1 comments about From Fields of Fire and Glory: Letters of the Civil War.

1. There are not many books that bring the Civil War to life in such a way as this one does by Rod Gragg. To read the actual letters written by Civil War soldiers - both North and South - in their own hand is one of the most humbling experiences this social historian has ever had in studying history. Letters describing battles, life in camp, camaraderie between soldiers, and a particularly gruesome first person account by a Quaker nurse's experiences during surgery. One very sad letter written by a dying soldier (who's own blood stained the letter itself) told his father of "the particulars of my death. I would like to rest in the grave yard with my dear mother and brothers...Let us all try to reunite in heaven..."
   First person accounts such as these gave me quite a humbling experience. Then to have the photographs and a bit of biographical information of those who wrote these vignetts of a long ago time just about brings it all home.
   I cannot recommend enough this truly amazing book. It gives one a whole new perspective of the War Between the States (as it was known then), every bit as much as Ken Burn's documentary.
   If there ever was a book that brings the past to life, this is it.

3 comments about General Ulysses S. Grant: The Soldier and the Man.

1. This is a strange book, as it gives the impression that the only reason for it being written and published at all is to act as propaganda for the theory that Grant was an alcoholic. Longacre seems positively obsessed with the "drinking issue," showing scant interest in any other aspect of Grant's important and compelling life story. Every negative story ever told about Grant's alleged problem with the bottle, no matter how questionable, or even discredited, it may be, is trotted out as solid fact, while any evidence to the contrary is either ignored or casually belittled. This is not a biography; it is a prosecutor's argument to a jury.
   
   Grant's pre-war life (nearly forty years!) is given merely a brief, shallow assessment, his post-1865 years are ignored entirely, (probably because tales of Grant's drinking sprees become few and far between after the war,) and the bulk of the book--Longacre's account of the Civil War itself--says nothing that you could not find in a million other books and magazine articles. In fact, most of "The Soldier and the Man" reads like Brooks Simpson's "Triumph Over Adversity" after being pickled in alcohol.
   
   In short, unless you share Longacre's single-minded fascination with the notion that Grant was nothing but a white-knuckled drunk, you will find little in this book to excite your interest.



2. Dozens of biographies about Grant have appeared in the past decade. The General has experienced a renaissance among historians (and those who aspire to the title.) His reputation has been enriched but the great biography has yet to be written. This book doesn't come close to greatness. It will have to settle for a boring mediocrity which is a shame, since Ulysses Grant was neither dull nor average.
   
   This book brings absolutely nothing new to the table. It's a basic biography with no frills and little to recommend it. Longacre has written half a dozen books in the Civil War genre and they're noted to be tedious and written in an unusually spare style. No fireworks here, no novel interpretations of USG, no new facts revealed. The details of his life are laid out in a mind-numbing chronological style and the author borrows liberally from previous (and superior) Grant biographies.
   
   It's amazing that so many authors tackle the subject of Grant but never unveil anything that wasn't known 100 years ago. Longacre quotes the same old stories that have been told a thousand times previously. His attempts to vary the standard interpretations of Grant fall conspicuously flat, though he's to be commended for the effort. Despite what anyone says, Grant was never an alcoholic and his marriage was happy. Longacre's clumsy attempts to paint the Grant marriage as occasionally strained are desperate attempts to throw some spice into the mix. Similarly, a casual exploration of the Sons of Temperance would have revealed it was not a precursor to A.A.
   
   Essentially this is a dull book about a great man. Don't bother with this trifle. If you already know about Grant this book will teach you nothing. If you're new to the subject, look elsewhere.



