Probably the most talked-about book on the American West last year was Thomas Goodrich's 'Scalp Dance; Indian Warfare on the High Plains 1865-1879' (Stackpole Books, distributed in the UK by Greenhill Books. ISBN 0-8117-1523-X).

The Plains Wars remain the subject of a steady stream of books, and Thomas Goodrich is honest enough to admit that he does not attempt to present any startling new interpretations, or the fruits of original research, in this book; instead, his purpose is to tell the story of the fighting as it seemed through the eyes of the participants. In particular, he is interested in the sharp end, the brutal and horrifying experience of battle itself. As such, the Plains Wars emerge here as a series of ghastly massacres and murders, perpetrated by each side in turn.

A young US Army recruit, lured out west by the prospect of advancement, could find himself facing a daring, courageous and relentless foe, and exposed to injury by weapons of Medieval ferocity. For those who became casualties, a quick death was for the lucky ones; those who fell into enemy hands could expect a long, slow, painful death, often of startling inventiveness.

Wounded men were often shot through with arrows, and roasted by slow fires, their bodies then scalped and mutilated. Nor was it only professional soldiers who suffered in this regard; white settlers - men, women and children - were all exposed to the same fate. As Goodrich points out, the experience of seeing women and children butchered in such a way often profoundly changed men, brutalising and dehumanising them, with the result that white troops were then just as likely to inflict atrocities on the Indians. It is difficult, even now, to read some of these accounts without flinching, and it is clear where the author's sympathies lie.

Nonetheless, this is a considerable fault, since no attempt is made to set Indian atrocities within the context of their culture, or the particular context of their desperate fight for survival. Almost all the voices heard here are on one side; even those who attempt some explanation of Indian behaviour are outsiders, who shared contemporary prejudices. That this makes 'Scalp Dance' one of the most politically incorrect books on the Plains for some time is by the bye; more important is the fact that it is only telling one side of the story, which makes it unsatisfying as a comprehensive history. Nevertheless, it is still a blistering read, and one which few students of the West will want to miss.

Custer's demise at Little Big Horn in June 1876 continues to exert a powerful hold over the imagination of historians and the public alike. "Lakota Recollections of the Custer Fight; New Sources of IndianMilitary History", compiled and edited by Richard G. Hardorff (University of Nebraska Press, 1, Gower Street, London, WCIE 6HA, ISBN 0-8032- 7293-6, price 9.50 pounds) starts from the simple premise that there are two sides to every story. It is a compilation of first-hand accounts of the battle by fifteen Sioux and one Cheyenne participant.

Most of these were collected by impartial observers, keen to search out the truth rather than defend partisan opinions, early in the twentieth century, and they vary in form from the conversational to formal answers to prepared questionnaires. Although the participants are generally recalling events after the passage of some time, their accounts present a vivid picture of the fighting as it seemed to the victors. Careful annotation by the editor attempts to put apparent contradictions - which are a feature of almost every eye-witness description of a battle, when the events recalled were often confusing and terrifying - in their proper context.

Since the interviewer were often keen to highlight unexplained aspects of the battle, and led their subjects with questions, the Indian accounts address a number of issue which have perplexed students of the battle - the positions taken up by Custer's companies, for example, or the speed at which the defence collapsed - but from the Indian perspective. All in all, this is not only an important addition to the literature of one of America's most enduring legends, but a worthwhile contribution to the study of Native American attitudes towards warfare and the passing of their independence.

Meanwhile, two recent books attempt to put Custer's ACW record into perspective (both, funnily enough, have the same cover picture; 'Custer at Hanover, by Dale Gannon).

'Riding With Custer; Recollections of a Cavalryman in the Civil War' (University of Nebraska Press, 1, Gower Street, London; ISBNO-8032-7781-4, soft cover, price 18.95 pounds) is a new edition of James H. Kidd's memoir of his service with the Michigan Cavalry Brigade.

