mericans know, george armstrong custer, the swaggering boy general, is famous for his futile last standrn. >> as most americans know, george armstrong custer, the swaggering boy general is famous for his futile last stand at the little bighorn. but the legend of custer's crushing defeat does not tell the whole story. the truth is, custer and the more than 200 men who die with him that day could have been saved. and it is custer's flawed leadership, not just on that fateful day that sets him up for his ultimate demise. >> two years removed from the civil war america faces a new challenge, securing the western territories and achieving its continent wide destiny. 28-year-old george custer, stash general of the civil war is charged with removing the last obstacle in the way -- the plains indians. to return to glory and build on his fame. >> whoa. >> be safe, george, and come back quickly and in one piece. >> i will, my dear. >> cheering custer on is libbie, his wife of three years. and by his side, younger brother, tom, who serves on his staff. >> it's time, general. the column is moving o

for custer, it's a chance to return to glory and build on his fame. >> be safe, george, and come backpiece. >> i will, my dear. >> choosing custer on is libby, his wife of three years, and by his side, younger brother tom who serves on his staff. >> george custer was a rock star general, a young man, youngest general in the union army coming out of the civil war, so he's got this kind of huge reputation that he is now going to bring to fighting the indians. >> move out! >> by 1867, many native tribes have been forced ontoo reservations, but on the plains, 100,000 people still roam free, including the sioux and cheyenne. custer is charged with moving them onto reservation or eliminating them all together. [ screaming ] >> it may be asked, what have the indians done to make such an incursion necessary? they have been guilty of numerous thefts and murders during the preceding summer and fall. none of which have they been called into account. >> but before the army resorts to warfare, they invite several cheyenne chiefs to council with general winfield hancock. >> i come with an offer of

civil war commander george custer is said to have uttered the famous words, "it's not how many times you get knocked down that counts. it's how many times you get back up." nowhere is that spirit more evident than in las vegas, and we found one spot where it looked like they might not get back up, but they did. ♪ so, here i am in reflection bay in henderson, nevada, a place that went from riches to rags and now back to riches, one of the greatest stories of redevelopment and resurgence in america. this entire area five years ago was ground zero of the real-estate crisis in america, and today it is an american success story. ♪ lake las vegas is a beautiful, 328-acre lake that was actually man-made. it was a massive project spanning decades, creating the lake, the golf courses, hotels, and luxury communities in the middle of the vegas desert. but when the recession hit, the area was devastated. >> this was the kind of situation that's very rare -- to have a 300-acre lake and have all these residential areas around it, with the hotels and golf, but when the economy changed, people walke

and raising horses here at medicine tail coulee which happens to be the exact spot where general george custer. kennard raises horses for rodeo, for riding and for this, indian relay racing. >> the athletic ability on them kids are just amazing. the competition is intense. >> they travel all over to compete at this collarbone is that correct, skull cracking, bone snappingly dangerous sport. former allies and former blood enemies alike. >> it requires a lot of courage. >> i'll bet. >> and a high threshold for pain. it's representative of a warrior mentality. >> welcome! >> one rider, three horses. >> and they're lined up and gun goes off. it's like a spontaneous combustion. >> top speed is around 40 miles an hour and after each lap the rider dismounts at full freakin' gallop and leaps hopefully on to the next horse. yes, it's as dangerous and difficult as it looks. the prizes at big events run into the thousands of dollars, but really, it's about bragging rights. and pride. >> being in motion, in rhythm in time and in one with that horse. they develop strength of character, and once they conque

from people who know a lot and have read a lot about custer is very nice.o-volume >> in 2012 michael o'keefefe published a two-volume bibliography on george armstrong custer. there were 10,000 items, he annotated he annotated them all, 3000 of them were books.>> i hae i think the logical first question to begin with is, tj, why custer? >> i hate myself. no. [laughter] >> well just wait. >> first of all, i have to say thank you very much for coming. i really do appreciate it. i love the chance to talk to readers and potential readers even more. also to have a conversation with paul andrew hutton who is not just a great historian but a great writer. he has a book coming out this spring called the apache wars which i had a chance to read it and it's phenomenal. so watch for that, please. so to have this conversation with not only a good historian but a good writer is terrific.ui i can easily go on and on and give a whole spiel about custer and why my book is justified, but the subtitle really explains why it approach. sometimes you go into a subject because it has not been written about enough before or you really feeling people have gotten