3. De Capo Press sent me an Advance Reading copy. The book is scheduled for publication in July 2006 and this review is based on the copy. Longacre is a well-known Civil war historian with a large number of books to his credit. This is his tenth book I found published since 2000 with a quick search on Amazon, five of them are biographies of Civil War figures. The problem I have is that his books seem rushed and lack scholarship. This is a standard work on Grant with a couple of reinterpretations, something a very gifted armature could write.
   The events in the book have been told and retold in general histories many times and the book adds nothing to them. The interpretation of Grant's drinking problem is very current thinking and the author struggles to place it as early as possible. Taking the word or the speculation of a single person Grant seems to have a drinking problem in Mexico. His joining the Sons of Temperance, which is not a forerunner of AA, is used as proof of a problem, well before his posting to the Pacific cost. While interesting, nothing to counter this "evidence" is given and the reader is left to accept the author's case or look elsewhere.
   
   The interpretation of Grant's childhood might be the strength of the book. In place of the "Useless" childhood that has been generally accepted. Longacre gives us a mixed bag; Grant is honest to a fault, lacks social graces and has no head for business. Grant is also the best horsemen in the area. A skill that generates respect and money even for a young boy. This seems to ring truer than the town fool who becomes the North's best General and President. Grant is pictured as very intelligent, hard working and easily bored. His parents are shown in a very unflattering light, especially his Mother. Grant is well known to have had problems with his parents and the book bears down on this.
   
   Julia is slower to fall in love with Grant than many stories credit, Longacre has her more resistant to his suite. He stays with the good wife, mother and supporter of Grant that history accepts.
   
   Overall, this is an enjoyable read and a good introduction to U. S. Grant; it is not a serious bio and will not increase our understanding of the man.

5 comments about Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.

1. Like its companion volume Generals in Blue, Generals in Gray is an important resource for both the Civil War buff and the serious historian (which is not to say that the two can't be one and the same!). In this volume, which was actually written before Generals in Blue, author Ezra Warner has written the biographies and rustled up the photos of all the general officers confirmed by the Confederate Congress, and a handful of those who weren't for one reason or another.
   
   There were 425 men who served as Confederate generals. Nearly one-fourth of them died in the war. Boy generals, men promoted before they reached the age of 30, were plentiful, and nearly half of them were killed on the battlefield. Looking at their photographs, one can scarcely fathom the experiences they endured at such young ages. They look like college lads.
   
   Several of the generals profiled by Warner especially stand out for me. There's William Flank Perry, for example, the philosopher-general, who enlisted as a private in 1862 and was commissioned a brigadier in the war's final months. After the war, he taught philosophy at Ogden College in Kentucky until the turn of the century. There's Alexander Reynolds, who at war's end entered the service of the Khedive of Egypt, and so must've known the tragic Federal General Charles Pomeroy Stone, of Ball's Bluff infamy, who did so as well. There's General John McCausland, who with his huge handlebar moustache and heavy eyebrows looks for all the world like Yosemite Sam of cartoon fame. And there's the boy general Thomas Benton Smith, a youngster whose fate breaks my heart. After he and most of his brigade surrendered during the Battle of Nashville, a Federal colonel tried literally to beat Smith's brains out. His brain exposed, in a coma, Smith was expected to die. But he somehow survived, only to spend the rest of his life, some 48 years, in an insane asylum.



2. .....but this one sure is. The Civil War is still a current event for many of us. For four long years, both sides were carried by their armies, and led by their Generals. Now, lots of us know about Lee and Jackson, but there were a total of 425 Confederate Generals over the course of the war, and some even I've never heard of. Of these, 299 were serving as General Officers at the end. A total of 77 were killed in battle; the rest died of natural causes, resigned, got fired, etc., etc.
   
   They're ALL here, at least the ones that we can't argue about whether they were really a General. [There are others about whom we can argue, for various reasons--a separate book has come out in recent years...see "More Generals in Gray"]. While Lee has has more biographies than I can count, and many have at least one, for most of these guys, this is all we've got. Here we get pictures, pre and, where appropriate, post war careers, grave sites, and a study of just what the man accomplished [or didn't]. Robert E. Lee gets three and a half pages, but all get a good write-up.
   
