Book Description

She was America's daughter... Meet Mathilda Lee, a small-town girl whose gallant and persistent battle to care for those she loved parallels the spirited story of the American century.For 95 remarkable years, from the days of the horse-and-buggy to the era of the space shuttle, through two World Wars, the Great Depression, widowhood, the loss of a child, and the vast societal changes that swept the nation, Mathilda embraced life with courage and fortitude, bolstered by her unflagging religious faith and a willingness to do whatever it took to keep her family together. "Mathilda's Journey" is a celebration of American life. ... Read more

Book Description

A full-scale standard biography, covering the role of Robert E. Lee in the development of the Southern Confederacy. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document, covering the life and work of Robert E(dwin) Lee, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thomson Gale. The length of the entry is 2329 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description

Confederate Civil War general Robert E. Lee has not received favorable press inrecent years.Beginning with Thomas Connelly's The Marble Man in 1977, a number of historians have written books designed to topple Lee from his lofty pedestal.In Duty Faithfully Performed, noted biographer John M. Taylor ably counters those revisionist criticisms with a forceful defense of General Lee's character and military accomplishments.Focusing on Lee's personal life and values, on his generalship, and on the erstwhile Confederacy's "Lee cult," Duty Faithfully Performed is a gracefully written counter-revisionist biography of one of the most complex and controversial men in American history. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Plenty of Lee, Not Many Critics
When I bought this book I assumed it would be in the vein of Charles Roland's "Reflections on Lee" (which is excellent). In other words, I thought it would be a rebuttal of the current excrement that's been written by the likes of Thomas Connelly and Alan Nolan. The "And His Critics" part of the title led me to this conclusion. Well, what I got instead was a short biography of Lee that was competent, but broke no new ground. Connelly and Nolan and their unfounded, post-modern rantings were only mentioned twice in the entire book: once at the beginning and again at the end. This sorely disappointed me and made it a grueling task to finish the book. I agree with most of Taylor's conclusions, but the false advertising in the title was so misleading and irksome that I couldn't enjoy the book. For those who have read Roland's book and would like to read more in the same vein, I'd reccomend "Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee" by J. Steven Wilkins. Don't waste your time with this one.

What is wrong with this title....?
When I brought this book, I expect to read about the modern pro and con of actions of Robert E. Lee. Instead, what I got was a superifical biography on Lee and some summary judgement of his actions based on the author's say so. So where is that debate of Lee's critics?? Many people like to dismissed Lee's critics as revisionists but they got it backward. While Lee was alive, he was soundly critized in many circles by veterans of Confederacy and by his foes. It was only after Lee's death did this mythology of Lee's greatness took on a godly scale as the reconstruction period was ending. This period of Lee's mythology is the true period of revisionism which did not really end until Thomas Connelly came out with the Marble Man which brought Lee back to Earth and where author critized without merit. This book lack any depth and appears to be pretty shallow work. If the author wanted to back up Lee, do with so with evidence and logic. Just saying so don't mean much. This book will probably go back to the used book store soon......

Mission Unclear
Taylor's book is a satisfactory survey of Lee's life. Unfortunately, that is not how the book is billed. Taylor purports to answer Lee's critics. I'm squarely in his camp; I find much of the criticism of Lee to be scholarly opportunism: an attempt to make a name through iconoclasm. Taylor is right when he notes that the attempt to puncture the Lee myth went too far, but he fails to convincingly demonstrate why. He brings up specific criticisms infrequently, inadequately lays out the critic's argument, and often dismisses the criticism without having made a convincing case of his own. His arguments concerning Lee's attitudes toward slavery are never fully convincing, for example. This is particularly distressing when one can see that, in most cases, the convincing counterargument is there, waiting to be made. By constructing his book in the format of a chronological narrative, Taylor lost the opportunity to level a blast at academic graverobbers. A book aimed at answering Lee's critics needs to spend a great deal more time and effort on the critics and their arguments. To Taylor's credit, he never attempts to whitewash information damaging to one of his points. He tries to be complete in his portrayal, and that alone makes this a worthwhile read. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A solid little biography of General Robert E. Lee
This juvenile biography of Robert E. Lee focuses on the man as one of the most distinguished and respected generals in U.S. history. The fact that this military service was done in service to the Confederate States of America, and therefore in support of the institution of slavery, is ultimately explained by the words beneath Lee's statue in the Hall of Fame in the United States Congress: "Duty then is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less."

Marian G. Cannon begins this study with Lee's decision to refuse President Lincoln's offer to take command of the Federal armies at the start of the Civil War because of Lee's loyalty to his native Virginia. This speaks to one of the hardest issues for young students to understand: the idea of putting your state above your country. Consequently, the book begins with Lee being born as a Southerner the goes on to cover his marriage, early military career during the Mexican War, and then his leadership of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War.

This is a solid biography of Lee, that covers all of the basics in a fairly objective manner. The book is illustrated with historical photographs and paintings of the life and times of Robert E. Lee. Younger students assigned to do a research project on Lee will find this a good place to start. Other First Books on the Civil War look at Ulysses S. Grant, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the battle of the ironclads. ... Read more

Book Description

1925. This work is neither a life of Lee, nor a history of the Civil War. It is an appreciation of Lee's generalship. When the Civil War began, Lee resigned his commission with the United States Army to command the Virginia forces and was the military advisor to Jefferson Davis. As the commander of the Northern Virginia army, he stopped Federal forces near Richmond, later being defeated at Gettysburg. Finally in 1865 as General in Chief of all Confederate Armies, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House. ... Read more