Reviews (6)

"I want to be one just like him."
Fantastic! What a great read from a Bishop who can recognize a man of character and faith. Unlike most Episcopal bishops today who chase after the wind, Bishop Brown has written an interesting short tome on the greatest man produced by the 19th Century. Bishop Brown's intertwining of C.S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers, and T.S. Elliot makes it all the more interesting. This book will bless you during devotional time.

The Christian beliefs of Robert E. Lee
A well-researched book on the religious beliefs of Robert E. Lee. A most instructive study on how these beliefs developed and impacted the man. The book is detailed on just what these beliefs were and how they were at the very core of who Robert E. Lee was.

I disagree with the honorable reader from redmond
The review written in a vain attempt to slash at the character of such a paragon of virtue is ridiculous and only shows the strength of Lee's character and the weakness of any who would care to even attempt such damage to it. Lee freed all his slaves by 1863 only because that was the time period set within his father-in-law's will, he would have preferred to release them earlier since he viewed slavery as a vile and impractical institution although he was not in favor of complete and immediate abolition, preferring gradual abolition for their "education as a race"-- in other words, to fit them with abilities worthy of employment and adequate pay once freed. The comment about protocol was ridiculous and incomprehensible. Lee specificially told his younger officers, who suggested that he lead the army into what would be a devastating round of "bushwhacking"- guerrilla warfare in the countryside, that he would not because the only honorable thing was to surrender to Grant, and thus saved the country from years of devastating warfare. To say that Lee prolonged the war, then, is pointless, for it was he who surrendered when davis, his superior, would have continued to fight. The quote which suggests bigorty and prejudice of Lee shall not even be repeated here due to the fact that it was a misinterpretation of his meaning. Lee, in fact, showed by personal example the best way to unite the country. He attended an Episcopalian church in which the congregation was white, until one day a black man entered the church and proceeded to the rail to take communion. there was a oause in the church, for no man dared sit beside this "colored" man- except Lee, who immediate took his seat beside the man and showed that he was in no way prejudiced.

Religious, but not very deep.
A thought-provoking book about one of the more interesting figures in U.S. history. However one might argue that his support of slavery, the needless misery and suffering caused by his refusal to call for an end to the war after his surrender when he admitted all was lost (basically a matter of protocol, due to loyalty to Jefferson Davis), his refusal to allow prisoner exchanges because of the Union's demand that black soldiers be included ('those species of property' as he put it) tempers the urge to consider him the "embodiment of all that is noble, beautiful, and worthy of emulation in the best of the Christian tradition." One would consider the Christian tradition a bit more enlightened. I also wish the author would have included the words Lee spoke when he shook hands with Ely Parker, one of Grant's aides, after the surrender papers were signed at Appomattox Courthouse: "I am glad to see one real American here." Parker responded, "We are all Americans."

The best short insight of this American giant
To try to understand Lee apart from his faith is folly. He embodies all that is noble, beautiful, and worthy of emulation in the best of the Christian tradition. His grace, his poise, his presence are all legendary. His strategic acumen is without peer in all of American history. All are grounded in his simple, profound and unshakeable faith in the wisdom and mercy of God. He has been characterized as enimatic by some historians. I believe he is laid bare in this study. Part history and part meditation no Lee admirer should be without this one. ... Read more

Book Description

??lfirst-hand account of inexplicable brutality, day-to-day suffering, and survival, Marie Beatrice Umutesi sheds light on the other genocide that targeted the Hutu refugees of Rwanda after the victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front in 1994. Umutesi's documentation of the flight and terror of these years provides the world a veritable account of a history that is still widely unknown. After translations from its original French into three other languages, this important book is available in English for the first time. It is more than a testimony to the lives and humanity lost; it is a call for those politicians, military personnel, and humanitarian organizations responsible for the atrocious crimes--and the devastating silence--to be held accountable. ... Read more

Book Description

Originally published in 1909, this biography by Isabel Wallace recounts the life of her adoptive father, the little-recognized William Hervy Lamme Wallace, the highest-ranking Union officer to fall at the battle of Shiloh.

Born in 1821 in Ohio, Wallace and his family moved to Illinois in 1834, where he was educated at Rock Springs Seminary in Mount Morris. On his way to study law with Abraham Lincoln in Springfield in 1844, Wallace was persuaded by local attorney T. Lyle Dickey, a close friend of Lincoln, to join his practice in Ottawa instead. Wallace eventually married Dickey's daughter, Martha Ann, in 1851.

When the Civil War broke out, both Wallace and Dickey immediately volunteered for service with the Eleventh Illinois, which assembled in Springfield. Wallace was elected as the unit's colonel; a successful lawyer, a friend of President Lincoln, a generation older than most privates, and an officer with Mexican War experience, he was entirely suited for such command.

