Decorating With Concrete Outdoors: Driveways, Paths & Patios, Pool Decks & More

Customer Reviews:

Inspiring, but..........2006-05-21

Perhaps I just misunderstood. But this book just wasn't what I thought it was.

I was really excited when I ordered this book. I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I wanted to see how things were done, what materials I'd have to buy (and hopefully where I could find them) and generally find out how to make this magic happend...

But no such luck.

I actually don't quite understand this book - and it really doesn't contain any text to misunderstand. It does contain a lot of nice pictures (and I mean a lot), even though some of the ideas displayed should perhaps rather have been made of plastic and varnish, glue and gypsum for people out of this world (really, some of the things displayed are really really ugly!). Some of the ideas don't have anything to do with anything real. These are glossy patios suitable for I don't know whom. But perhaps that really doesn't matter - at least if the book is just intended to be a good idea bank for different groups of people. But I found no warning signs on Amazon.

I don't like to slaughter things, but then again I never review things as I'm doing now without having a very strong point in either direction, i.e. positive or negative... Sadly, this book had a negative impact on me, period!

You make the math:

The book has no functionality (other than ideas) for the DIY person.
The book is in fact just a big "Ikea brochure" - a lot of pictures, but little or no text.
Which brings me to the last point: The little text that actually is to be found is often wrong (typical copy-and-paste (or find-and-replace) Word failures) like "Courtesy of Courtesy of Action Concrete Services". For any serious publisher, one failure as this one should have been enough, but this particular blunder can be found evenly distributed over the entire book! Sorry, I just can't live with that, especially since the book is in fact nothing else than what Google would have given me with a few keystrokes.

So: If you don't have Google, buy this book! That's my advice. Or, if you do have Google but want a glossy paper book with a lot of pictures in it, you might still want to buy it. Just don't expect any help with anything other than how to contact a contractor.

Amazon.com

The inventions of Edwin Land made Polaroid a great company--and later accelerated its decline. Insisting on the Impossible, written by former New York Times reporter Victor K. McElheny, tells the story of one of the early giants in photographic technology.

McElheny follows Land's career from before the founding of Polaroid in 1937 through the release of the landmark SX-70 camera in the early '70s. Land invented instant photography and turned his company into a tremendous success and a Wall Street darling in the '60s and '70s. Land was a bulldog about patents--he trails only Thomas Edison in number of patents he received (535). But while the protection of the U.S. patent system helped Polaroid fend off attacks by its chief nemesis, Kodak, they couldn't shield Land from his own shortcomings. Land tended to lose track of business costs and he sometimes took criticism too personally. And he disdained market research. McElheny writes that Land's business philosophy boiled down to "making things that people didn't know they wanted until they were available." One of Land's final inventions--instant movies--loaded Polaroid with debt and sped his departure from the company he founded. Unlike instant photography, nobody wanted "Polavision." It lacked sound and the film was too short. It was soon overwhelmed by the more popular and practical videocassette tape. Land's instant photography also fell out of favor. It couldn't compete with Kodak Instamatics, improved 35mm cameras, and fully automatic digital cameras.

Land, who died in 1991, was bitter by the time he left Polaroid. He sold all his stock and refused to show up at the company's 50th-anniversary celebration in 1987. His inventions seemed like ancient history. Maybe that's a lesson for today's technology hotshots. --Dan Ring

Book Description

"Fascinating revelations....Well worth reading for its insights into the process of innovation." -Business Week

In this masterful biography of the Magellan of modern technology, Victor McElheny portrays a great inventor and entrepreneur in action. Second only to Edison in the number of patents he received (535), Land not only invented instant photography but he built a gigantic enterprise that turned out polarizers, high-speed and x-ray film, identification systems, 3D and instant movies, and military devices for aerial reconnaissance. He developed a new theory of color vision and, during the Cold War, spearheaded the development of the U2 spy plane. McElheny's insights into Land's innovative genius will speak to anyone interested in business, science, photography, or government.