   They were a varied lot: six General Lees, six Jacksons, eight each of Smith and Walker. Professional soldiers, lawyers, politicians, even three preachers [Polk and Pendleton, you know; read this and find the third]. Some were heroic, some were drunks, a few were both. Some brilliant, some inept, one or two both. The post war lots of the survivors were as various as the men; poverty and wealth, glory and apostasy, and all points in between. Trivia: Who was the ONLY Confederate General born in Texas? Who was the last living Conferderate General? ONE man answers BOTH questions. [OK, I'll give it to you...Judge Felix Huston Robertson of Waco died April 20, 1928]. The very first American Indian to wear General's stars AND the last General to surrender...he's here, in all his glory.
   
   I can go on all day. The late Ezra Warner, Illinois native and California investment counsellor, published this in 1959...it needs to stay in print forever. While I've had this, and the companion "Generals in Blue", for years, only recently has a trade paperback made it readily available, and affordable. A "thank you" to the publisher, and a huge, everlasting, "THANK YOU" to Mr. Warner.



3. This book is a must for any Civil War buff. Learn the good, bad and the ugly about all general officers of the army of the CSA. I keep this book, and its companion, Generals in Blue, handy when I am reading historical accounts of battles of the Civil War. How often, while you are reading, have you yearned to get additional information on a particular general? These books are perfect to provide more information, when you want it.



4. I remember first reading Generals in Gray as a teenager and have often referred back to the book over the years.

   Warner gives a synopsis of each general , usually containing the following information:

   1. Birthplace and birthdate.
   2. Pre-Civil War life.
   3. Battles served in, promotions, woundings, death (if applicable).
   4. Postwar career (if he survived the war).
   5. Death and place burial.
   6. Brief mention of the general's competency (or lack thereof).
   7. Relationships with other generals (superior, subordinate).

   I have often found the book to be extremely helpful when reading a book on a particular Civil War battle. Doing so helps me to better understand the general when studying a particular battle.

   Whether you have a serious interest in the Civil War or a novice, I highly recommend the book as an excellent reference!




5. Warner does an excellent job in giving short biographies on all 425 Confederate generals, including a picture of each general. An excellent reference guide and a must have for your Civil War library.

2 comments about Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi.

1. Loved the book, understand why the author has such a big ego- He lived in an awsome time and was at the top. Historic details filled in alot of gaps to my understanding of the mid 1800's. learned many things about the lives of people living in the Steamboat Era and was grandly entertained. laughed outloud.



2. Highly entertaining stories about gambling
   in the mid 1800's on the Mississippi River.
   The life of George Devol as gambler,fighter
   & con artist & his insights into the men &
   their character is also an insight into the
   man himself. He was a master at
   manipulating mens greed & vanity.The
   accounts of his bare knuckle fights were
   truly amazing

4 comments about Custer and the Great Controversy: The Origin and Development of a Legend.

1. Despite its age (it was first published in 1962) this book is probably the best of the scores of books available to start with for those interested in exploring the ever elusive and controversial life of George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Utley, while steering clear of making judgments of his own ("I do not aspire to offer the last word on the subject"), lays out the scene of the battle, shows how the press and early writers colored events and created heroes and villains, looks at the Indian side of the story, and discusses some of the myths that have gone into creating the Custer Legend. The Custer literature is prodigious in amount, and tends to be either Custerphilic (pro-Custer) or Custerphobic (anti-Custer). Again, Utley refuses to take sides, but points out that virtually every "fact" regarding the battle and its participants issues up opposing interpretations. This short book gives a powerful sense of what the student of Custer and especially the Little Big Horn is up against. A useful and straightforward introduction.



2. Anything by Robert Utley is indispensible, especially when it comes to Custer as he wrote CAVALIER IN BUCKSKIN, probably the best biography of the man. Also to his credit are the official NPS Little Bighorn Battlefield guide, a biography of Sitting Bull, and numerous other Custer/Indian Wars/Western history books.