Wallace was appointed brigadier general for his performance at Fort Donelson, the first notable Union victory in the Civil War. Wallace's troops had saved the day, although the Eleventh Illinois had lost nearly two-thirds of its men. He then moved with his troops to Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, where Confederates launched a surprise attack on the forces of Major General Ulysses S. Grant at Shiloh Church on Sunday, April 6, 1862. Wallace, who held only temporary command of one of Grant's six divisions, fought bravely but was mortally wounded as he began to withdraw his men on the afternoon of the battle. His wife, who had arrived at Pittsburg Landing by steamer on the day of the battle, was at his side when he died three days later. Grant praised Wallace in 1868 as "the equal of the best, if not the very best, of the Volunteer Generals with me at the date of his death."

Isabel Wallace traces her father's life from his upbringing in Ottawa through his education, his service in the Mexican War, his law practice, his courtship of and marriage to her mother, and his service in the Eleventh Illinois until his mortal injury at Shiloh. She also details his funeral and her and her mother's life in the postwar years. Based on the copious letters and family papers of the general and his wife, the biography also provides historical information on federal politics of the period, including commentary on Lincoln's campaign and election and on state politics, especially regarding T. Lyle Dickey, Wallace's father-in-law and law partner, prominent Illinois politician, and associate of Lincoln. It is illustrated with fifteen black-and-white halftones. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Garry Wills' "Negro President": Jefferson and the Slave Power, despite its title, is not a profile of the Jefferson Presidency. Rather, the book offers a richly detailed study of the United States' tragic constitutional bargain with slavery, and meanders through the lives of several key figures in antebellum American history along the way.

While Thomas Jefferson does play a significant role in Wills' book, the real heroes are the relatively unknown abolitionist Timothy Pickering and, to a lesser degree, John Quincy Adams. Pickering offered a consistent voice of opposition to Jefferson's often secret campaign against Federalist power. Though he could never match Jefferson's charismatic persona, Pickering succeeded in his battle to undo Jefferson's embargo of England--an embargo thatPickering recognized as Jefferson's attempt to undermine the economic prosperity and power of the North. Pickering's ill-fated attempt to secede from the Union, while misguided, would fuel the latter-day abolitionist John Quincy Adams to threaten a similar revolution as the Civil War loomed.

Ultimately, "Negro President" is a book that recovers slavery as a context for understanding early American political life. At times Willis focuses too much on Jefferson, Pickering, or Adams, and the discussion is derailed by his fascination for the moral successes and failures of each personality. Nevertheless, the book addresses a long-neglected subject in American studies and will prove invaluable to readers interested in understanding America's early struggle to balance Northern versus slave-state power. --Patrick O'Kelley ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Did Freedom's Champion Have A Moral Blind Spot?
Garry Wills reminds us at the beginning of this book that he's previously written two volumes that praised aspects of Jefferson's life and work. He insists he's still an admirer of Jefferson, though he concedes readers may differ with that claim after they finish this book. The reason? In these chapters, Wills lays out a persuasive case that Jefferson's presidency was largely shaped by the "slave power"--the constitutional provision requiring that each slave be counted as three-fifths of a person in determining congressional representation.

Without the "slave power," Jefferson would have never won the presidency in 1800. Wills examines how Jefferson's determination to preserve and extend the rule of the slave states drove many of his most important decisions. The acquisition of the Louisiana Territory was seen as an opportunity to add more slave territory to the emerging nation. The embargo, one of Jefferson's most controversial acts, seems to make more sense when considered in the light of its positive benefits for the agrarian south and negative impacts on the commerce of the northern states. Even the selection of the site for the nation's capitol, Wills argues, was heavily influenced by the slaveholder's desire for a setting where their values and way of life would be embraced instead of shunned.

Jefferson's questionable political and moral decisions were not made without opposition. Wills sheds the spotlight on, and helps to rehabilitate Timothy Pickering, secretary of war under Washington, secretary of state under Adams, and consistent critic of Jefferson during his years in congress. After Pickering passed from the scene, John Quincy Adams emerged as the chief moral spokesman against the influence of slavery.

To dismiss this book as mere Jefferson-bashing would be facile. As Wills himself notes, though Jefferson devoted much energy to preserving the slave power, he was not the worst offender in this regard; and he did not argue, like some, that slavery itself was benign. Rather, he says, "Jefferson belonged to that large class of southerners--including the best of them, men like Washington and Madison--who knew that slavery was evil, but felt they could not cut back on the evil without cutting the ground out from under them."

What Wills is asking us to do, I believe, is to set aside our prejudices, pro and con, and re-examine this nation's formative years in the harsh but honest light of how they were corrupted by slavery; and how even today, we are paying the price for the immoral bargains that men of good faith and character believed they were required to make.

