow, Libbie Bacon Custer, began a propaganda campaign designed to secure her beloved husband's place in history. Unfortunately for history, she succeeded far too well. This book, a biography of Custer's widow, gives real insight into how she manipulated the media available to her in order to glorify her husband--or to be more accurate, to glorify her idealized portrait of her husband. Had Libbie not done her work so well, Custer would have been only a footnote in American History. In addition to providing a valuable supplement to the historical record concerning Custer, Ms. Leckie's book paints a masterly portrait of an exceptional woman, which is well worth the time of readers with little interest in Custer