   This book is primarily focussed on an examination of the immediate aftermath of the Little Big Horn and how the various lines of controversy were established that still echo (unresolved) and are with us today. These include Did Custer Disobey Orders? Was Reno a coward when he fled from the valley fight? Were both Reno and Benteen negligent in not responding to Custer's written order for the packs, an order with an audible reminder of the gunfire four miles away that, two days later, the men on Reno Hill learned signalled the end of Custer and his command. All of the seeds of future books and endless debates were firmly planted by the end of the 1870s, topped off with the Reno Court of Inquiry. Excellent insight into that event and some of the second-hand talk and gossip sorroundingsthe officers who testified and why they may have said what they did. Utley is his usual dispassionate, detached self as he explores these issues in his highly engaging writing style.

   Originally published in 1962, the book concludes with Utley's brief commentary on most of the major battle books published up to that time. One can only wish that this section were revised and updated. Lacking that, we can all look forward to the autor's CUSTER AND ME, due in October 2004.




3. Early book by the great western writer Robert Utley provides a brief description of the Indian situation that evolved before the LBH and then he provides an abbreviated but well described sequence of battle events. Utley then describes the press' role in developing the story that caught General Sherman and Sheridan off guard as Sherman provides Terry's second controversial report to a reporter by accident. Utley describes the fireworks that arises between Custer supporters such as his old classmate Confederate Rosser and Reno and other military men such as Colonel Hughes, Terry's adjutant and relative. The controversy is even made even more complex by the chapter spent on the Indian's version of events that has elements of truth combined with confusing facts or half truths perhaps aggravated by poor translations and the Indians unique individualistic versions of battle that lack time and spatial realities. Finally, Utley tackles a number of the mythical stories about Custer and the LBH including Frederick Whitacker's quick print and fanciful book on Custer that became a best seller. The best part of this chapter is the discussion about the last four crow scouts to see Custer particularly the debate over when Curley departed from Custer. An excellent book that frames the controversies about Custer's battle which also explains the fascination, nothing is totally certian but amongst all the testimony and physical evidence, somewhere lies the truth.



4. Good reading offers some good insight into the whole Custer and Little Bighorn 'fiasco'! I'm more prepared now to find out what possibly happened on that fateful day. The case has been well made that there may 'never' be a definitive conclusion?

No comments about Cavalryman of the Lost Cause: A Biography of J. E. B. Stuart.

2 comments about American Heretic: Theodore Parker and Transcendentalism.

1. Transcendentalism has never been easy to define, all the more so because its two most well-known adherents, Emerson and Thoreau, were highly poetic souls who had much better uses for their rhetoric than in crafting creeds or clear-cut manifestoes. It is a pleasure then to read Grodzins' biography of Theodore Parker, in whose life and work we can see more clearly the philosophical and personal dramas that played themselves out within the Unitarian Church in regard to its Transcendentalist sympathizers - in particular, the attempts of one Transcendentalist to define his views against the charges of Deism. Religion is a key concern for Transcendentalism, though in Emerson and Thoreau there is no sense that organized religion can play a key role in the individual's enlightenment. Parker remained in the Church as he struggled to know and preach Truth, and gained a large following. Our understanding of Transcendentalism is eminently richer for our appreciation of his struggle.



2. Grodzins has written an astonishingly thorough and readable biography of an important but neglected 19th Century American. Parker is one of the most influential Americans of the mid-1800s, a brilliant scholar and powerful preacher who became a crucial figure in our religious and political history.

   The book is destined to become the standard biography of Parker for generations. Anyone interested in American political thought and the evolution of American religious doctrine will find this book invaluable. Any New Englander will find this a treasure trove of well-written stories.

2 comments about Cole Younger: Last of the Great Outlaws.

