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Curious Minds: How a Child Becomes a Scientist
by John BrockmanA fascinating collection of essays from twenty-seven of the world's most interesting scientists about the moments and events in their childhoods that set them on the paths that would define their lives. What makes a child decide to become a scientist? *For Robert Sapolsky--Stanford professor of biology--it was an argument with a rabbi over a passage in the Bible. *Physicist Lee Smolin traces his inspiration to the volume of Einstein's work he picked up as a diversion from heartbreak. *Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychologist and the author of Flow, found his calling through Descartes. *Mary Catherine Bateson--author of Composing a Life--discovered that she wanted to be an anthropologist while studying Hebrew. *Janna Levin--author of How the Universe Got Its Spots--felt impelled by the work of Carl Sagan to know more. Murray Gell-Mann, Nicholas Humphrey, Freeman Dyson, Daniel C. Dennett, Lynn Margulis, V. S. Ramachandran, Howard Gardner, Richard Dawkins, and more than a dozen others tell their own entertaining and often inspiring stories of the deciding moment. Illuminating memoir meets superb science writing in essays that invite us to consider what it is--and isn't--that sets the scientific mind apart and into action.
Curious Scotland: Tales from a Hidden History
by George RosieScottish history isn't just about Robert Burns and Braveheart. In fact, it's far more complex than some might think. In Curious Scotland, journalist George Rosie digs deep into Scotland's past, unearthing some of the lesser known, but more surprising details, including: Who was behind the military's "Operation Vegetarian"? What Became of the Glasgow Frankenstein? Why do Scots always spit on a certain Edinburgh street? And how did John Ross become the greatest Cherokee chieftain? Rosie answers these and other questions, illuminating corners of Scottish lore that have never been explored before. With a dry wit and unflagging curiosity, he shows us that Scotland's history is full of far stranger stuff than your average plate of haggis. Learn about the Scottish connection with the Cherokee Nation where all of the land was sacred and selling it without permission was punishable by death. Discover that Daniel De Foe, author of Robinson crusoe, lived in Scotland as a British spy. Meet the highly educated Doctor Archie Cameron, who had treated both Scottish and British soldiers at the battle at Culloden and was executed unnecessarily years later. In chapters ranging from 3 to 20 pages long, he explains how witches were found, tried and executed and how Jonathan Swift incessantly wrote nasty remarks about Scottish people in the margins of his manuscripts. This fast paced, intriguing book will appeal to general readers and history buffs alike.
Curious: True Stories and Loose Connections
by Rebecca Front'Warm, anxious and true - a Little Book of Un-Calm' Caitlin MoranShortlisted for Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the National Book AwardsSometimes things are more ordinary than you think. And sometimes they're a whole lot odder than you can possibly imagine. By turns poignant, comic and uplifting, Curious is a book of stories from Rebecca Front's life, all of them true, though sometimes perhaps a little bent out of shape in the telling. It is a beguiling celebration of the curiosities of everyday life, and of what it is to be curious - in every sense of the word.
Curious: True Stories and Loose Connections
by Rebecca Front'Warm, anxious and true - a Little Book of Un-Calm' Caitlin MoranShortlisted for Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the National Book AwardsSometimes things are more ordinary than you think. And sometimes they're a whole lot odder than you can possibly imagine. By turns poignant, comic and uplifting, Curious is a book of stories from Rebecca Front's life, all of them true, though sometimes perhaps a little bent out of shape in the telling. It is a beguiling celebration of the curiosities of everyday life, and of what it is to be curious - in every sense of the word.
