J. R. Gregg Releases His Book 'Surviving Custer' on the American Cavalry Spirit
West Springfield, MA (PRWEB) July 03, 2013 -- J. R. Gregg’s book, "Surviving Custer: A Novel" (published by iUniverse), stems from his lifelong fascination with the American frontier.
"Surviving Custer" centers around the lives of nine enlisted men in the Seventh Cavalry who fight Sitting Bull one year, and Chief Joseph’s Nez Perce the next. It is about the hardships of cavalry life, deadly feuds between troopers and the challenges each man faced in battle.
Set in the Montana and Dakota Territories between 1876 and 1891, the book tells the story of Sergeant Jim Lawton’s motley squad of servicemen, including Civil War vets Dan Murphy and Charley Smrka; Corporal Bull Judd, a mean, bigoted "Bible-thumper;" and Jubal Tinker, a witty tale-spinner from the Ozarks. They are supported by four rookies – Elvin Crane, Judd's dimwitted toady; Jake Picard, a half-Indian tough from Chicago; Ernst Albrecht, a gentle, oversize German boy with an artist's eye; and young Sam Streeter, a glory-hungry New Englander.
"It is about the American spirit," says Gregg of his new work. "George Armstrong Custer was and continues to be an iconic figure in American history. There have been over 175 books about him published since 1876. Sixty-five have been published in the last 20 years. Only some 10% of these books are fiction, and nearly all of those feature imaginative versions of Custer and his officers as their main characters. ‘Surviving Custer’ offers readers a better chance to identify with the men who volunteered to fight in the American Indian Wars."
"Surviving Custer"
By J. R. Gregg
Hardcover | 6 x 9 in | 342 pages | ISBN 9781475986891
Softcover | 6 x 9 in | 342 pages | ISBN 9781475986884
E-Book | 342 pages | ISBN 9781475986907
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
J. R. Gregg worked for 30 years in Colorado. Raised in Massachusetts, he first learned of frontier conflicts in stories about a 17th century ancestor, a soldier memorialized in Deerfield as "A Hero of the Connecticut River Valley."
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