5 comments about Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words.

1. Author Douglas L. Wilson once again hits the bull's-eye, this time with a painstaking study of Lincoln's rhetoric (the President's personal "sword"). This book should appeal not only to persons interested in the Great Emancipator, but to those interested in the craft of writing. Wilson takes us step-by-step through the process Lincoln used to hone some of his most famous statements, a journey revealing principles of clear writing. Wilson shows that Lincoln's clarity of expression wasn't effortless, but resulted from hard work.



2. Bold in concept and careful in execution, this work is a gem. Lincoln's constant revising, his sense of what was appropriate in given situations, and his surging command of the language over decades impress the reader. Wilson's understanding of the context of Lincoln's deployment of language is impressive. Cautiously revisionist.



3. Lincoln's Sword illuminates the power and clarity of Lincoln's words. Even if the reader is not a Lincoln devotee or scholar, this book's treatment of Lincoln's speeches are clear, concise and pleasureable. This is a book that anyone would enjoy reading.



4. well worth the read to gain insight into an often little understood man. the depth of the writing gives testimony to the depth of the man. read it and learn - not just about lincoln - but also how to use communications to move people towards your goals.



5. Lincoln has become one of those tests where someone can tell you their thoughts about him and you can often tell where they are on any number of issues. The problem is that much of what people think they know about Lincoln is only a bumper sticker or sound byte version of what went on. We try to judge Lincoln (and most of our great historical figures) by our lights rather than seeing him in the context of his own time. Of course, it takes some work to learn what happened and why rather than wringing our hands over, say, the suspension of habeas corpus.
   
   This excellent book can be a great contribution to your education about the real Abraham Lincoln and how he conducted himself as President. He came into office with the elite dismissing him as crude and hopelessly unsophisticated. This book shows us how carefully he worked on his public speeches and the letters and articles that were published during his time in office.
   
   Sometimes we forget that by the time Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861 that the movement for secession was well underway and the firing on Fort Sumter was on April 12, 1861, just a few weeks later. His second inaugural address was given on March 4, 1865, Lee's Surrender at Appomattox was on April 9th, and Lincoln was shot by Booth on April 14th. He died the next day. So, his entire service as President was bounded by that terrible war.
   
   Douglas Wilson takes several of the addresses and letters central to Lincoln's Presidency and shows us what the extant drafts reveal to us about Lincoln's purposes, approach, and the political realities he faced. He also brings in testimony by those who were involved with those documents, worked with Lincoln, and contemporaries who wrote about them. It is all quite fascinating, especially because it is focused on what was happening and what was thought at the time rather than imposing anachronistic views from our day on those events. However, Wilson does spend some time examining what some contemporary critics have said about these documents and events. For example, he uses a few apt quotes from Garry Wills' wonderful book (one you may want to read) on the Gettysburg address because they are among the best things said about it in our time.
   
   While other documents are considered in passing, the central documents examined in this book are: Lincoln's farewell from Springfield for Washington, his First Inaugural, the July 4, 1861 address, the Emancipation Proclamation (and its antecedents), a letter to Greeley, the Corning letter, the Gettysburg Address, and the Second Inaugural.
   
   I would suggest that you get a copy of Lincoln's addresses or get them from the Web and read the documents along with the book (most are not provided in the book because of their length and their wide availability). I recommend the two volume set of Lincoln's "Speeches and Writings" from the Library of America (only the second volume is needed for this book). Reading what Lincoln actually wrote and said is quite edifying because one learns first hand what he said and did rather than being the prisoner of what others selectively provide you to promote their own agenda.
   
   This is a great read, is very informative, and I strongly recommend it to you as part of your self education on what American History really is.

5 comments about Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography.

1. Bill Gienapp was a brilliant historian, and his work "The Origins of the Republican Party, 1852-1856" is a pillar of American political history. Unfortunately, his final work, "Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America," is a tremendous let-down. It is perhaps one of the worst examinations of Lincoln's life, and has almost nothing to do with "Civil War America." Essentially, it is an unqualified love poem to Lincoln, and strives only to prove his greatness -- there is no critical analysis at all. Lincoln is given credit for every political and military success 1861-1865 and is absolved from blame for all his mistakes. In reality, Lincoln was a complex personality and his public career was much more tumultuous than Gienapp proposes. It is disappointing that Gienapp, a man who dedicated his life to exhaustive, nearly flawless historical research would resort to such frivolous, uncritical "pop history" at the end of his tragically short life. Skip Gienapp's Lincoln and, instead, read Stephen Oates's "With Malice Toward None" or Don Fehrenbacher's "Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850s."



