Nobody Wins

The new book by Nathaniel Philbrick opens with widescreen foreshadowing as George Armstrong Custer strays from a hunting party until he’s lost in Kansas. His dogs were hounding antelope over a hill, but the cavalry man’s group was chasing Indians. It’s not spoiling The Last Stand to point out that, one decade, several states and 290 pages later, coyotes have picked the general’s bones clean and left them scattered at Little Bighorn. Meanwhile, Sitting Bull’s victory assures an end to his people. Philbrick reads from his sensitive but briskly paced history at 6:30 p.m. at the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza Branch (4801 Main, 816-701-3481). Admission is free. See kclibrary.org to make a reservation.

Mon., May 17, 6:30 p.m., 2010