Curious: True Stories and Loose Connections
by Rebecca FrontNarrated by the author, and featuring an interview with Jeremy Front.Sometimes things are more ordinary than you think. And sometimes they're a whole lot odder than you can possibly imagine. Rebecca Front has always drawn on experiences from her life in her award-winning acting and comic writing. In her debut book, she reveals herself as a master storyteller: sharp, witty, honest and highly attuned to the absurdities of life and the oddities of human nature. By turns poignant, comic and uplifting, CURIOUS is a book of stories, all of them true, though sometimes perhaps a little bent out of shape in the telling. We learn, among other things, why a Mexican wave is a symbol of oppression, how to navigate a conversational cul-de-sac with a French vegan train driver, and why keeping a pet rabbit on a lead is perfectly normal.This is a beguiling celebration of the curiosities of everyday life, and of what it is to be curious - in every sense of the word.(p) 2014 Orion Publishing Group
Curly: An Illustrated Biography of the Superstooge
by Michael Jackson Joan Howard MaurerWhile the Three Stooges were the longest active and most productive comedy team in Hollywood, their artistic height coincided with the years Curly was with them, and this is his definitive biography. From 1932 to 1946 Curly was the zaniest of the Stooges, becoming famous for his high-pitched voice, his "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk" and "why, soitenly," and his astonishing athleticism. He was a true natural, an untrained actor with a knack for improvisation, yet for decades, little information about him was available. Curly's niece Joan Howard Maurer amassed a wealth of Curly memorabilia--a mixture of written material and rare photographs of Curly's family, films, and personal life--and her exhaustive research and exclusive interviews resulted in this first and only in-depth look at a crazy comedic genius. Plenty of intimate details are included about his astonishing relationship with his mother, his three marriages, and his interactions with his daughters and friends. The book was so beloved among Three Stooges fans that it even garnered a foreword from Michael Jackson, the King of Pop himself. This new, redesigned edition of a timeless classic is sure to be appreciated by Three Stooges fans new and old.
Currahee!: A Screaming Eagle at Normandy
by Donald R. Burgett<p>No other book on D-Day can approach <i>Currahee!</i> Among all the accounts by officers and war correspondents it stands alone: the only account of D-Day by a private soldier who lived through the fighting. <p>Told simply but with total recall, this is the combat narrative of a 19-year-old paratrooper who took part in the momentous invasion of Normandy as a PFC in the 506th Parachute Regiment and fought almost continuously for five days and nights in the battle to secure the beachhead. <p>In <i>Currahee!</i> Burgett tells of killing and heroism, the confusion of war and the shock of death, as he presents his stunning eyewitness account of D-Day--living through an experience he could never forget.</p>
Currently Between Husbands
by Cathrine MahoneyTrust me, there is life and love (and plenty of laughter) after divorce, even when your ex is one of Australia&’s highest profile sport stars. Actually, I Don&’t Like Cricket Or Blow Jobs! (And to be honest, I suck at both.) Yes, that was what I originally wanted to call this book. But then I realised that some women like cricket. Also, reading this in front of your inquisitive seven-year-old could lead to some awkward conversations. So, in stepped Currently Between Husbands to save the day and any blushes. Having a relationship in the spotlight is hard enough, but in Currently Between Husbands, Cathrine Mahoney details the unique experience of breaking up with one of Australia's highest profile sport stars. Even for a self-confessed over-sharer, the breakdown of her marriage to rugby league player Andrew Johns was more public than she was used to. In her first book, the writer, podcaster and publicist provides a self-deprecating and hilarious look at her life – from fashion mistakes and early crushes as a kid growing up in Wales, to her years working with some of the world's biggest stars at Sony Music, to navigating life and love as a &‘solo&’ mum, and coming to terms with hitting the big 4-0. Currently Between Husbands is the equivalent of having a chat with your bestie over a drink or two, with all the inappropriate confessions, front bottom revelations and teary moments that entails.&‘Desperately funny, fearless and full of heart.&’ Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and Bliss&‘Strap in. You&’re in for a fabulous ride. And you&’ll be wishing (like I was before I knew her) that she was your friend. It&’s a bloody good book, and I didn&’t want it to end.&’ Amanda Keller OAM, radio and TV host&‘My all-time favourite movie is Bridget Jones&’ Diary – to anoint a real-life version is a big deal – but Cathrine Mahoney is it Bridget to a tee. I&’d pay to read a post it note she wrote, let alone a book. Cathrine&’s ability to be funny, clever, relatable, self-deprecating and just so loveable is unlike anyone I&’ve ever met.&’ Erin Molan, TV presenter, radio host and writer
Curriculum Vitae: A Volume of Autobiography
by Muriel SparkMuriel Spark's bracingly salty memoir is a no-holds-barred trip through an extraordinary writer's life. It is no surprise that one of Muriel Spark's most lively and entertaining works would be her own memoir, Curriculum Vitae. Born to a Scottish Jewish father and an English Presbyterian mother, Spark describes her childhood in 1930s Edinburgh in brief, dazzling anecdotes. In one she recalls a cherished schoolteacher, Christina Kay, who would later be used as the prototype for Miss Jean Brodie. Spark boldly details her disastrous first marriage to Sydney Oswald Spark (S.O.S.) -- himself thirty-two, she just nineteen -- whom she followed to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and left behind to return to England. In the midst of WWII, Spark took a bizarre position working in the disinformation campaign of the British Secret Service, eliciting information from German POWs to combat Nazi propaganda. She later moved to the Poetry Society of London, where she mingled with literati and other intellectuals, befriended by some (such as Graham Greene, an early supporter of her work) and sparring with others. We experience Spark's joy with the publication of her first novel, The Comforters, her trials with other writers' envy, and her emergence as the most brilliant femme fatale of 20th-century English literature.