"This insightful, meticulously researched and exquisitely written book transcends simple portraiture.…A must-read for practicing and would-be capitalists."-New Scientist

"A fascinating account.…A major contribution as well as an appreciation of the accomplishments of one individual and the contagion of his competence and achievement."-Physics Today

Customer Reviews:

An inspiring look at an inspiring man.......2002-12-15

It's rare to read an involving account of a business leader who managed to keep his dignity and idealism intact whilst being phenomenally successful, but that's exactly what this book is.
The book not only covers Edwin Land's major technological achievements in thorough detail, but gives one a vivid feel for his visionary and practical genius that is more affirming and motivating than a dozen Robbins and Covey tomes. Land was not only prodigiously creative but also persuasively, passionately articulate with almost a Victorian missionary zeal about everything he did, and Victor McElheny's ability to balance prose and technical detail does his subject justice.
The organisation of the book into sections concentrating upon aspects of Land's work, rather than a strict historical narrative, does make sense considering the depth with which McElheny covers each topic, whether it's the political maneuverings behind the U2 project, negotiations with Detroit carmakers about polarized headlights, or colour film chemistry. It may not be considered good journalism to do it this way, but then again a "good journalist" would probably have jettisoned much of the detail so crucial to Land's work and concentrated on petty foibles, frustrations and conflicts far more than McElheny has-and McElheny's approach is ultimately more effective.
Where the book could have been better is in editing and rounding off some of the sections-for example, while there is excellent coverage of Land's involvement with classified intelligence projects under President Eisenhower, there is nothing about his subsequent working relationships with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, let alone his falling out with Nixon. Likewise there is poor coverage of Polaroid's innovations after the introduction of colour film and before the development of the SX-70 system, such as the introduction of packfilm and the world's first transistor-controlled shutter. Yet McElheny inexplicably finds room for a whole page listing the genealogy of Land's cousins!
Nonetheless, the criticisms above are strictly of the variety once described by P. J. O'Rourke as "Sharon Stone has ugly toes"-unless you are unhealthily pedantic about such things, the overall package is still well worth checking out.

Fascinating and Accurate.......2002-10-13

Having been an employee of Polaroid for 15 years in the 60s and 70s I found this biography to be spellbinding and full of great details I never was aware of. Without being overly critical the author provides a balance of Land's brilliance and shortcomings set amidst the business world and its demands and pressures. Land was one of those leaders who was able to withstand many of the pressures of Wall St with his strong beliefs and self confidence. A good example for leaders today. He had his faults, most notably a poor selection of the management that suceeded him, leaving the company leaderless and clueless. But for all that, he was an incredible genius, business leader, inventor, project leader, scientist and inspiration to the thousands of Polaroid employees.

The Impossible Takes Longer to Achieve.......2001-04-14

Insisting on the Impossible by Victor K. McElheny is a fascinating account of the life of Edwin Land. While this 510 page book may not get the Pulitzer Prize for literature, it is nevertheless an interesting study of a genius who established an empire but was also responsible for much of its financial troubles. This book is often being criticized for its lack of good structure and difficulty in following the story. However, to my knowledge, it is the most complete account, in a single book, of the life and activities of Dr. Edwin Land and his Polaroid Corporation. The book is organized in chapters that at times seem to have little connection to each other. Perhaps this is the result of a 30-year research and notes on the topic taken by its author. Some of the chapters may not appeal, or be understood, by all readers because of their technical background. On the other hand, one can skip certain chapters without missing or diminishing from the rest of the story. For example, the development of the polarizer sheet will fascinate those interested in stereoscopic photography, while the heavy chapters on the chemistry of photography will appeal to anyone who has ever tried to understand how light is captured and converted to an image on film and paper. The chapters on Land's involvement in the highest military and national secrets as an advisor to Eisenhower, give a interesting glimpse on high-tech spying and are relevant today as well.

Finally, it is a story of a man who changed the world around him and others because of his passion for science and technology. It is quite possible that for Dr. Land, the impossible simply took longer to achieve.

Incapable of anything longer than a newspaper article.......2000-12-08

This book should be a bestseller - to every journalism school as a case study of "when good journalists become bad authors". It reads like a collected series of author notes strung badly together. This writer should have never ventured past his skill set.

Page after page of detailed notes about chemical and optical process (more than likely lifted straight out of someone's lab notebooks) without a SINGLE diagram. None, zero, zilch. Can you imagine an entire book on Poloroid without a single explanatory diagram?!