Good Addition to Wills Canon
Garry Wills returns again to Thomas Jefferson, sort of. The title of the book is "Negro President", Jefferson and the Slave Power, but that can be somewhat misleading. The historical personage who sits front and centre in this discussion of the slave power is New England's own Timothy Pickering. The author provides a different take on this often maligned character. It is shown how Pickering doggedly fought againt the 3/5 federal ratio that allowed the Southern slave states to count their slaves (partially) in order to increase their place in the houses and, in the case of Jefferson, help elect a President of the United States. Jefferson's role in this extension of slave power is examined. Particularly enlightening is a new look at the selection of Washington as the site of the new capital. When focused must directly on these aspects, the book is strongest. The text does, on occasion, wander a little farther afield though. The sections on John Quincy Adams feel undeveloped in an appendix sort of fashion, although interesting in their own right. It is nice to see a reexamination of Pickering, particularly as a way to view Jefferson in a fresher light.

The Tragedy of the Three-Fifths Compromise
While Wills begins this book by saying that he does not want to disparage Thomas Jefferson or cause people not to admire him, it was impossible not to see him and other Southern presidents like James Madison and James Monroe in a more tarnished light after finishing the book. NEGRO PRESIDENT presents a much clearer picture of how the Three-Fifths Compromise continued the appalling practice of slavery in this country and led the United States inevitably toward the Civil War. Readers learn, too, of the unsung hero of the anti-slavery movement, Thomas Pickering, whose death seems to have finally transformed John Quincy Adams into an unflinching opponent of slavery towards the end of his career. This is a very interesting book that everyone should read. There should be more done to counter the mythology of slavery and the South that has developed in this country since the end of Reconstruction. It's good to know that the Founding Fathers were not "supermen." They were simply the same flawed people that we all are.

The truth at last - thank you, Gary Wills
Gary Wills has done a great service to the search for truth in American history. Thomas Jefferson's involvement in the slavery issue has recently been trapped in the dull and irrelevant arguement concerning whether TJ romped with his slave girls or not (practically all slave owners did, it was one of the perks of the institution that Jeff and his fellows loved so much.) What has been obscured was that Jefferson was the architect of the monstrous defense of slavery, disquised as states rights, which Calhoun and the others used to justify succession. One of the tired excuses always marched out in defense of Jefferson is that he was a man of his times, everyone owned slaves, we can't judge him by our standards, blah, blah, blah. By putting the brave and noble abolitionist Thomas Pickering center stage, Wills has given a human face to the struggle against one of history's terrible abominations. We Americans will never really have a mature understanding of our history until we stop idolizing the defenders of slavery (Jefferson, Lee etc.) and begin celebrating the brave men and women who oppossed it from day one. Thank you, Gary Wills. What a wonderful step in the right direction.

negro president
While an interesting book, it deals little with Thomas Jefferson. Wills seems to be far more interested in building a case for Timothy Pickering and Arron Burr. Not at all sure why it got the title it did. In a way, I feel like sending it back as the title did not represent the subject ... Read more

Book Description

Dubbed "Stonewall" following the battle of First Manassas in July 1861, Thomas Jackson has long been revered as a brilliant military leader and tactician and as one of the most adroit Confederate commanders. The man himself is a study in contrasts: justifiably feared by his enemies and completely beloved by his men.

J. Steven Wilkins examines the life and character of Jackson. His research reveals a man humble and sincere in his Christian faith, which stands in stark contrast with the general’s reputation as a ferocious warrior.

Shortly after his graduation from West Point in 1846, Jackson served in the Mexican War in 1848, where he became one of the most decorated heroes of the conflict and received promotion to the brevetted rank of major. He left the army in 1851 to accept a teaching position at the Virginia Military Institute, resigning his commission in the army a year later. In 1859 he led a contingent of cadets to maintain order during the trial and ensuing execution of John Brown. When Jackson departed VMI in 1861 to join the Confederate army, he was immediately commissioned a colonel and within months was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Mortally wounded by friendly fire in May 1863, he "more than anyone else, personified the compelling and the virtuous in what the subsequent generation would label ‘The Lost Cause’"—James I. Robertson Jr. ... Read more

Book Description

Hapgood, the initiator of muckraking journalism in America, was also a distinguished magazine editor, diplomat and politician. Written in 1899, this is his finest book. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

One to add to a "Crockett" Library
Penned during the ORIGINAL Crockett "craze" of the 1830's, this is the Tennessean's own story in his "own" words. (Much of this book was heavy edited and, some would say, ghost written by one of Crockett's supporters.) Still, it's worth adding to a "Crockett" Library. Parts of the book have an almost "Dickens" like feel, especially the stories about the poverty and hardship suffered by the young David. Sprinkled through-out this book are hunting stories, scrapes with bears and panthers, a little romance, skirmishes with hostiles, frontier wit and humor. An annoying part of the narrative are the corny pseudo backwoods expressions, like "burst my boilers" and "knocked his trotters out from under him". Evidently the author(s) tired of this excessive hoakum too because it abruptly stops. (Thank You!) Much has been written about the legendary "Davy" but this brings the real man into more perspective. Even if you have little interest in Crockett lore, the NARRATIVE is still worth reading for it's glimpse into early 19th Century America.