Cursed Legacy: The Tragic Life of Klaus Mann
by Frederic SpottsSon of the famous Thomas Mann, homosexual, drug-addicted, and forced to flee from his fatherland, the gifted writer Klaus Mann’s comparatively short life was as artistically productive as it was devastatingly dislocated. Best-known today as the author of Mephisto, the literary enfant terrible of the Weimar era produced seven novels, a dozen plays, four biographies, and three autobiographies—among them the first works in Germany to tackle gay issues—amidst a prodigious artistic output. He was among the first to take up his pen against the Nazis, as a reward for which he was blacklisted and denounced as a dangerous half-Jew, his books burnt in public squares around Germany, and his citizenship revoked. Having served with the U.S. military in Italy, he was nevertheless undone by anti-Communist fanatics in Cold War-era America and Germany, dying in France (though not, as all other books contend, by his own hand) at age forty-two. Powerful, revealing, and compulsively readable, this first English-language biography of Klaus Mann charts the effects of reactionary politics on art and literature and tells the moving story of a supreme talent destroyed by personal circumstance and the seismic events of the twentieth century.
Cursed by a Happy Childhood: Tales of Growing Up, Then and Now
by Carl LennertzCursed by a Happy Childhood is a warm, funny, bighearted collection of one dad’s reminiscences about the kinds of lessons we all learn--sometimes the hard way, often without even realizing it--on the road to becoming a grown-up. The book began as a diary of sorts that Carl Lennertz wanted to keep for his eleven-year-old daughter, a way to let her know that he understood something about being a child and dealing with the milestones she would soon be approaching as a teenager. As Carl began to write, he realized that his stories--of friendship and cliques, fitting in while being yourself (a neat trick!), music and books, first job and first love, teachers and other role models--are stories we all share and are as poignant and recognizable to parents and adults as they would be to his daughter. The book soon grew into a keenly observed, deeply felt reflection on the ways we’re all pretty much the same despite the obvious differences demanded by our stations in life--old or young, parent or child, male or female. Who, after all, ever really gets control of their inner kaleidoscopic mix of hopefulness, vulnerability, silliness, uncertainty, ambition . . . and fear of looking dorky in front of the cool kids?Cursed by a Happy Childhood is rich with vignettes of youth and life that point to truths larger than the stories themselves. Most make us smile, a few make us wince, and all epitomize the power of memory to entertain, educate, and affect. The lesson that Carl learned--which we can all learn through his gently humorous and sometimes profound words--is that the little moments are the big moments, and that we can and should enjoy our own stories and take heart in the magic way they have of helping us feel a little closer, a little stronger, and a little happier to face each day.
Curt Richter: A Life in the Laboratory
by Jay SchulkinIn the first half of the twentieth century, psychology was a discipline in search of scientific legitimacy. Debates raged over how much of human and animal behavior is instinctive and how much is learned, and how behavior could be quantified accurately. At the Johns Hopkins University's new Phipps Psychiatric Clinic, Curt P. Richter stood aside from these heated theoretical arguments, choosing instead to apply his data-collection methods, innovative measurement techniques, playful sense of exploration, and consummate surgical skill to laboratory examinations of the biological basis of behavior. From identifying the biological clocks that govern behavior and physiology to observing the self-regulation of nutrient levels by the body, the cyclical nature of some mental illnesses, and the causes of hopelessness, Richter's wide-ranging discoveries not only influenced the burgeoning field of psychobiology and paved the way for later researchers but also often had implications for the treatment of patients in the clinic. At the time of his death in 1988, Richter left behind a massive collection of laboratory data. For this book, Jay Schulkin mined six decades of Richter's archived research data, personal documents, and interviews to flesh out an engaging portrait of a "laboratory artisan" in the context of his work.
