Description
Book SynopsisThe defeat of George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn was big news in 1876. James Mueller draws on exhaustive research of period newspapers to explore press coverage of the famous battle to offer a unique take on the dramatic events that so shook the American public.
Trade ReviewBack when newspapers were the primary source of information, opinion, and entertainment in America, when even small towns had competing papers with divergent political and religious affiliations, the public formed its views on current events mostly from what appeared in the press.
Shooting Arrows and Slinging Mud is a rich, readable study of the newspaper response in 1876 to Custer's disastrous defeat at the Little Bighorn - - a response that proved instrumental in creating the enduring fascination with Custer's Last Stand."" - Brian W. Dippie, author of
Custer's Last Stand: The Anatomy of an American Myth""The journalists who covered the Battle of the Little Bighorn in the immediate aftermath of Custer's defeat set the framework for all subsequent discussions and debates about Custer's Last Stand, a framework that continues to reverberate in modern journalism, the academic world, and popular culture today. James Mueller here provides a most thorough review of that early coverage. His study underscores how Custer's critics and fans alike remain so indebted to the first generation of reporters and editors to comment on those stunning events."" - Sandy Barnard, coauthor of
Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now
