Crazy Horse and Custer: Born Enemies

With photographs and stunning illustrations from acclaimed author-artist S.D. Nelson, this thrilling double biography juxtaposes the lives of two enemies whose conflict changed American history: Crazy Horse and George Custer

In 1876, Lakota chief Crazy Horse helped lead his people's resistance against the white man's invasion of the northern Great Plains. One of the leaders of the US military forces was Army Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. The men had long been enemies. At the height of the war, when tribalism had reached its peak, they crossed paths for the last time.

In this action-packed double biography, S. D. Nelson draws fascinating parallels between Crazy Horse and Custer, whose lives were intertwined. These warriors were alike in many ways, yet they often collided in deadly rivalry. Witness reports and reflections by their peers and enemies accompany side-by-side storytelling that offers very different perspectives on the same historical events. The two men's opposing destinies culminated in the infamous Battle of the Greasy Grass, as the Lakota called it, or the Battle of the Little Bighorn, as it was called by the Euro-Americans.

In Crazy Horse and Custer, Nelson's gripping narrative and signature illustration style based on Plains Indians ledger art, along with a mix of period photographs and paintings, shines light on two men whose conflict forever changed Lakota and US history.

The book includes an author's note, timeline, endnotes, and bibliography.

Author: S. D. Nelson
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Published: 11/09/2021
Pages: 144
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.10h x 7.40w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781419731938
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.8
Point Value: 4
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 515760 / Crazy Horse and Custer: Born Enemies


Review Citation(s):
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2021
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2021
School Library Journal 10/01/2021 pg. 108
Booklist 10/15/2021 pg. 40
Publishers Weekly 10/25/2021
Shelf Awareness 11/16/2021

About the Author
S. D. Nelson is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in the Dakotas. He is the award-winning author and illustrator of a number of books, including Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, Black Elk's Vision (winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Storyteller Award and named a Chicago Public Library Best of the Best), and many more. He lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.