In plunging into the world of Social Media I’ve been lucky enough to
contact some of the best, most distinguished and successful western authors.
Few are more distinguished and successful than Robert
Vaughan.
Robert’s books have hit the New York Times bestseller list seven times. He’s won
the Spur Award, the PORGIE Award (Best Paperback Original), the Western
Fictioneers Lifetime Achievement Award, received the Readwest President's Award
for Excellence in Western Fiction, is a member of the American Writers Hall of
Fame and is a Pulitzer Prize nominee. And he doesn’t just write westerns!
He tells me he has a first and second favourite of all his books, so to
keep you in suspense here’s number 2 - YESTERDAY'S
REVEILLE – about the Indian-fighting 7th Cavalry of the 1860s and 1870s
under its most controversial commander, GENERAL GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER
(1839-1876.)
Robert is well suited to write this: he was a member of the Seventh
Cavalry, its historical officer and custodian of all regimental memorabilia,
including Custer’s hat, gauntlets, and sabre, as well as several of his morning
reports and officers’ field diaries.
As part of his research for YESTERDAY'S REVEILLE, Robert writes: ‘I even exchanged letters with a fascinating
96-year-old gentleman who, as a boy, had known Custer and could remember
vividly the day Custer left Fort Lincoln on his last scout because his own
father had ridden into eternity with him.’
Custer with Indian scouts
Custer has been depicted (sympathetically and unsympathetically) in many
movies, from Errol Flynn in ‘THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON’ (1940)
to Richard
Mulligan in ‘LITTLE BIG MAN’ (1970.)
Ronald Reagan even portrayed a young
Custer in ‘SANTA FE TRAIL’ (although no one would nickname him ‘Yellow Hair!’)
Ronald Reagan as Custer in SANTA FE TRAIL (1940) with Olivia De Havilland
Wayne Maunder played him in a 1967 TV Series ‘THE LEGEND OF CUSTER.’
One of my favourite depictions was Robert Shaw’s performance in CUSTER
OF THE WEST (1967.) The historical accuracy may be arguable, but I liked Shaw’s
intense portrayal of a conflicted, driven man and the movie in general.
And there have been too many fictionalisations and variations on the
Custer theme to mention, perhaps most notably John Ford’s masterpiece FORT
APACHE (1948.) Here Henry Fonda portrayed a Custer-like figure.
Reviewers of YESTERDAY'S REVEILLE
describe it as: ‘wonderful’ ‘riveting’ and a ‘Vaughan epic.’
More reviews:
‘Once
again Robert Vaughan gives a phenomenal view into the life of a soldier in the
Western U.S. and into the early 20th Century. I have read many of Mr. Vaughan's
books and have loved every one of them. He does not disappoint as an
entertainer or a historian.’
‘A great
read for all history buffs.’
‘When an
author demonstrates knowledge of the time and place and can wrap it up with a
good story I am hooked. Vaughn does a great job on all counts… I also liked
what I felt to be a balanced picture of the plains Indians; neither
romanticizing or demonizing.’
‘Great Western
History… I didn't think I was a big western or history fan, but once
started I couldn't put this one down. It's very easy to see how Mr. Vaughn has
won all of those awards.’
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