Curt: The Alan Curtis Story
by Tim Johnson Alan Curtis Stuart SprakeWelsh footballer Alan Curtis is synonymous with Swansea City, having played for the club during three different spells, but he also played for Leeds United, Southampton and Cardiff City, and won thirty-five caps for his country during an action-packed playing career that spanned two decades. Alan experienced the highs of the game at the top level with Swansea during their meteoric rise through all four divisions to reach the top flight, but this success came after he'd experienced the low of the Swans having to apply for re-election to the Football League in 1975.In this eventful autobiography, Alan recounts the topsy-turvy turns his career has taken, including a disappointing spell at Leeds United in 1979-80. He was the club's most expensive signing ever at the time, but a nasty clash with Peter Shilton left him sidelined for nine months. Determined to prove his critics wrong and overcome his injury, he played some of the best football of his career upon returning to Swansea, before moving to Southampton in 1983 to help the club challenge the Merseyside dominance of the time.Since his playing career wound down in 1987, Alan has remained in the game as a coach with both Swansea City and Wales, giving back to the game the wisdom and experience he garnered during his years as a player. In Curt, Alan reflects upon his colourful career, highlights just how much the beautiful game has changed since his playing days and explains why he's living proof that nice guys don't always finish second.
Curtain Down at Her Majesty's: The Death of Queen Victoria in the Words of Those Who Were There
by Stewart Richards'Her Majesty the Queen breathed her last at 6.30 p.m., surrounded by her children and grand-children.' With this notice, pinned to the entrance gate of Osborne House, Queen Victoria's doctors announced the death of the most powerful woman in the world, who had sat on her throne and ruled through more than six decades. Her rule had seen her kingdom spread to become the world's biggest empire, had seen massive change in society and leaps forward in technology. It is little surprise that the death of one who had ruled for all of many people's lives created chaos, shock and mass outpourings of grief across the country. Here author and researcher Stewart Richards has delved through the archives to put together the definitive view of Victoria in her final days, through the immediate reaction and aftermath of her death, to the state funeral of 2 February 1901. Based entirely on fascinating first-hand accounts, The Death of Queen Victoria offers a truly unique insight into the events of that tumultuous few days and is a volume that no enthusiast should be without.
Curtain Going Up!: The Story of Katharine Cornell
by Gladys MalvernCurtain Going Up! is the engaging novelization of Katharine Cornell's life up to the book's writing in 1943. The First Lady of the Theatre, as Cornell was known, entertained countless audiences on Broadway and on tour. With her husband, Guthrie McClintic, she produced and starred in many renowned performances, such as Candida and The Barretts of Wimpole Street, and gave endlessly to both audiences and the acting community. The fascinating story of one of the most influential figures in 20th century theatre is available for the first time in ebook.
Curtain Up: Agatha Christie: A Life in the Theatre
by Julius Green“[Julius] Green turned detective himself and scoured archives around the world to uncover a number of unpublished, unknown works . . . This book is a treat.” —Independent (UK)From the producer of numerous Agatha Christie stage plays comes the first book to examine the world’s bestselling mystery writer’s career and work as a playwright, published to commemorate her 125th birthday.Agatha Christie has long been revered around the world for her mysteries and the indelible characters she created, Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot. In addition to her contributions as a novelist, this gifted writer was also an acclaimed playwright. Offering a unique, in-depth look at her work for the stage, Curtain Up analyzes her plays and features excerpts from Agatha Christie’s correspondences, notebooks, and several unpublished and unperformed scripts quoted from for the first time.Meticulously researched, peppered with groundbreaking discoveries—including a detaile discussion of her only play to premiere in America—Curtain Up sheds new light on Christie’s artistry and adds a fascinating layer to her remarkable story.
Curtains: Adventures of an Undertaker-in-Training
by Tom JokinenAt forty-four, Tom Jokinen decided to quit his job in order to become an apprentice undertaker, setting out to ask the questions: What is the right thing to do when someone dies? With the marketplace offering new options (go green, go anti-corporate, go Disney, be packed into an artificial reef and dropped in the Atlantic...), is there still room for tradition? In a year of adventures both hair-raising and hilarious, Jokinen finds a world that is radically changed since Jessica Mitford revised The American Way of Death, more surprising than Six Feet Under, and even funnier and more illuminating than Stiff. If Bill Bryson were to apprentice at a funeral home, searching for the meaning of life and death, you'd have Curtains.