2. A short, but very well biography of Lincoln. It counts only 250 pages, but it gives an excellent overwiew and superb analyse of the life of AL. The bibliography is also very interesting. One of the best books about the 16th president. A must for a Lincolnhistorian.



3. A good short, solid political biography. While Lincoln and the Civil War is its focus, by no means is this a battle history: Gettysburg is described in one paragraph.
   
   Professor Gienapp has written a book that will introduce one to, or remind one of, the long and trying path traveled by Abraham Lincoln toward ultimate greatness.



4. William Gienapp's Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America answers a longstanding need for a biography of Lincoln manageable in size, accessible in style, and wise and balanced in content. Lincoln appers on every page of the book and is never lost sight of in the welter of events. He emerges from the text a real believable person, an individual and persuasive assessment of Lincoln's leadership abilities, the finest such appraisal avilable anywhere.



5. This book is a welcome addition ot the already crowded Lincolnia bookself. The author is the presumed successor to the retired David Herbert Donald at Harvard University. Gienapp has produced a highly readable and concise version of a Lincoln biography that can be completed on a moderately long airplane trip(and it's quite portable unlike most hardcover books). While relatively short,this book is a sufficiently thorough treatment of the Civil War Lincoln. I especially enjoyed the author's analysis of the politician Lincoln who mastered his rivals, both Republican and Democrat. This a good book for either a new Lincoln /Civil War "buff" or a good refresher for a scholar of the times.

5 comments about House of Abraham: Lincoln and the Todds, A Family Divided by War.

1. Why did the majority of the Todds choose the South over the North? Their's was a border state that stayed in the Union. They owned too few slaves to have fortunes staked on the system. On p. 174 Berry defines the Todds as being "shrill with hatred... collapsed in self interest and grief". What drove them to this?
   
   Are they really "a once happy family" as Berry says? The litigation over their father's estate belies this. The litigation not only left their father's second wife (mother of 6?) dependent, but also disinherited those, like Mary, who had already had gifts from the father. Did early favoritism cause the rift as much as the war?
   
   Lincoln appears to be the model brother-in-law. Risking charges of favoritism and nepotism, Lincoln helps his Union oriented brothers-in-law (who also married Todds), giving one the ability to contract for provisions (which he exploits and when challenged threatens blackmail) and another a coveted army position away from the fray in the west. He entertains a Confederate Todd in the White House, and provides a pardon for another who will not take an oath of allegiance to the country that pardons her. His tolerance and charity towards his family recalls his tolerance of McClellan and a host of cabinet officers of similarly dubious motives.
   
   Mary personalizes the Confederate allegiance in her family as a fight against her. Maybe Mary was close to being right. Some seem to bask in the status of being able to malign a relative. Others just expect too much which can breed disappointment even under normal conditions. Maybe some of their intensity was a family rebellion against the one grown up who, by chance, had married into their family.
   
   While the book is short, it is not entirely focused. For a book on the family, too many of its precious paragraphs are devoted to sketching the war such as the battles of Manassas and Shiloh and the seige of Vicksburg. I would have liked a reference table in the beginning showing the birth order of the Todds and their marriages. Most importantly it needs some discussion on why the Todds did what they did.
   
   In a lighthearted afterward the author describes his research. While a lot went into this effort, I hope it is not thorough, because I would like to know more of these Todds.



2. Their have been some good Civil War family biographies lately. The Whalen's book on the Fighting McCook's and this book on the Todd family come to mind. Family biographies can help us understand the human cost of the Civil War as no other histories can. As family members die, we understand the war's causalities in very personal terms gaining an idea of what this costs those involved.
   
   The McCook family had no conflicted loyalties, no question of who to fight for nor any hesitations in committing to a side. They were able to establish a record of service fighting for the Union that was unique. The Todd family had conflicted loyalties, questions on who to fight for and hesitated in committing to a side. A large slave owning family from Kentucky with an in-law in the White House would cause problems for everyone. Lincoln, his wife, her brothers & sisters their spouses created a series of confrontations, personal and political problems that make up this story.
   