David Crockett, a review
It is a great book, a real whopper. And I'll be skinned alive and burned by an injun if it aint one of the moost enthralling books I've read. Colonel Crockett didn't have the greatest spelling, or punctuation, but it was a great book. In the 1830's, Edgar Allan Poe wrote a review of the book, criticizing its grammar, but what he forgot to say was how it was exciting, and easy to read. At the time, it was the bestselling book in the nation.

COURAGE
I HAVE JUST FINISHED READING THE NARRATIVE OF DAVID CROCKETT FOR AN AMERICAN HISTORY CLASS AND HAVE TO DO A SHORT THREE PAGE PAPER ON THE BOOK. I WAS HOPING TO GET SOME IDEAS ON THE INTERNET TO HELP OUT WITH THE PAPER, AND SAW THIS LINK. THE BOOK WAS GREAT, EASY READING, AND INTERESTING TO THE READER, MYSELF. HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED IT AS WELL AS I DID! ... Read more

Book Description

Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox started off his military career as a promising young West Point cadet and proved himself in battle with service as an officer in the Mexican War. But when the South seceded in 1861, Wilcox, along with 305 other West Point graduates, sided with the Confederacy. Aside from the historical perspective his life provides, a closer analysis reveals Wilcox as a man whose life, like those of many of his colleagues, was forever altered by the Civil War. Author Gerard Patterson brings his little-known subject to life in this fascinating biography. ... Read more

Book Description

Fascinating true stories of some of the most interesting and influential personalities of the Civil War. Their heroic deeds and selfless acts ranged from caring for the wounded to fighting on the battlefields. Included are Harriet Tubman, Belle Boyd, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, and many others. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Horrible
This book gave too many unwanted details and needed to cover the women in general. I do like interesting facts every once in while, but these facts weren't even interesting. It was also poorly written. I would not recommend this book to anyone!

A Disappointing Read
I am a graduate student in American History with a focus on women and their roles in the Civil War. As such I was pleased to find Garrison's Amazing Women. However, once I started reading the book I was extremely disappointed. One of the first things I noticed was the lack of citations and a bibliography. Garrison neglects to credit anyone with the information he gathered for this particular work except to say that you can find alot of information on the internet. And while I understand Garrison's intended audience to be the general public where footnotes are found to be annoying, a bibliography would surely be helpful to anyone interested in learning more about these women. Furthermore, Garrison displays an attitude throughout the work that some of the acts and actions credited to women must surely be exaggerated. What I found to be particularly annoying with the work was the attention given to the men that were spouses to the women chosen for the work. If the book is about women, write about the women. To make matters worse, Garrison also includes among his Amazing Women a man that cross-dresses. This information is irrelevant to the subject. The only positive thing I can say about Amazing Women is that Garrison provides a nice list of women who played important and diverse roles during the war. So, if you are looking for research, this book is a huge disappointment. But if you are looking for a quick read where all the information is assumed to be correct, without providing any proof then this is your book. However, if you are truly interested in learning about women's roles in the Civil War I would suggest Mary Elizabeth Massey's Women in the Civil War (University of Nebraska Press, 1966) or Elizabeth D. Leonard's All the Daring of the Soldier (Penguin Books, 1999).

Very good historical piece!! Very enjoyable!!
This was really good. It's about various women that helped shape the Civil War, whether by being Spies, Soldiers, Journalists, Angels of Mercy, or whatever. You'll be surprised how far some of these women went for their cause, and how much they accomplished in that time frame that provided them with so little independent resources. This book is a good introduction into these women, that may trigger your interest to learn more about them. I wish it provided even more information on these people, but basically it seemed to be a book to introduce you to these women and tell of their actions, then go locate more information about them.

Enlightening
This book did an excellent job on describing the roles in which women took part in during the Civil War. Webb Garrison did an excellent job choosing women to write about. Both Southern and Northern women were talked about, showing readers that these women were not as different as they had thought they were. ... Read more

Book Description

The first full biography of Confederate Raider John Mosby, Gray Ghost reveals new information on every aspect of Mosby’s life and provides the first analysis of his impact on the Civil War from the Union viewpoint.