raising horses here at medicine tail coulee, which happens to be the exact spot where general george custerraises horses for rodeo, for riding, and for this; indian relay racing. >> kennard: the athletic ability on them kids are just amazing. the competition is intense. >> anthony: they travel all over to compete at this collarbone smashing, skull cracking, bone-snappingly dangerous sport. former allies and former blood enemies alike. >> kennard: it requires a lot of courage. >> anthony: i'll bet. >> kennard: and a high threshold for pain. it's representative of warrior mentality. ♪ >> anthony: one rider, three horses. >> annuncer: and they're all in line. >> kennard: and they're lined up. gun goes off. it's like a spontaneous combustion. [ gunshot ] [ cheers and applause ] >> announcer: they're off. [ indistinct ] >> announcer: on the inside. >> anthony: top speed is around 40 miles an hour. and after each lap the rider dismounts at full freakin' gallop and leaps hopefully onto the next horse. yes, it's as dangerous and difficult as it looks. the prizes at big events run into the thousands

kenneth grew up raising horses here, which happens to be the exact spot where general george custer hadst day of his life. he raises horses for rodeo, for riding, and for this. indian relay racing. >> yes, he has the ability, just amazing. the competition is intense. allies and blood enemies alike. >> i had threshold for pain, representative of warrior mentality. >> one rider, three horses. >> lined up, gun goes off. it is like a spontaneous combustion. top speed around 40 miles an hour. after each lap, the rider dismount at full gallop and leaps on to the next horse. yes, it is as dangerous and difficult as it looks. the prizes of big veechbts run into the thousands of dollars but really it is about bragging rights. >> being in motion in rhythm and time and one of that horse, it developed strength of character. when they walk back from the race, they have the sense of pride and self-worth that is sky high. they have identified with their ancestors. >> when liked at my ancestors, they didn't have diabetes or much cancer. they were very strong, durable people. and i said well, i'm going

which happens to be the exact spot where general george custer had the worst day of his life.rses for rodeo, for riding and for this. indian relay racing. >> athletic ability of them kids are just amazing. the competition is intense. >> they travel all over to compete at this collarbone smashing, skull cracking, bone snappingly dangerous sport. >> requires a lot of courage. >> i'll bet. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, and you're talking to your doctor about your medication... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira helping me go further. humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. doctors have been prescribing humira for over 13 years. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failu

books about doctor louis sullivan, eleanor roosevelt, and the civil rights movement, general george armstrong custer as well as a radio personality. >> book tv is 48 hours of nonfiction authors on c-span2 every single weekend. it covers a wide array of things: nonfiction, books on history, science topics. >> it is one of the few places, if not the only place where you can see and hear a lot of different voices and perspectives on a lot of different topics. we bring in authors that are well-known but also authors you might not know so well, but they have a story to tell, something to say. we bring that opportunity to our viewers to hear those different voices. .. that's the ability for the audience to interact with the author and answer the questions or share their comments with the authors. >> we know there are so many people around the country that are really leaders and interested in things like history and fee. it's not just about having an author get up on the screen and tell you what to think or telling you the history as they are saying it is. it's about viewers actually asking questions and i

e george armstrong custer.here will 10,000 items, and he annotate them all. 3,000 of them were books. so i think the logical first question to begin with is, t.j., why custer? >> i hate myself. no. i have to say thank you very much for coming. i love to have a constance to talk to rathers and potential readers and to have a conversation with paul andrew hutton, you is not just a great hoyton a and a great writer and has a become coming out this spring called "the apache wars" it's phenomenal. so watch for that. so to have this conversation with a good historian and a good writer is terrific. there is -- i could easily go on and on and give a hoe spiel about custer and why by book is justified, but the subtitle complain mitt approach. sometimes you go into a subject because it hasn't been written about enough before, or you really feel like people have gotten it wrong, and is a say there's a lot of great writing as well as a lot roof writing about custer. my approach was to change the camera angle, and i'm very