   The author introduces the Todd family and the principle people giving us a solid foundation for the story. Lincoln tries to keep as much of the family on the Union side as possible. His efforts delay some members "going South" and produce some real political problems in 1861 for him. Each year of the war is a chapter. This allows us to follow everyone from assignment to assignment or battle to battle. Against this backdrop, Lincoln's personal life and family problems becomes worse and worse. Each newspaper story, each battle death adds to Lincoln's problems and Mary's woes. However, at Springfield as Lincoln is buried, the Todd in-laws stand as family.
   
   The author is easy to read and manages to keep all the story lines together. These are not likable people and he clearly does not like them. This come through in a number of places and may have colored the story. In addition, the author makes misstatements about the battle of Shiloh and the POW exchange. None of his mistakes are major but he is accepting of popular stories as opposed to good scholarship. A nice touch is to take each person from 1865 to his or her death. This is always something I look for in this type of book and feel is really important. The author does an excellent job on each person giving the reader a feel for who they were.
   
   Overall, this is a very readable book. The people are well drawn allowing us to see their world and have some understanding of their choices. In addition, the author shows how the divisions in Lincoln's personal family helped him reach out to the national family as reflected in many of his speeches.



3. This is an entirely new perspective of the Lincoln family, specifically that of his wife's. While there is much known about Abraham Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, as well as their oldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln, who was the only child to live to a ripe old age, I know very little about the Todd Family, and was especially intrigued that a book had finally been written on this little known side of the Lincoln family. Although the book was short, and, as admitted by the author, only a cursory story of several of the members of the Todd family could be done, it was admittedly an interesting book and whetted my appetite for additional information on the Todd Family. I found that the book added a few more pieces to the complex character and personality of Abraham Lincoln the man, and found further that his "melancholia" that is so much discussed was not solely due to the failures of many of his generals, the exorbitant loss of life in the battles of the conflict, the political intrigues of the Radical Republicans and the Democratic-Copperheads, but also partly due to the inner family turmoil that he and Mary experienced with their own family, specifically the Todds. Truly, Abraham Lincoln was quite prophetic when he said that a "House divided against itself cannot stand", and surely this could be said of the Todd family who themselves were divided with several family members serving in the armed forces of the Confederacy and the Union, several killed in battle, and one assassinated. I would recommend this book, and hope to see further detailed studies of the Todd Family in the future.



4. Stephen Berry's work House of Abraham: Lincoln and the Todds, A Family Divided by War is a wonderful addition to the field of Lincoln historiography. His work is very insightful to the machinations of the Todd family. The Todd's were truly a family divided by the Civil War and its aftermath. The work is well written and researched throughly by the author. Lincoln's extended family, i.e. the Todd's were surely an embarassment for the president and his wife. However, even though many of the Todd's were confederate sympathizers, Lincoln always was supportive of his wife's sisters. This is a fine work on Lincoln and essential for Lincolnites to read.



5. Abraham Lincoln is one of the most-written about men in the English language. As a long-time Lincoln-buff, I don't mind that there are so many books, but I have to admit, I occasionally wonder if we've reached diminishing returns. A lot of Lincoln books are what I'd call "old wine in new bottles."
   
   But House of Abraham really is that rare thing: a truly new and important perspective on Abraham Lincoln. Having read most of what there is on Abraham and Mary, let me just say what I think is new here: First, the author fleshes out the Southern wing of the Todd family for the first time. These are some seriously colorful characters: David Todd was arrested for desecrating corpses in a Richmond jail; Samuel Todd and Alex Todd were Confederate soldiers killed in action; George Todd abused African-American prisoners who had been taken while storming Battery Wagner; Emilie Todd, widow of a Confederate Brigadier, spent a week in the White House, despite the scandal; Margaret Todd smuggled contraband through Union lines, on and on. In all my reading I'd never known any of this.
   
   Second, the author connects these scandals to Mary's growing unpopularity in Washington. Many books have mentioned that Mary lost three half-brothers on the rebel side (the author proves that it was only two), but none have demonstrated so clearly why her family-ties became such a problem.
   
   Finally, while House of Abraham begins as a book about the Todds, it becomes more and more a meditation on family, on the nation as a family, and on Lincoln's evolving understanding of the War. Ultimately, the author convinced me that Lincoln saw the Todds as a microcosm of the nation and that he understood the war as a "mosaic of family crises."
   
