Custer has been maligned a lot lately in the movies. He was trying to do his job and was a good officer. The Sioux had respect for him for being brave. He stood there until the last fighting them. They did not mark his body like they did the other soldiers in respect. Or so it said in that book. The movie Little Big Man is meant as a joke and is taken seriously. The idea of some people now that all the Indians did was count coups is ridiculous. Custer was trying to get Sioux who had been at war and gone off the reservation rounded up. At the previous battle before Little big horn he had had the women rounded up and left in a tent with no ill treatment not what it said in the movie. It is being turned around in the movies now. There is no perfect answer to everything. There were two women that had been taken prisoners by the Sioux and Custer also wanted to get them returned. He thought they would be getting mistreated. This was not the case for them as they were getting along with the captors and one had accepted a marriage offer.
There was another woman he had wanted to rescue. The attitude of some of the army was that they would only be nuts by then and it would do no good. This was also portrayed in a silly way in another TV movie. Custer did not take an Indian wife. He had a wife already. His brother may have though taking advantage of her.
Of course Custer did want the glory but was trying to do his job for his country. He was being maligned . Some in the government were jealous of him. He had had a falling out. The calvary that was supposed to be coming to help them for some reason never showed up.