In a potentially gripping human story there are no insights about the classic American conflict of what happens to an entrepreneur and his company when he misses the next market. No depth of character.

I forced myself to finish the book. Learned some interesting outlines of Land's life. It could have be covered in a New Yorker article.

Worthwhile bibliography - most of the insights were from these source materials.

Pick the Right Dare . . . for Lasting Greatness.......2000-12-06

This book contains the most detailed information I have seen assembled
in one volume about the life of Dr. Edwin "Din" Land, founder of
Polaroid Corporation. Although I long have read public accounts of
Dr. Land's work, this book greatly added to my knowledge.

For
those who would like to understand the rise and fall of Polaroid and
its stock price over several decades from 1937 through 1980, this book
makes fascinating reading about some of the do's and don't's of
running a high technology company that depends on developing new
technologies and an on-going stream of innovative products.

If you
want to understand the techniques employed by Dr. Land to make
scientific breakthroughs, there are many insights here into his method
of goal-oriented empiricism. Interestingly, it parallels the
approaches used by Thomas Edison, the most prolific inventor of the
20th century. Unfortunately, Dr. Land left little in the way of
writings to draw on other than patent applications and speeches, so
these insights are limited primarily to recollections by colleagues.
On the other hand, the empirical approach is often guided by instinct
based on experience, which is hard to capture. Most scientific
thinkers dislike empiricism, so those who use this method can expect
many rebukes . . . as Dr. Land received in his work on the nature of
color perception.

Those who want to understand the scientific
breakthroughs that Polaroid made will probably come away confused
unless they already have a great knowledge of optics and chemistry
related to photography. I learned a great deal from the book, but
would have liked to learn more. I graded the book down one star for
this weakness.

If you want a fascinating, new look into the
emerging arms race with the Soviet Union in the 1950s, there is much
interesting material here about Dr. Land's role as a national advisor
on defense surveillance.

I was a guest at a dinner hosted by
Dr. Land in the mid 1960s during which he demonstrated his new
technology of instant color photography...His good humor,
generous attitude toward his guests, and his sincere desire to
transform the world, however, left me with a more profound lesson --
seeing much more potential for what a company can be than I would
otherwise have had. Dr. Land explained his vision that night in terms
of releasing the human spirit and encouraging all of us to create and
appreciate more beauty. Although glimpses of this side of Dr. Land
come through in the book, they are overshadowed by the overall theme
of a flawed genius.

I dislike books that argue for flaws in
geniuses. That approach serves to make them more human, but not in a
way that makes us appreciate them or their good points. Geniuses are
by their nature obsessed by their work, and their personal quirks can
be quite negative. ... By the standards of 20th century geniuses,
Dr. Land was a regular guy. In fact, the extent to which he retained
his humanity is part of his greatness.

I think an alternative
explanation to the one in this book of Dr. Land's limitations as a
leader is entirely possible and appropriate. Whenever he was engaged
in endeavors where strong leaders were involved as colleagues or
partners (such as on national defense issues), he was astonishingly
effective. Whenever he was totally given his head, he sometimes
strayed into areas where his vision exceeded the true opportunity.
Clearly, his talent as a technical problem solver vastly exceeded his
talent as an evaluator of product potential.

The story of
Polaroid's rise and fall as depicted here could just as easily be
rewritten as the story of a board of directors and financiers who did
not do their job of providing limits. For example, when Polaroid was
originally taken public in 1937, the investment bankers granted
Dr. Land a 10 year period of total control through a voting trust.
Although every company founder would like such control, that's simply
a bad idea. Management has to be and feel accountable...His authority
seems to me to have been much greater than that normally granted to a
CEO in taking a new product forward....Hopefully, a future book will
look at the fascinating governance challenges and issues related to
being on the board of a company led by a scientific genius who has
provided most of the company's historic value added.

After you
have finished reading and thinking about the fascinating issues in
this book, I suggest that you consider what you would like your legacy
to be. Then, consider what mistakes you will have to avoid in order
to accomplish that legacy. How can others help you overcome your
weaknesses to accomplish more?

Be willing to insist on the
impossible, when it's the right thing to do. You can do it!