With a genius for guerrilla warfare, Mosby diverted enemy troops from the front and used fear as a psychological weapon. For more than twenty-seven months he led daring overnight raids behind Union pickets and created false alarms up and down the Potomac. Although Mosby never commanded more than 400 men, his forces were regularly overestimated, once by a factor of forty. Union officials dispatched more than seventy search and destroy missions against him personally, but he retained the tactical advantage until Lee’s surrender at Appomattox.Mosby’s dynamic, double-sided personality, forged in childhood, was the foundation for his success as a guerrilla chief, but it was also his greatest weakness. Attempting to repeat patterns of heroic conflict after the war, he threw away his status as a leading southern hero and sacrificed a lucrative law practice to support the Republican party and U.S. Grant’s campaign for the presidency.Forced into exile from his native Virginia, Mosby frequently charged into controversy. He crusaded for truth and justice as consul to Hong Kong, acted as a federal land agent in the U.S. Midwest, authored an account of Jeb Stuart’s role in the Confederate loss at Gettysburg, and served as a Justice Department attorney. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Entertaining
This book is about as close to entertainment as history can get. This does not mean that it is fiction however. Ramage writes a sturdy bio of Mosby. And although Mosby is one of the most famous, or infamous if you are a Yankee, Civil War personalities around, there aren't many good reads on him. However, Ramage's bio is terrific from both a historian's and a reader's point of view. Ramage is obviously an admirer of Mosby's, but does not blindly believe all that comes with the "Mosby myth". Instead, Ramage uses both primary and secondary sources to try to find the real Mosby and see what his real exploits were. The descriptions of Mosby's forays are fast-paced and exciting. The chapters on Mosby's post-war career are extremely interesting as we see the hated Mosby become a Republican and friend of U.S. Grant. Mosby also became embroiled in disputes with "Lost Cause" people like Jubal Early due to Mosby's support of J.E.B. Stuart. Interesting all the way around.

Sort of ---
This book is well written by someone who likes Mosby but this nonsense about "terror" from Union troops about Mosby sounds more like the terror that was felt by the Confederates towards Sheridan or Sherman or John Brown!
Frankly I have always considered those who hit and run or come out at night and shoot stragglers or people from behing to be somewhat -- well - gutless. Sorry.

Exciting, well-written bio of Civil War guerilla fighter
An excellent book for anyone interested in the Civil War. Ramage has written an exciting, fast-paced biography of one of the South's most mythologized and celebrated Civil War heroes. He draws the reader into the world of Mosby from his early fights with childhood bullies to his final fight for J.E.B. Stuart's memory and legacy. Certainly one of the Confederacy's more popular figures, Mosby ruled an area of Virginia causing Union officers and privates alike to fear capture if separated from the main body. Mosby's able and selfless leadership set an example to his men, and both Stuart and Lee saw that he was no ordinary partisan ranger. Even after the war, Mosby's fight continued as he supported the Republican Grant for president. Ramage aptly delves into the now out-of-favor hero's post-war life and one of the best chapters in the book is his description of Mosby's fight against corruption as U.S. consul in Hong Kong. Ramage has gone through many sources and succeeded in bringing Mosby the man to life. The author even met with Mosby's grandson and received valuable first-hand descriptions of him in his later life. This book is destined to be the definitive work on the "Gray Ghost". ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An engaging juvenille biography of Robert E. Lee
As if often the case with any examination of the life and military career of Robert E. Lee, author Albert Marrin begins "Virginia's General" with the pivotal date of April 18, 1861, when Lee rejected taking battlefield command of the United States Army. Lee is the most revered general in American History, mainly because of the inherent nobility in fighting brilliantly for a lost cause, an effect that can be traced back to Homer's "Iliad" and Hector, breaker of horses. One of the inevitable questions in studying his life is what his reputation would have been in the American history books if he had accepted that offer instead. Would he have led the Federal forces to a quick victory thereby saving hundreds of thousands of lives? Would the abolition of slavery have gone "better" if the South had not been devastated by the war? However, as interesting as these questions are to pursue, they are just idle speculation and Marrin's task is to understand Robert E. Lee as both a person and a solider, setting him in his own time.

Marrin devotes his first chapter to Lee's life and military career through John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, where Lee led the marines who retook the arsenal. The rest of the book divides Lee's actions during the Civil War into distinct periods defined by various tasks and battles (e.g., Savior of Richmond deals with Lee taking command of the Confederate Army after General Joseph E. Johnston was wounded and Lee's Masterpiece is about the Battle of Chancellorsville). What is revealed is the portrait of a young officer who graduated West Point without receiving a single demerit and whose loyalty to his native Virginia convinced him to serve the Confederacy. But Marrin also describes the battles in such a way that young readers can appreciate Lee as a military strategist, both in terms of his many successes and his final defeats.