Curtains: Adventures of an Undertaker-in-Training
by Tom Jokinen"Two rules for picking up a body at the hospital, known as a 'removal': (1) Make sure it's the right one. (2) Never stop for food on the way back to the funeral home, not even at a drive-thru. " Jokinen, now a radio producer and video journalist, tells of his apprenticeship, at age 44, in a small, family-owned funeral home. With gentle humor and compassion, he writes about the people he worked with, who have been in the industry all of their lives, as well as the many bereaved families he observed during his apprenticeship. Interwoven with accounts of his bumbling attempts to collect corpses, embalm them, and drive a hearse, are explorations of our culture's rapidly changing relationship with death and the dead. Particularly moving is a comparison of the latest consumer trends for funerals with the simple rituals of the Mennonites of the rural Midwest. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
Curve & Flow: The Elegant Vision of L.A. Architect Paul R. Williams
by Andrea J. LoneyDiscover the remarkable story of an orphaned Black boy who grew up to become the groundbreaking architect to the stars, Paul R. Williams. A stunning nonfiction picture-book biography from the Caldecott Honor–winning author and NAACP Image Award–nominated artist.As an orphaned Black boy growing up in America in the early 1900s, Paul R. Williams became obsessed by the concept of "home." He not only dreamed of building his own home, he turned his dreams into drawings. Defying the odds and breaking down the wall of racism, Williams was able to curve around the obstacles in his way to become a world-renowned architect. He designed homes for the biggest celebrities of the day, such as Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball, and created a number of buildings in Los Angeles that are now considered landmarks. From Andrea J. Loney, the author of the Caldecott Honor Book Double Bass Blues, and award-winning artist Keith Mallett comes a remarkable story of fortitude, hope, and positivity.
Curveball: How I Discovered True Fulfillment After Chasing Fortune and Fame
by Robert Noland Barry ZitoThe painfully honest and personal story of one of baseball&’s most intriguing players.In Curveball, Zito shares his story with honesty and transparency. The ups and the downs. The wins and losses. By sharing his experiences as a man who had everything except happiness, Zito offers readers a path through adversity and toward a life defined by true success.Despite achieving the kind of fame and fortune that most people only dream about, Barry Zito was plagued by both internal forces and external circumstances that robbed him of any sense of peace—until he finally found a purpose worth living for.Barry explores the twists and turns of his own journey, including:his dad&’s constant push and pursuit for excellence, which translated into a toxic father-son relationship,how achieving superstardom in the major leagues created crippling fear,the personal destruction brought on by fame and fortune,and the disastrous seasons with the San Francisco Giants, including being benched for the 2010 playoffs and World Series.Zito comes face-to-face with the destructiveness of his own ego—his need to be viewed as the best. He also comes face-to-face with God and with the truth that he was loved no matter what he achieved.
Curzon: Imperial Statesman
by David Gilmour"A Superb New Biography . . . A Tragic Story, Brilliantly Told." —Andrew Roberts, Literary ReviewGeorge Nathaniel Curzon's controversial life in public service stretched from the high noon of his country's empire to the traumatized years following World War I. As viceroy of India under Queen Victoria and foreign secretary under King George V, the obsessive Lord Curzon left his unmistakable mark on the era. David Gilmour's award-winning book—with a new foreword by the author—is a brilliant assessment of Curzon's character and achievements, offering a richly dramatic account of the infamous long vendettas, the turbulent friendships, and the passionate, risky love affairs that complicated and enriched his life.Born into the ruling class of what was then the world's greatest power, Curzon was a fervent believer in British imperialism who spent his life proving he was fit for the task. Often seen as arrogant and tempestuous, he was loathed as much as he was adored, his work disparaged as much as it was admired. In Gilmour's well-rounded appraisal, Curzon emerges as a complex, tragic figure, a gifted leader who saw his imperial world overshadowed at the dawn of democracy.
Cushing of Gettysburg: The Story of a Union Artillery Commander
by Kent Masterson BrownThis Civil War biography chronicles the life of the brave Union artillery officer who refused to retreat from Pickett&’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. Lieutenant Alonzo Hereford Cushing may be the most famous lieutenant to be killed during the Civil War. Two years out of West Point, the young artillery officer commanded Battery A of the 4th US Artillery at Gettysburg. Despite severe wounds, Cushing defended his position at Cemetery Ridge against the fearsome Confederate infantry assault. The story of Cushing&’s heroic final moments were witnessed and recorded by a battlefield correspondent for The New York Times, who said &“the gallantry of this officer is beyond praise.&” In 2014, President Barak Obama awarded Cushing a posthumous Medal of Honor. In this biography, Kent Brown presents a lively narrative based on extensive research, including a cache of Cushing&’s letters.