Average customer rating:
Insisting on the Impossible : The Life of Edwin Land, Inventor of Instant Photography
Victor K. McElheny
Manufacturer: DIANE Publishing Company
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ASIN: 0788192035

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Insisting On The Impossible. The Life of Edwin Land
Victor K. McElheny
Manufacturer: Perseus Books
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Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NUID06

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Customer Interaction Solutions, published by Technology Marketing Corporation on July 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1655 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: In search of mediocrity: in CRM, marketing and advertising; An overview of the problems that lead to mediocrity in Corporate America.(Publisher's Outlook)(customer relationship management)
Author: Nadji Tehrani
Publication: Customer Interaction Solutions (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2004
Publisher: Technology Marketing Corporation
Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Page: 2(3)

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In Search of Mediocrity
Philip et al. Nelson
Manufacturer: Woodside Press
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THE CONSTANT CIRCLE. H. L. Mencken and His Friends.
Sara (H. L. Mencken) Mayfield
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing
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The Constant Circle: H. L. Mencken and His Friends
Sara Mayfield
Manufacturer: Delacorte Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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The Constant Circle: H. L. Mencken and His Friends
Sara Mayfield
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The Constant Circle: H. L. Mencken and His Friends (Fire Ant)
Sara Mayfield
Manufacturer: Fire Ant Books
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Constant Circle: H.L. Mencken and His Friends
Sara Mayfield
Manufacturer: DELACORTE PRESS
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Constant Circle. H.L. Mencken and His Friends.
Sara MAYFIELD
Manufacturer: (MENCKEN, H.L.). MAYFIELD, Sara. The Constant Circle. H.L. Mencken and His Friends. Orig. cloth-backed boards, dust jacket. N.Y.: Delacorte Press, [1968]. A fine copy.
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The Constant Circle: H L Mencken and His Friends
Sara Mayfield
Manufacturer: Delacorte Press c1968
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The Constant Circle: H.L. Mencken and His Friends
H.L.) Mayfield, Sara Mencken
Manufacturer: Delacorte Press
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Revised and updated, Granof’s Third Edition incorporates the latest GASB pronouncements and takes a fresh look at the unique features of governmental and not-for-profit accounting. This text will help you develop a firm grasp of the theory underlying current practice, so you can quickly acquire the skills required of professional accountants and auditors. Throughout, the emphasis is on the significance of reported information and how to interpret and analyze accounting information.

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Approaches to the History of the Western Family 1500-1914
Michael Anderson
Manufacturer: The Macmillan Press Ltd.
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ASIN: B000V8W2IO

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Approaches to the History of the Western Family, 1500-1914 (Studies in Economic & Social History)
Michael Anderson
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This book is a short but comprehensive survey of the work on the history of the family in Western Europe and North America, for the period 1500-1914. Updated to include material published between 1980 and 1994, it aims to provide students of family history with a structured and balanced critique of and guide to the huge literature on the subject. Professor Anderson focuses particularly on the strengths and limitations of different approaches that have been adopted in the discipline, and seeks connections among themes, countries and periods.

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Approaches to the History of the Western Family, 1500-1914
Michael Anderson
Manufacturer: Cambridge Univ Press
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Book Description

Few figures in American history inspire more interest than the enigmatic George Armstrong Custer. From his early service in the Civil War to his later years fighting Indians on the frontier, Custer's image has been indelibly imprinted on the pages of American history. His last stand at the Little Bighorn has been retold over and over and remains one of the most infamous stories of the American West. Author and historian Thom Hatch has scoured the historical record to prepare this exhaustive compendium of information of and relating to Custer. It will, he believes, come to be known as "the classic reference source" for the enigmatic cavalryman.

Customer Reviews:

review of Custer Companion.......2007-01-11

I was seeking more information of the actual troopers who served with the 7th before and during the Souix Campaign of 1876. There are plenty of photos of the officers and bios but the emlisted soldiers were unfortunaltely absent fo rthe most part. I was expecting at least a list of the troopers and some information of their race, ethnicity, backgrounds etc. I realize these were not necessarily model citizens but they were somewhat representative of the post CW military. I was hoping to be able to draw some comparisons to our "draft" army of the 1960's as far as compositions of troops.