   As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, the book isn't very long, but considering it limits itself to saying something actually new about the most-written-about-man-in-America, I don't think that's surprising. Team of Rivals (which I loved) was 900 pages, but not that much of it was new. It was really the framing that was so impressive. In fact, I'd recommend reading Team of Rivals and then House of Abraham in succession. They make a terrific pair.

5 comments about With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln.

1. Will anyone dare to write an accurate assessment of the 16th President or are the myths that surround him just to strong to penetrate? I await a writer willing to discuss the wholesale destruction of property in the South that left thousands of civilians to starve, destruction sanctioned by Lincoln. I await a discussion on the hostage taking and the indiscriminate killing of Southern civilians. I await a thorough discussion of the Dahlgren Raid and its implications, I await a real assessment of the Lincoln/Seward relationship, and I await a real judgement on Lincoln's lack of religious belief. This book, like all the others ignores anything that might be the slightest cotroversial and that might dent the aura surrounding Abraham Lincoln.
   Alan Lowe. BA. Manchester Metropolitan University.



2. This book generated controversy among Lincoln scholars. The general reading public, however, will probably enjoy both the book's prose and its story. Regardless of whether there is much, or anything, new in the volume, its account of Lincoln is told with flair. Points that disturbed some Lincoln scholars will probably not be noticed by general readers. I read the book before I knew about the dispute, and found the volume enchanting.



3. Consider the great biographies of Lincoln: Nicolay and Hay,[10 volumes] his secretaries, Carl Sandburg's Abraham Licoln [6 volumes], Benjamin's single volume and all those that preceed and follow this, you must conclude this is the best single volume biography of Abraham Lincoln, indeeed the best general biography of the President and the man. The closest rival is Carwardine's Lincoln which deals in depth in one aspect of his life. WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE IS THE BEST INTRODUCTION TO THAT COMPLEX MAN AND HIS TIME AND ACHEIVEMENTS THAT WE HAVE TO DATE.



4. Professor Oates in my opinion did an outstanding job in the biography he did on Lincoln. While it is not as verbose as Donald's, it was well written and to be honest I could not set the book down. For anyone who does not have the time to read a larger volumn on Lincoln I suggest Oates. If you have time then I suggest you read both and also read "Team of Rivals. They are all outstanding volumns. This biography though is articulate, a good length and at times you can see the great passions in Lincoln the boy from Kentucky, the youth in Illnois and the 16 President of the United States. I give it a 5 stars a must read for any history student and I think a must for every American.



5. In this work, Oates succeeds in illuminating the political and personal life of Abraham Lincoln. For readers interested in the psychological and social nature of the man, this may not be the best selection. However, Oates does an excellent job portraying how Lincoln worked his fingers to the bone while developing his standing as a lawyer and politician. His description of Lincoln as a rough and tumble political longshot made 16th President of the United States in the election of 1861 is vivid and memorable. Much information is also included on how Lincoln and his administration struggled with the issue that would become his legacy: slavery in America. That said, Oates neglects to discuss in any great detail the economic influence of the nation's cotton industry on the political and social conditions of the era.

5 comments about Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America.

1. This is a fun to book to read. Beyond that, it's hard to describe just what it is - part history, part travelogue, part research essay, part meditation. But it is this breezy back and forth that gives the book its strength. Ferguson's writing style is loose, anecdotal, engaging,and graceful. (His chapters on travelling with his teenage children will ring especially true to any history buff who has bribed their children to too many historical sights.) Think along the lines of Bill Bryson.
   
   An easy recommend.



2. Where's Lincoln to be found these days? What shape is he in? What difference does it make? Andrew Ferguson's dormant interest and affection for the great man was shaken awake when the Richmond Sons of Confederate Soldiers went into public opposition of a new Lincoln statue to be unveiled. Sure, Richmond had been the Confederate capital, but how could anybody be against that in 2007? He set off to find out, and the resulting travelogue makes for one of the most interesting, enlightening and hilarious Lincoln reads in years.
   