1. Homer Croy was the first student of the first school of journalism in the world (University of Missouri). He was born close to Jesse James' farm. Cole Younger came from the most fought-over county in Missouri; fighting began before the Civil War and continues after its end. Cole first killed at 17, was wanted dead or alive at 18, rode with Quantrill at 19. He killed 17 men, was wounded 30 times, but died peacefully in bed with 14 bullets in him. In between he spent over 25 years in prison. If you wonder about strife in countries in countries (like Yugoslavia) just read about the Border War in America circa 1860. I enjoyed the style of writing. This is history written by a journalist. You'll not be bored, since it reads like the newspaper story it was. Most of the great Civil War outlaws were born within 30 miles of Kansas City. Henry Washington Younger was one of the richest and important men of Jackson County, and was elected 3 times to the Missouri legislature, and a mayor in 1859. Thomas Coleman Younger was the 7th son of 14 children. One of Cole's teachers was Stephen B Elkins, later US Senator from West Virginia; Cole saved his life.

   The Border War was conducted by gangs who were mostly interested in plunder first, flag second. Most families were peaceful, but could not avoid the troubled times. An incident at a dance forced Cole to become a hunted man. The holdup and murder of his father by Kansan Red Legs embittered Cole. Cole joined the Confederate Army, and was famed for his ruthlessness in battle, yet was kindly and considerate afterwards. Cole took part in the raid on Lawrence Kansas.

   After the war ended Cole and Frank James invented bank robbery in Liberty Missouri 1866. Since Cole was well known, he quickly left for Texas. They gambled away their loot in Dallas. But they had been recognized, and the Pinkertons put their names on a wanted poster: Cole and Jim Younger, Frank and Jesse James, Jim Cummings, Charlie Pitts. Chapter VIII explains how the James-Younger gang covered their tracks; but they were still pursued. Since their gang was well-known, they decided to strike out for Minnesota. Their attempt in Northfield left four of their group dead, others wounded, without a cent. (The unclaimed bodies were donated to medical science.) The quick-witted Cole created a political reason to rob this bank: General Benjamin F Butler was an owner! Cole would say what it took to escape hanging. By pleading guilty they escaped execution. Cole became a model prisoner to get a pardon.

   After his pardon, Cole was introduced to modern wonders: the telephone, the horseless carriage, the phonograph. For the first time in 25 years Cole saw a sunset. When Cole got an unconditional pardon, he returned to Missouri. After failing as a salesman, Cole joined the "Cole Younger-Frank James Wild West Show" until he retired. There is one interesting item: the Youngers were all Southerners, but their father was a Union sympathizer and did not believe in slavery! Was Cole a victim of circumstances (Chapter XVIII)? "In wartime men are rewarded for doing what will get them hanged in peacetime" said Niccolo Machiavelli.




2. Homer Croy is a first-rate storyteller in a very casual, homey sort of way. He writes this book about Cole Younger's life in such a way that you feel as though you're sitting around the fire with Homer while he tells the tale. It's very entertaining reading with many good touches of humor and wry comments throughout.

   As history...First of all, he doesn't footnote in the traditional way but does include notes about each chapter explaining his sources. It's an informal, rather than scholarly, style. His research was extensive and tended toward finding people who could give him first-hand accounts, or as near to first-hand as possible family stories, along with contemporary newspaper accounts. In this way he hunts down the sources of many of the myths, legends, and rumors surrounding Cole Younger's life and career. Is he right about every particular and conclusion? I don't know. I'd say to read this book hand-in-hand with one of the more recent high-quality works like Marley Brant's "Outlaw Youngers" to compare versions of events.

   Croy is very up-front with his opinions, something I appreciated. The author of such a book is the one who did the research, has a feel for the subject even in areas where hard data may be lacking, and I want to hear their opinion on disputed matters. Some history authors won't go out on that limb but Homer Croy has no such problem. He usually is clear on what is his opinion and what he has some evidence on, but he also recreates some scenes and conversations for which there could not possibly be any witnesses. So bear in mind there is an element of fictional novelization to the story.

   Don't miss the index--most entertaining index I've ever read.

5 comments about A Year in the South: 1865: The True Story of Four Ordinary People Who Lived Through the Most Tumultuous Twelve Months in American History.