A Custeriana Essential.......2006-05-31

Along with William A. Graham's "Custer Myth" and Paul A. Hutton's "Custer Reader", this book belongs on the shelf of any serious student of Custer's life and career. I do not often feel compelled to comment on books I've read, but this is one of those rare gems that comes along unexpectedly, just when you think that everything that can be said has been said.

My library includes nearly every book ever written about Custer and I would rank Hatch's book with the best of them. Some of those books contain useful and fascinating information but are barely readable, but Thom Hatch manages to make his both fascinating and readable, and that is a laudable accomplishment for any historian. I also disagree with those who say this would not make a good introductory work; I think that on the contrary, it would make an excellent place to start. It covers the entirety of his life and career and leaves few facets unexplored or unremarked, from birth to pre-military teaching jobs to West Point, the Civil War and beyond.

One of its strongest assets is the "for further reading" list appended to each section, listing the various works out there which can better inform the reader about the subject at hand. But this is more than an empty list of authors and titles; Hatch comments on the various books, judging them not only by what he has to say about them but what others have said as well. For instance, of Gregory J.W. Unwin's classic "Custer Victorious" he says "minor drawbacks to this exciting and well-written work is that some have claimed that it is too pro-Custer, with too much cheerleading, and that it - as the title suggests - concentrates on the battles when Custer was a general and fails to adequately chronicle his first two years of service and associated aspects of his career." This is particularly useful information for somebody new to the field of Custer studies and will guide them in picking and choosing their way through the vast library of Custeriana.

Another strength of this book is the sidebars. These are useful and fascinating digressions into areas outside the main body of the text and discuss such things as tables of organization for various expeditions (a plus for the student of military history), "Military Forts on the Central and Southern Plains", "Custer's Mad Dash across Kansas", "Wild Bill's Showdown with Tom Custer", "The Joel Elliott Controversy", "The Arrest and Revenge of Rain-in-the-Face" and so forth. Better yet, associated subjects, though not directly pertaining to Custer, are not forgotten, so we are provided with information about the Battle of Beecher Island, not to mention a biographical sketch of Lt. Beecher himself, Red Cloud's War and the Buffalo Soldiers. These additions better round out the world in which Custer lived and operated and allow the reader to understand the currents - historical, military and social - of his time.

Complementing the sidebars are the biographies. These cover a variety of people, such as Sheridan, Benteen, Reno, Terry and the other "usual suspects" but also lesser known figures, such as scout William Averill Comstock, Captain Louis McLane Hamilton, Major Eugene Asa Carr, not to mention Native American leaders and warriors, not limited to Crazy Horse, Gall and Sitting Bull but including such figures as Roman Nose, Black Kettle, Satanta, Kicking Bird, and others. And these are not dry biographical sketches. His remarks on Winfield Scott Hancock are telling: "Hancock apparently urged Col. A.J. Smith to prefer charges against Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, branding him the scapegoat for this blot on the general's otherwise exemplary military career." Of Captain Albert Barnitz, frequently cited by Custer critics, he says: "Barnitz wrote about Custer to his wife on May 15, 'He is the most complete example of a petty tyrant that I have ever seen.' Perhaps that attitude could be partially blamed on he fact that Barnitz had been arrested for discarding forage and not feeding his horses."

All in all, this is a very balanced treatment of the life and career of George Armstrong Custer. If Custer comes out favorably in these pages, I think it is only because Hatch rightly points out the absurdity of some of the positions his critics have taken, and it is a refreshing change of pace from those who, like Roger Darling, simply assume Custer must have 'gone nuts' on the day of the Little Bighorn. No man lives in a vacuum and as this book demonstrates, the Little Bighorn cannot be taken out of the context of Custer's life, career and experiences.

In the end, the only criticism I can level is that due to the book's organization the reader will be forced to flip back and forth as they read, and this is no real hardship at all given the wealth of information uncovered with every page. "The Custer Companion" is a delight to read. In a field that is possibly the most written about in American history, and home to such giants as Frost, Utley and Dippie, Thom Hatch's accomplishment still stands out.