   There must be 100 portraits in here of all species of Lincoln people. Lincoln lovers, Lincoln haters, Lincoln cynics, Lincoln imitators, collectors, docents, committee people, statue people, and so on. The variety is no surprise. Lincoln was the quintessential American, and, love him or hate him, his story is forever bound up in the meaning of America. If the story of America is human nature set free, one can hardly wonder 140+ years after his death that many in this commercial republic would come to see Lincoln as brand name, as franchise, as business guru, as kitsch-slinger, and as reflection of ordinary screwballs who fancy that Lincoln was as common as they. Ferguson's character vignettes of these various Lincoln (and Mary) people are sometimes as short as a single sentence, but they're often laugh out loud funny. It seems the more attenuated a particular Lincoln purveyor's connection was to the real thing, the funnier--and more rapier-like was Ferguson's description. Ferguson was more than an honest Seeker here.:)
   
   So, is there any real Lincoln left? Is he more than an eBay heading or a Disneyfied wax figure or another good reason for a sale? Ferguson had to search hard, but I think he found that the tablets are being handed down. Maybe in bits and pieces, and probably to fewer than before. And to whom, that can be surprising... two of the most endearing subjects in the book, the two who seemed to "get" Lincoln the most, were foreign born. One was a Thai couple who discerned that Lincoln was America's great man (and Jewish, to boot), and who honored him by setting out a fresh porkless meal daily in their restaurant in an Arab neighborhood in Chicago. And the other was a very old Czechoslovakian man on death's doorstep who travelled all the way to Springfield to honor Lincoln at his burial shrine. One supposes, though, that even the Lincoln jugglers and the clowns are somehow a little better off for the association. And isn't that something? That despite being chopped, sliced, diced, scrambled and pressed into a thousand understandings and uses, Lincoln still makes the world a better place?
   
   Underneath the humor, this is a serious Lincoln book and a trenchant commentary on America's understanding of itself. I'll read it again, and I hope it gets a prize.



3. This is a really enjoyable and insightul look at how Lincoln has become a commercial product and how the greatest American president has morphed over time in the American psyche. While the tone of the book is mostly light and playful, the final chapter on the commemoration of the Lincoln monument left a tear in my eye, and, because of the preceding chapters, I didn't see it coming! Ultimately, the author reminds us of the true meaing of Lincoln's contributions to our history, and why he matters so much. I can not think of anything I did not like about this book, and I'm almost inclined to give it five stars, but it does not quite have that heft. In any case, I recommend it highly.



4. While Tony Horwitz turns his attention to other subjects, this will serve as a classic followup to Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War.
   
   This short history of our images of Lincoln is written with humor and casual style, and merits its "classic" rating by Ferguson's brief concluding remarks that frame Lincoln's role perfectly. I won't spoil it.



5. "Land of Lincoln", by Weekly Standard staff writer Andrew Ferguson, is about Abraham Lincoln in contemporary America. Ferguson visits and talks with everything from a meeting of Lincoln-haters, to the new Lincoln Library in Springfield, Illinois, to a convention for Lincoln impersonators, presenting each with a lightly humorous touch. As a native Chicagoan, I particularly enjoyed Ferguson's reminiscences about time spent at the Chicago Historical Society (I loved the displays too); and his historical chapters, when he describes Herndon, Lincoln's former law partner and by far the most important source of information on Lincoln's life, and the great journalist Ida Tarbell (the scourge of John D. Rockefeller). Like Abe, Ferguson writes "with malice toward none, with charity toward all", in a book that I found humorous, informative, and thoughtful: a lovely meditation on Lincoln and on the America that he has so profoundly influenced.

5 comments about Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend.