Custer
by Larry McmurtryIn this lavishly illustrated volume, Larry McMurtry, the greatest chronicler of the American West, tackles for the first time one of the paramount figures of Western and American history. On June 25, 1876, General George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry attacked a large Lakota Cheyenne village on the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory. He lost not only the battle but his life--and the lives of his entire cavalry. "Custer's Last Stand" was a spectacular defeat that shocked the country and grew quickly into a legend that has reverberated in our national consciousness to this day. Pulitzer Prize winner Larry McMurtry has long been fascinated by the "Boy General" and his rightful place in history. In Custer, he delivers an expansive, agile, and clear-eyed reassessment of the iconic general's life and legacy--how the legend was born, the ways in which it evolved, what it has meant--told against the broad sweep of the American narrative. We see Custer in all his contradictions and complexity as the perpetually restless man with a difficult marriage, a hunger for glory, and an unwavering confidence in his abilities. McMurtry explores how the numerous controversies that grew out of the Little Bighorn combined with a perfect storm of technological developments--the railroad, the camera, and the telegraph--to fan the flames of his legend. He shows how Custer's wife, Libbie, worked for decades after his death to portray Major Marcus Reno as the cause of the disaster of the Little Bighorn, and how Buffalo Bill Cody, who ended his Wild West Show with a valiant reenactment of Custer's Last Stand, played a pivotal role in spreading Custer's notoriety. While Custer is first and foremost an enthralling story filled with larger-than-life characters--Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, William J. Fetterman, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud--McMurtry also argues that Little Bighorn should be seen as a monumental event in our nation's history. Like all great battles, its true meaning can be found in its impact on our politics and policy, and the epic defeat clearly signaled the end of the Indian Wars--and brought to a close the great narrative of western expansion. In Custer, Larry McMurtry delivers a magisterial portrait of a complicated, misunderstood man that not only irrevocably changes our long-standing conversation about Custer, but once again redefines our understanding of the American West.
Custer Survivor: The End Of The Myth, The Beginning Of A Legend
by John KosterCuster Survivor was the basis for History Channel's television documentary Custer's Last Stand about the one man in the Seventh Cavalry who escaped the annihilation at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. It is the story of Sgt. Frank Finkel of "C" Company, who, stunned by the impact of a rifle barrel smashing his forehead, was carried off by his panic stricken horse. Drawn from Sioux observations, Dept. of Army documents and forensic evidence, this is the story of the one soldier who escaped death at Little Big Horn and the fascinating life story of the man who turned myth into legend.
Custer at Gettysburg: A New Look at George Armstrong Custer versus Jeb Stuart in the Battle's Climactic Cavalry Charges
by Phillip Thomas Tucker&“A mosaic of thousands of tiny pieces that, seen whole, amounts to a fascinating picture of what probably was the most important moment of the Civil War.&” —Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times bestselling author of The Generals George Armstrong Custer is famous for his fatal defeat at the Little Bighorn in 1876, but Custer&’s baptism of fire came during the Civil War. His true rise to prominence began at Gettysburg in 1863. On the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg, Custer received promotion to brigadier general and command—his first direct field command—of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade, the &“Wolverines.&” Custer did not disappoint his superiors, who promoted him in a search for more aggressive cavalry officers. At approximately noon on July 3, 1863, the melee that was East Cavalry Field at Gettysburg began. An hour or two into the battle, after many of his cavalrymen had been reduced to hand-to-hand infantry-style fighting, Custer ordered a charge of one of his regiments and led it into action himself, screaming one of the battle&’s most famous lines: &“Come on, you Wolverines!&” Around three o&’clock, the Confederates led by Stuart mounted a final charge, which mowed down Union cavalry—until it ran into Custer&’s Wolverines, who stood firm, breaking the Confederates&’ last attack. In a book combining two popular subjects, Tucker recounts the story of Custer at Gettysburg with verve, shows how the Custer legend was born on the fields of the war&’s most famous battle, and offers eye-opening new perspectives on Gettysburg&’s overlooked cavalry battle. &“A thoughtful and challenging new look at the great assault at Gettysburg . . . Tucker is fresh and bold in his analysis and use of sources.&” —William C. Davis, author of Crucible of Command