With a vividly presented history of the Plains Indian Wars.......2003-06-12

The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide To The Life Of George Armstrong Custer And The Plains Indian Wars by historian and Custer expert Thom Hatch combines an informative biography of George Armstrong Custer with a vividly presented history of the Plains Indian Wars. The Custer Companion covers The Surrender Flag Controversy; Custer's Mad Dash across Kansas; Wild Bill's Showdown with Tom Custer; Red Cloud's War; The Sand Creek Massacre; The Russian Grand Duke's Buffalo Hunt; The Arrest and Revenge of Rain-in-the-Face; The Midnight Ride of Charley Reynolds; and a wealth of other aspects of "Custeriana". Solid, straightforward text enhanced with numerous sidebars going into little-known details, as well as a profusion of black-and-white photographs coupled with the results of an exhaustive research, makes The Custer Companion an indispensable resource for anyone studying one of America's most colorful (and controversial) military figures of the 19th century -- a man whose turbulent character and impact on American frontier history evokes renewed interest in every new generation of Americans.

Great Overview, Bios, Maps and References for Futher Reading.......2003-05-18

This is a well detailed overview of the life of General Custer from his roots to the aftermath of the LBH. The book is interlaced with a 100 or more biographies of all the key people associated with from family, soldiers, scouts, and politicians to Native Americans. The bios are outstanding and they fill in some holes even for the seasoned Custerphile. One example is the bio on Dr. Coates, the surgeon who served with Custer in Kansas and. Coates was a key witness on Custer's behalf in reference to the charge that he denied medical treatment for deserters. The bio covers Coates' short army career before and after the incident including his post army life. Another is Colonel Sturgis, the actual Colonel and actual commander of the 7th, who typically was on assignment or administrative duties deferring field command to Custer. In addition, when referencing a particular individual or place or battle, Hatch provides a detailed bibliography on the person or topic. When I read of the controversy regarding Custer's 1867 court-martial, the listed references led me to Lawrence Frost's detailed book on the subject. In addition to the bios sprinkled throughout the book are quotes by the General himself, which are highlighted outside the regular text, which adds depth to what Custer was feeling at that point in his history. It's also quite clear that he and Libby had one of the closest relationships in history. Although there may be more detailed works on the various prime subjects of Custer's life, this book captures it very well and closes ranks on information with people that intersected Custer's life from Reno, Benteen, Tom Custer, Belknap, Crazy Horse, Two Moons, Keough, Calhoun, Weir, Godfrey, Sitting Bull, Gall, Crazy Horse, Curley and on. The biographies sometimes seem a little redundant since they often overlap the text but they are well worth it. My only criticism was that there was not more on Lt. Wallace who was the timekeeper during the LBH command. Wallace appears to have aided and abetted Benteen and Reno at Reno's Court Martial. The fun part is at the conclusion of the LBH the author adds a little argument by critiquing other authors' views in what happened to Custer's brigade and he comes up with his own plausible theory. In Hatch's book, Reno and Benteen are held accountable for their wrong actions or inactions. A very good perspective and well worth reading as it even includes a review of the final Plains Indian campaigns.

More Than an Afternoon in June: The Custer Companion.......2003-04-20

Although "The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars" is an invaluable collection of source materials on the life lived by the flamboyant and enigmatic General George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876), the book once again reminds us that the life of one man came down to ONE battle waged on a Montana hillside on June 25, 1876. If you were hoping to find a narrative of Custer's life, I would recommend Jeffry K. Wert's "Custer" as a first source and using Hatch's book as a source to garner further information.

Although the Battle of the Little Big Horn and Custer's remarkable failure there has seared the youngest general in United States' history image indelibly on the American imagination, the "myth", to the average 19th Century American was created long before that tragedy. It is the life lived during the American Civil War that provides fodder for the tragedy we recognize as a life cut short, a promise unfullfilled, and it is Custer's early life which is lacking in Hatch's narrative. I found an almost Custer-like impatience by the author in "The Custer Companion. . ." to get to the "big" story and it is this impatience that may contribute to some historical inaccuracies and a noted thinness in Custer's life story before the Plains Indian Wars.

The information on the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the numerous personalities that were factors in Custer's life story is, without a doubt, wonderful. But if you seek to "know" the man on his swift climb to prominence, "The Custer Companion. . ." would not be my first choice.

Use "The Custer Companion. . ." as a warehouse of bibiliographic material, but do not use it as a foundation for an introduction to one of the most fascinating figures in American history.

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