Interestingly enough, this book seems to get a new title every time it comes out, each trading on the Custer connection - which says much about the man's enduring fascination. The Michigan cavalry - Custer s Wolverines - had a remarkable record in the eastern theatre, which included many of the great cavalry fights of the war, most notably at Hanover - where they intercepted J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry, preventing him from screening Lee's advance on Gettysburg, with devastating consequences - and at Yellow Tavern, where a trooper in the Brigade (exactly who is a matter of debate) had the distinction of shooting Stuart himself.

Indeed, Custer and Stuart were the great cavaliers of the war, and it is interesting that their paths crossed so often. Custer, of course, earned his flamboyant reputation leading the Brigade, and Kidd recalls in almost cinematic terms the moment when he first saw him, riding onto the field to take command, dressed in his unique and colourful uniform. Custer drew great things from his Wolverines, and most of them loved him as a result, and Kidd was no exception.

His story is not only a vivid eye-witness account of the war, but an important insight into the fascination Custer often worked over those who met him.

Kidd's account is quoted frequently in 'Custer and his Wolverines; The Michigan Cavalry Brigade 1861- 1865', by Edward Longacre (published by Combined Publishing; distributed in the UK by Greenhill Books. ISBN 0-938289-87X). Longacre is the foremost historian of the Union cavalry in the war, and this is a very competent and thorough study which follows the Michigan Volunteers Cavalry from their beginnings through to they key role in surrounding Lee's army on the eve of surrender at Appamatox.

As such, it is a useful counter- balance to Kidd, and it takes a cooler look at Custer's capabilities - which nonetheless remain impressive.

Books on the ACW, indeed, continue to appear at a breathtaking place. New from Louisiana State Press (also I Gower Street, London) is Gordon C. Rhea's "The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7-12, 1864" (price about 30.00 pounds). This truly epic study takes up where the author's last book, on the Wilderness campaign, left off, and charts the first major clashes between the two titans of the Civil War, Grant and Lee.

It presents a graphic portrait of a few short days of fighting which produced not only some of the highest casualty rates of the Civil War, but also foreshadowed the tactical conundrum of the First World War. Lee's army, out-numbered and hard pressed, became expert at the rapid construction of field-works, leaving Grant little choice but to attack them. Like a later generation of commanders in the same situation, Grant was faced with mounting costly assaults, or seeing the war develop into stalemate. The resulting carnage makes sober reading, while the author's description of the shifting context between Grant and Lee is both engrossing and perceptive.

Frank Wilkeson's 'Turned Inside Out; Recollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of the Potomac' (University of Nebraska Press; Academic and University Publishers' Group. ISBN: 0-8032-9799-8, price 10.95 pounds) is a reprint of a classic account by an ordinary soldier of that desperate struggle.

In recent years, Wilkeson's account has been drawn upon many times by historians seeking some insight into the reality of life in the ranks during the war, and deservedly so, for it is an observant and often perceptive account, written without the slightest trace of romance. Wilkeson was a jaundiced observer of everything that went on around him, and his portrayal of war is one of squalor, inefficiency, waste, and horror. His description of battle is mercilessly honest, offering many grim details other commentators preferred to leave; the title refers to the spectacle of fresh corpses left on the battlefield, their pockets already turned inside out by those who robbed the dead.

Some of his images remain disturbing after the passage of more than a century; the sight of skeletons from earlier fights still lying unburied on the battlefield, for example, or his exploration of a battlefield at night, and his disconcerting discovery of Confederate dead, with beetles feeding on their faces. Equally shocking is his own undisguised contempt for cowards and shirkers, and the relish with which he tells of the fate which befell a young soldier who shot himself in the foot, but whose injury was more severe than he planned, and who was likely to die as a result.

A striking and sometimes uncomfortable read, this book is an antidote to all those civil war memoirs which cloak a very grim reality the myth of glory.