"Virginia's General: Robert E. Lee and the Civil War" is illustrated with historic photographs and paintings, as well as small maps of each of the major battles of the war. Marrin provides an engaging narrative that covers a lot of information and works in a lot of quotations to maintain the effect that this is an interesting story and not just a history book. I also appreciate that Marrin covers the entire Civil War, since what was happening in the West affected Lee's decisions as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Consequently, this is not the first book that a young reader would turn to for an introduction to Lee, but it for a more in-depth examination of his Civil War career this is a solid choice. ... Read more

Book Description

Stephen B. Oates discerns the historical truth from the mythical legend that surrounds Lincoln in this original and fascinating portrait of America's 16th president. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Concise, Readable Study of our Greatest President.
If you're interested in understanding what the man Abraham Lincoln was like, this is the book for you. This short, well-documented study of our sixteenth President cuts through the myths and the utter nonsense that have been written about Lincoln to expose the real hero behind these tales. This work shows Lincoln as the driven, courageous yet fallible man who never gave up on his dream of freedom for all men. Highly recommended!

It did not elaborate on the question of Lincoln's parentage.
As an amateur genealogist I discovered that I was a sixth cousin, five times removed to President Abraham Lincoln through the Lincoln and Holmes families. On page 21 ( Abraham Lincoln, The man Behind The Myths ) Mr. Oates wrote that there was a mistaken belief that Thomas Lincoln was not Abraham's real father rather it was a Senator John C. Calhoun or a Henry Clay. If this was true it would mean that I was not related to President Abraham Lincoln. How would such a rumour start ? Is there any documented evidence that Nancy Lincoln had an affair with one of these men while being married to Thomas Lincoln. At the time I am trying to locate Stephen B. Oates so I can get this matter cleared up. Sincerely, Mr. Blair E. Bartlett, 87 Shillington Road, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, E2J 4K7 1-506-696-6175

Separating mythos from the mortal
We invented Abraham Lincoln. Not the man, of course, but the myth, that solemn and statuesque giant memorialized eternally overlooking the Capitol mall. The power of that myth and the quiet dignity of its personage dwarfs us all. But the myth is not the man. Myths never are. Stephen Oates in his _Abraham Lincoln, The Man Behind the Myths_, does not seek to diminish the man but rather to clarify him, separating the mythos from the mortal. And it is not an undaunting task, it seems, for overly soon after Lincoln's tragic end the mills began to churn. The public's shredding of the White House interior for mementos while Mary Lincoln lay debilitated in the next room seems symbolic of the wolfpack mentality in Washington even today. And every new memoir published by another family acquaintance of the Lincoln's almost always got it wrong, and tore anew at the heart of the family. We may not have memorialized and glorified our modern-day tragic heroes to such an extent, for we have simultaneously tried to scandalize them. But the tabloid trade it seems has always been a yellow paper. Even Lincoln was vilified in his time and after. He was, Oates, reminds us, one of the most unpopular living presidents of our history. But though the legacy ballooned to heroic proportions after his passing, the man seems to have been lost in it all, remaining only in the hearts of the family leaving quietly and unattended down the steps of the White House never to return. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A very fine read
Gen. Shelby did remarkable things with his small command. His genius was unappreciated due to Jefferson Davis' myopic pre-occupation with west point pedigrees instead of ability and results. A Southerner can only sigh at the lost opportunity, if Shelby had been given command of command of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi instead of Theophilus Holmes.
This is a very readable volume about the greatest Confederate cavalryman in the war who led several different lives. About a half of it covers the war, another 1/4th the Mexico adventure, and the remaining 1/4 are split between his growing up and the post-Mexico (1868-97)years.
It features vivid descriptions of many battles in MO and AR, as well as the tale of his expedition to Mexico after the war. The details of his tactics at the Battle of Cane Hill, which he used repeatedly after that is fascinating. The author's style is a bit colorful and folksy, sorta like you're there talking to him. If you demand that your history read like a textbook that may spook you off, but if it doesn't it's a wonderful bio about a neglected figure ... Read more

Book Description

Despite the literary outpouring on the life of Robert E. Lee, the southern chieftain remains an enigma.The existing scholarship is so voluminous, complex, and contradictory that it is difficult to penetrate the inner Lee and appreciate him as a general. Peter S. Carmichael has assembled a formidable array of Civil War historians who rigorously return to Lee’s own words and actions in interpreting the war in Virginia.This is the first collective volumeto scrutinize specific aspects of the general’s military career.