1. Stephen Ash does an outstanding job of telling the story of four people living during The Civil War, and how their lives drastically changed as a result of the war. A Year in the South tells the story of four different people living in the South, season by season throughout 1865. Ash brings the reader inside the lives of these four people and explicitly details every problem, every setback and even every accomplishment that occurs within their lives which allows the reader to feel remorse for Cornelia and cheerful for Louis. This book is an amazing recreation of The Civil War era whether you read the entire book, or just each season from a single person's life.



2. Wonderful way to tie several story lines into each other while revealing true stories from the Civil War. I'd recommend this for anyone interested in the history of this period.



3. I highly recommend this book. The stories are captivating. I didn't want it to end. As the review states, this book is about the lives of 4 ordinary people who lived through the Civil War. You will get caught up in the people and their lives. It's almost as if you know them personally. Great book!



4. Would you like some real insight into the lives of your ancestors during a portion of the Civil War? Do you wish you could take a time machine trip back to 1865 and feel what it was like for ordinary people, without Hollywood glamour, without layers of historical filters?
   
   Read this book, wherein author Stephen Ash recounts how the last year of the War Between the States affected the lives of four very different, very ordinary people. One is a widow struggling daily with crushing poverty. Another is a young man developing into a preacher. One is a former Confederate soldier trying to establish a new life and avoid the chaos around him and the fourth a slave whose inner desire for liberty cannot be extinguished. The travails and emotions of these people are easily recognizable to us today. In some measure you can vicariously experience this momentous period in our history through them. Their stories are individually compelling and wrenching for different reasons but you will not be able to escape caring for them.
   
   Ash follows each person through 1865, the year that saw the end of the war and the end of slavery. They each saw the year from very different vantage points but separately and together their stories reveal the typical. Ash avoids being broad, which would be vague and unsatisfactory to the reader. Further, he makes no judgements and allows these individuals to simply be who they are. What results is less the glossy, two dimensional portrait that one often finds when reading biographies of famous people and more the familial.
   
   I found the book captivating and I highly recommend it.



5. This book is a very, very good read. I am normally a very slow reader, but I finished this book in about two weeks. I read it before I went to bed, I read it at work, I read it in my spare time. I just couldn't get enough of it. The book follows four people in the South--one a slave, then a freedman; one a widow and refugee; one a former Confederate soldier who is moving towards the priesthood; and one a preacher who has lots of idle time--in differing locations. Their experiences tell the tale of the experiences of many Southerners at this time in history. As the author states in the foreword, though, this book does not attempt to claim that the experience of these four people can tell the tale of the entire South in 1865, but it gives us an understanding of what the experience was like for some people. The book is also interesting because most books of this nature stop with the end of the Confederacy, but this book deals with the whole year, so we get the reaction to the slaves being freed, Yankees occupying the South, the quest for jobs, and more. Overall, the book is well written and extremely interesting.

2 comments about An Irishman in the Iron Brigade: The Civil War Memoirs of James P. Sullivan (Irish in the Civil War Ser. 3).

1. I must say I was thrilled to come across this book here. James Patrick Sullivan was my great-great grandfather and I knew little about my ancestors before. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a glimpse of a soldier's recollections of the War Between the States.



2. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book for me, as I am the great-granddaughter of Mickey Sullivan, or "JP" as we Sullivans call him. I read this book before visiting Gettysburg and so was able to retrace his steps. Gettysburg has an surreal quality about it and still seems alive with the spirits of those who fought there. JP was fortunate to come home from that war. Books such as these that speak with the actual words of the soldiers help you to understand the times and the feelings of those who fought there.

   Lance Herdegen brought my great-grandfather to life for me - an opportunity I would never have experienced if this book had not been written. I have also listened to Mr. Herdegen speak, telling stories about the Civil War, about the "Western" soldiers from Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Native Americans, who enlisted as "French-Canadians" since as native americans they were considered at that time to be "foreign" peoples...how incredible that seems to us now.

   The Civil War will long hold interest and mystery. I think you will enjoy this book, as well as the others written by Lance Herdegen. He is a great authority on the Civil War