Gettysburg, of course, remains a perennial fascination, and one over which historians continue to play the 'what if ... ?' game. What if Stuart had not been delayed at Hanover? What if the Confederates had followed up their successes on the first day? What if Pickett's charge bad been better led? Such questions are the essence of Peter G. Tsouras' 'Gettysburg; An Alternate History' (Greenhill Books, Park House, 1, Russell Gardens, London NWII 9NN. ISBN 1- 85367-265-3), one of a number of 'alternative histories' published recently by Greenhill.

This one is a solid, well-researched, well-written and utterly convincing interpretation by an author who is clearly at case with his subject. The great unresolved questions are described as if they had actually happened otherwise, but within an entirely factual context; the same armies, the same capabilities, the same terrain, the same personalities. Indeed, this is so convincing that this reviewer sometimes wished that the fictional elements were better sign-posted; having only a passing familiarity with the subject, I wasn't always sure where fact and fancy parted company. Nevertheless, that is a quality which is sure to endear the book to students of the period.

A number of academic publishers in the States have released a series of books which focus on peripheral areas of the war (all released over here by the Academic and University Publishers' Group, 1 Gower Street, London, WCIE 6HA). 'Maryland's Blue and Gray; A Border States Union and Confederate Junior Officer Corps', by Kevin Conley Ruffner (ISBN: 0-80712135- 5, price 32.50 pounds) is a comprehensive study of the impact of the war on one border state.

It examine the issues which polarised the community to one side or the other, and follows the career of those officers from Maryland who fought for either side. Indeed, one of the most remarkable things about the book is that it contains a register, with basic biographical details, of over 300 officers on both sides. Similarly, Thomas H. O'Conner's 'Civil War Boston; Home Front and Battlefield' (ISBN-55553-318-3, price 25.50 pounds) considers the impact on one particular community - Boston, Massachusetts. It considers the social make- up of the town at the time, and again examines the spread of allegiances.

Boston is particularly interesting in this regard as it contained a number of groups who played a particularly significant role in the war, notably the Irish Catholic community, and the AfroAmericans. The 54th Massachusetts - the black regiment commanded by Robert Gould Shaw, and subject of the film 'Glory' - were largely recruited in Boston.

On the other side, Charles W. Ramsdell's 'Behind the Lines in the Southern Confederacy' (ISBN 0-8071- 2186-X, price approx. 10.00 pounds) considers social conditions within the Confederacy during the war, and argues that the failure of the Confederate economy to sustain the war effort was central to its defeat. William E. Dodd's I Jefferson Davis' (ISBN: 0-8032-6609-X, price 16.95 pounds) is also concerned with political and economic aspects of the Confederacy. First published in 1907, it was long held to be the definitive biography, and has only recently been supplanted. It is still an important source of reference on this eniginatic and austere man.

Finally, 'A Union Officer in the Reconstruction' by John William De Forest (ISBN 0-8071-2183-5, price 10.00 pounds) is a lively account of the duties and adventures of an officer in the occupied South at the end of the war.

The US Army mule hardly seems the stuff of history, but Emmett M. Essin's 'Shavetails and Bell Sharps' (University of Nebraska Press; Academic and University Publishers Group. ISBN 0-8032- 1819-2, price 35.00 pounds) is a eulogy for this unsung hero. Mules were used in quantities by the US Army from the time of the 2nd Seminole War, 1835-42, right up to 1956. Along the way they carried packs and ammunition in the Civil War, the Plains Wars, the Spanish-American War and WWs I and 2.

Unglamorous as they may seem, the story of the army mule is the story of the development of US logistical support services, and without them the US army would not have been able to function in the field. This is a thorough, affectionate, and surprisingly readable history, with a lot to offer anyone interested in questions of supply and transport.

Another obscure aspect of US military history is covered in an exhaustive academic study of 'The Rise of the National Guard; The Evolution of the American Militia, 1865-1920' by Jerry Cooper (University of Nebraska Press, ISBN: 0-8032-1486-3, price 42.75 pounds). This is a serious and intensely researched study of the state militia movement, from its postwar years, through the difficult days of the early 20th century - when it was often used in industrial disputes, and was accused of being a tool of industrial capital - through to its development as a more federally controlled institution.

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