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| Promo ad for the Black Hills featuring Custer |
I want to bring your attention to something special. Paul Horsted and Ernest Graffe have just announced a new edition to their wildly popular book, EXPLORING WITH CUSTER.
In 1874, Custer led the U.S. 7th Cavalry on an expedition into the Black Hills of present day South Dakota. The existence of gold in the region was verified and the race was on. Since that time Custer's name and presence is all over the Black Hills. There's Custer county, the city of Custer, and of course, the crown jewel of the State park system - Custer State Park.
EXPLORING WITH CUSTER examines the expedition in detail. Newspapermen were along for the trip and their reports are contained within the text along with journal and diary entries from the participants. Lots of maps and charts allow you to travel along from the comfort of your easy chair. There are also GPS coordinates for trail spots that are located on public lands so you can go see for yourself what the 7th Cavalry saw.
The real highlight of the book are the photos. In 1874, Custer brought along a photographer to document the trip and he took the first images of the Black Hills. The photographer, W.H. Illingworth, was able to capture some spectacular images of the scenery in the area. Those photos are laid out side-by-side with modern day depictions of the sites. In some cases, a lot of change is seen. In others, it is shocking how much has stayed the same over the last almost 150 years.
Author Paul Horsted says this about the new edition: "This new, larger edition has been completely revised. We added 36 pages of photos, discoveries, Expedition landmarks, and new sources. Every photo site is updated, and historic photos have amazing clarity thanks to new scans of the original glass negatives. More than 260 photos and 135 maps are now included in the 336-page book."
You will not be disappointed with this book. I have literally spent hours staring at the eye-popping photos and scouring the maps. Order directly from Paul and you can get a signed copy of your very own. Be sure to order the new REVISED 4TH EDITION by clicking the link below.
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| Click here to read the newspaper announcement that set off the Black Hills gold rush. |
This book, along with its companion, Crossing the Plains with Custer, are amazing works. And I'm with you -- I've spent hours studying them, getting lost in the first-hand accounts, wondering what it was like to ride with the expedition. My wife and I took our copy along on our most-recent trip to the Black Hills and southern North Dakota. We only were able to carve out an afternoon to chase down a couple spots near Custer, but it was cool to find the rocks from the famous Champagne party photo and park our car where Custer's tent was pitched outside of Custer, SD. We look forward to the adventures that the new edition will bring.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. It is definitely a thrill to stand where you know history happened. It's right in front of you and in some cases, you are seeing exactly what they saw. Definitely a fun way to spend an afternoon!
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