Carmichael’s opening contribution confronts Lee’s supposed drive for a victory of annihilation and takes issue with claims that he was too aggressive.William J. Miller’s novel analysis of Lee’s leadership during the pivotal Seven Days battles reconstructs his strategic thinking and corrects old assumptions. Gordon C. Rhea overturns the common notion that Lee anticipated his adversaries with uncanny precision in the Overland campaign of 1864.Robert E. L. Krick takes aim at the oft-repeated criticism that Lee was not attuned to the demands of modern warfare because he failed to surround himself with enough subordinates to ensure the smooth operation of the army; in fact, Krick argues, Lee continually fine-tuned the performance of his support staff, striving to eliminate deficiencies.Finally, Max R. Williams’s examination of the relationship between Lee and North Carolina governor Zebulon B. Vance, and Mark L. Bradley’s portrait of Lee’s relationships with Jefferson Davis and Joseph E. Johnston, offer contrasting views of the soldier as both politically assertive and reticent, respectively.

Falling easily into neither the pro- or anti-Lee camp, Audacity Personified challenges long-standing beliefs accepted since Douglas S. Freeman’s influential biography of Lee was publishedseventy years ago.These diverse scholarly visions of the great Confederate general move beyond cliché and bring his career vividly to the printed page. ... Read more

Book Description

Selected as one of the best 100 books ever written on the Civil War by Civil War Times Illustrated in 1981 and by Civil War: The Magazine of the Civil War Society in 1995.

A new, revised edition of the only full-scale biography of the Confederacy’s top-ranking field general during the opening campaigns of the Civil War. Albert Sidney Johnston was selected as one of the best one hundred books ever written on the Civil War by Civil War Times Illustrated in 1981 and by Civil War: The Magazine of the Civil War Society in 1995.

“Roland offers a useful corrective to some of the harsher critiques [of Johnston] . . . portraying him as an officer who, just one year into the war, was still growing as a leader.”—from the foreword by Gary Gallagher ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Balanced.
This is the story of a very interesting life. A good soldier and a fine man, Albert Sidney Johnston served in the background for so long that history questions his ability to rise to the top.

Adept at politics and administration, his leadership remains questioned despite involvement in the Black Hawk Indian War in Illinois, the protection of the early Texas Republic and frontier, the War with Mexico, the Mormon Campaign, and the stability of pre Civil War California.

Killed at Shiloh, the first top Confederate commander to die during the war, his death leaves the question of an unfulfilled life and thoughts of what might have been. His involvement in so many of the key areas associated with the early stages of this nation's Manifest Destiny, his life is an important one, one that impacts the long procession of events that lead up to the Civil War.

He is a person worth knowing about.

Daft Reviewer
One has to question the opinion of a reviewer who cannot even state the proper name of the focus of the biography and seems more interested in detailing his genealogy instead. The proper name of the General is Albert Sidney Johnston, NOT Sidney Albert Johnston, for those passersby who may be interested in the book. Also, I doubt the reviewer's assumption that possessing the name "Sidney" can be directly correlated to ignorant racist Southerners, or any Southerner, as he seems to assume.

Haven't read this book, but want laypersons to be familiar with the correct name of the General. Don't use "stars" as a way to rate books, either.

Great read...
I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across this book last night in my local bookstore. I was perusing the Civil War section for the comprehensive anthologies looking for anything I could find on Sidney Albert Johnston but found only brief blurbs at best. I had no idea such a focused work existed on an obscure individual that I had always thought of as being historically insignificant and mostly forgotten. I am glad to see that Mr. Roland is attempting to set the record straight.

My interest in Sidney Albert Johnston is that indirectly he is my namesake but till now, I had no idea of who he really was and why my great-grandfather would be so moved to attempt to memorialize him through his progeny.

My grandfather born in 1870 in Southern Mississippi and was given Albert Sidney Johnston as a first name. I don't know why the order was reversed but I can only assume his father (my great-grandfather) served under him in the war. I do know from my father that the original intention though was that my grandfather be named after the Civil War General.

Roland's book helped me with this as I learned that Johnston raised the Armies of Mississippi and Tennesee, the former which would have included my great-grandfather.

My father passed on his father's middle name (Sidney) to me as my middle name but I have never used it as to me it has always been a stigma of ignorant Southern racism rather than anything honorable that I should be proud of. This stigma is lessened somewhat now after Roland has illumined Johnston's life to me and some of his other redeeming qualities besides making the mistake of choosing the side of the political issue of his day that history has proven to be wrong.

Ironically though, I also learned that even though Johnston distanced himself from his family's New England puritanical heritage, he himself was named after an English Whig martyr Sidney Algernon, and his brother was given the biblical name Josiah.

Johnston was the grand-son of a New England industrialist and the son of a Medical Doctor who trained in Connecticut before heading south to Northern Kentucky. Johnston initially pursued his father's medical training before changing his mind and pursuing a military career. Interestingly enough, two of Johnston's brothers, including Josiah Stoddard Johnston re-settled down in Northern Louisiana near Alexandria and although both became lawyer's and achieved prominenence in their community, Stoddard became a U.S. rep and then a U.S. Senator from Louisiana, and sponsored Sidney Albert into West Point.

Although I haven't tracked this down yet, I suspect that Roland has answered even another riddle for me in that I think I now understand the relation of the surname Johnston in the Civil War to the modern day political dynasty of the family of J. Bennett Johnston, former U.S. Senator of Louisiana. I suspect that J. Bennett Johnston is descended from these brothers in Alexandria and would therefore be a great nephew of Sidney Albert.

Johnston was a contemporary of both future Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.T. Beauregard at Westpoint and although neither regarded his qualifications as a General, they both spoke highly of his character. Since Johnston died in the first battle of the war at Shiloh, history will never know of his military abilities but perhaps due to his character, providence prevented him from being responsible for more bloodshed fighting for the wrong cause if he had lived.

Through this book, I have to come to recognize now some of the qualities of Johnston's character so I can understand how an uneducated Southern farmer would be so impressed with him, and can somewhat forgive my great-grandfather's perpetuating his unvanquished rebellion through his posterity and finally to me.

In summation, I found Roland's book to be very informative and diligently researched and a an enthralling read and would heartily recommend it to anyone interesting in more illumination of this obscure individual and time in history.

John Sidney Walley
Atlanta, GA ... Read more

Amazon.com

He was the most eloquent of American presidents, with the possible exception of FDR, and the moral vision that sustained the nation during the Civil War illuminates nearly every page in this hefty collection of Abraham Lincoln's speeches, writings, and correspondence. It's not just the famous phrases--"mystic chords of memory" (first inaugural address), "government of the people, by the people, for the people" (Gettysburg Address), "with malice toward none" (second inaugural address)--that resonate. It's an artistic and political genius that could express complex ethical questions in simple, compelling language, as when Lincoln defined slavery's defenders as holding the "same tyrannical principle" as Europe's kings: "the same spirit that says, 'You toil and work and earn bread, and I'll eat it.'" Editor Philip Van Doren Stern's annotations provide helpful background, and his 200-page biographical essay ably encapsulates the principal developments in Lincoln's life and thought as they were known in 1940, when this volume was first published. The extreme privation of his youth, the terrible melancholy that often afflicted him, and the sorrows of his personal life make Lincoln's public achievements all the more staggering. Stern wisely respects the mysterious alchemy by which a plain man became a statesman; this respectful anthology seeks only to present Lincoln, not to explain him. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Nice compact edition
There are some who consider Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln the two greatest writers in American history- and not in that order. Others have compared Lincoln's eloquence to none other than Shakespeare. Both are wonderful compliments, and in my mind highly accurate. Abraham Lincoln was a master of the English language.

This is a nice single volume of Lincoln's best known writings. It has all the great speeches you have heard of (Gettysburg Address, etc.)plus many the non specialist might have missed. If you are a specialist, you probably already own Roy Basler's nine volume set of Lincoln's writings. If you do not, this fine volume will suit you nicely and help you to understand why Lincoln is the revered man that he is.

Honest Abe
This is a great book. I think the introduction is the best. It is interesting plus you really feel Lincoln was a man of the people. My favorite part was when Lincoln had one of his sons in a wagon. Lincoln was so much in his thoughts that the child fell out and was crying loudly and Lincoln kept walking dragging an empty wagon behind him.

A one-volume Lincoln library.
I have a large Civil War library, and if there was a fire, this is the one Lincoln book I would try to rescue. Despite being written almost 50 years ago, the book's strong point is not its selection of Lincoln's writings (although that is quite good), but its masterful biographical sketch of Lincoln by Stern. Almost seven score since Lincoln's death, there is still no other satisfying BRIEF biography. In about 200 pages, Stern has managed to capture, in skilfull prose, all the important facts while still having room for some less-wordy, interesting comments. Each important event is succinctly captured in a couple paragraphs. I like that Stern actually calls Lincoln "neurotic" in certain personal aspects. I also like his passages on Willie Lincoln's death, emancipation, and the war's closing. There's really not enough room for any heavy politically-influenced interpretations of issues like those in modern long biographies,and that's why Stern's sketch can't be considered outdated. Some people may not like the short description of Lincoln's assassination, and I thought Stern spent too much ink on Lincoln's final attempts to compensate the South. Since the book predates the most comprehensive, closely-inspected collection of Lincoln's letters, there may be some inaccuracies in the writings reproduced here. However, the selection is an excellent one, linked together well with intros by Stern. I can't imagine this was an easy job for Stern and I'm lost why it's been virtually ignored. But all in all, I can only repeat, if you want to know the most about Lincoln in the fewest words, and have your interest held throughout, just buy this book and you're set! ... Read more