1. If it were possible, I would give this wonderful book twelve stars. Not only is it the best book on the Civil War that I have ever read, but outside of the Holy Scriptures it is the best biography I have ever read period. The work of writing a good biography requires an author of extraordinary gifts. He or she must not only be a painstaking researcher who does not mind wading through the minutia of an endless sea of details, but they must also be able to take those details and weave them into a fluid and interesting story that is vivid while not getting bogged down in the small stuff. To put it another way, the author must give enough detail to be clear and sharp, but he must not lose the forest for the trees. On all of these levels James I. Robertson's landmark work "Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend" triumphs and succeeds marvelously. But what makes this biography so astounding is that Robertson has given us far more than a narrative set of true facts about a heroic man named Thomas Jonathan Jackson, he has given us the man himself. I knew nothing about General Jackson until I saw the film "Gods and Generals", but after viewing that movie I knew I had a new hero (Robertson himself was a historical consultant on that film, by the way). When I read Robertson's biography I realized that, like the queen of Sheba when she met King Solomon, not the half had been told. Robertson hits the nail on the head by recognizing that if you would understand Stonewall Jackson, you must discern that he was first and foremost a soldier of the cross of Jesus Christ. Robertson himself is a professing Christian and so has unique insight into Jackson that many other biographers' lack. I will never have the privilege of meeting Jackson in this present age, but as I read this book I felt that I came as close to knowing Jackson personally as I ever can in this lifetime. I saw in him a kindred spirit. Having lost an infant of my own I could relate to his pain in the loss of two infants and his first wife, but I could also relate to the grace of God and the faith in Christ that sustained him through it all. Jackson and I share the same Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Stonewall is my brother in the Lord across the sands of time. We share the same Calvinism as well. I found myself relating to his sense of social awkwardness and wanting to emulate his devotion to duty in many ways. Like all of us Jackson was a sinner, a man with large warts and gaping flaws. Forgiveness of others did not come easy to him; he placed loyalty to state above loyalty to family, sometimes not allowing men under his command to go home to bury dead wives and children. You will not find near as much of the noble patience that Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain demonstrated towards his men residing in Jackson. Yet, under his tough and well-disciplined exterior beat the heart of a man who was tender and affectionate towards his wife and baby, who loved to play with children, and whose tender prayers to his God were not soon forgotten. When I came to the chapter that describes Jackson's death following on the heels of his victory at Chancellorsville, I literally began to weep with tears spilling down my cheeks. The image of all those Confederate soldiers pulling off their hats and holding them over their hearts in honor of Jackson's widow when she first stepped away from his death bed is indelibly stamped on my mind. Why did I weep? Because through Robertson's biography, I had found a dear friend and brother in Christ. And when I read of his death, I felt that I was losing a personal friend. Thank you, Professor Robertson, for your eight and a half years of research and for all of your labors. Thank you for introducing me to a friend and hero, Thomas Jonathan Jackson. Our fourth son is named "Thomas Jackson", but we call him "Jackson". And in regards to General Jackson, we have never met, but we shall meet by and by when our Lord and Savior comes again to take His people home. Thomas Jackson, "Bud" Robertson, and myself shall spend eternity side by side with all of God's people throughout all of time worshiping our crucified and risen Savior.



2. This may be the best book I have ever read. It's detailed, thorough, yet very readable. You will know virtually everything there is to know about Stonewall Jackson by the time you finish reading this book.



3. I have several relatives who fought under Jackson and was a bit reluctant to read this book. Robertson is the premier historian of the Army of Northern Virginia and I thought this would be deification of Jackson. I was so wrong. Robertson has written THE definative work on Stonewall Jackson. Going back in his family history had my interest from the start.
   Robertson does a wonderful job of looking at Jackson-warts and all. He brings out all of Jackson and explains so many aspects of him and is certaintly not an apoligist. Without a doubt, Jackson was one of the most complex people to don an American uniform, next to Patton. When he was one his game he was briliant-such as The Valley Campaign, Second Bull Run or Chancellorsville. But When he was cold he was horrible-such was First Kernstown or the Pennicula Campaign. Robertson tells the story as it was, without excuses. If you want to really know the great Stonewall-read Robertsons book.



4. This is a great book that helps its readers understand how a poor orphan from Virginia became arguably the greatest general in American history.



5. It is clear that this book was a labor of love to its author. Robertson presents Jackson in a fair light that draws out all his eccentricities and quirks while also presenting his military genius and moral fortitude. The book is well written and thoroughly researched. Upon completion of reading this book you will feel that you knew the man.

2 comments about MAJOR GENERAL ROBERT E RODES OF THE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA: A Biography.

1. Executive summary: A very good read! Clearly written, very thorough, and covers the topic to full satisfaction.
   
   Review:
   
   You know its a very good biography when you feel saddened when reading about the death of the subject. But that's getting ahead of myself.
   
   Mr. Collins sets out to produce a complete biography of one of the best general's in the Army of Northern Virginia. A story of a man well-respected by his superiors, his peers and those who served under him. Collins notes the difficulty in getting some primary accounts about Rodes, the task made even harder because Rodes' wife destroyed their personal letters. Nonetheless, the author went out of his way to provide a large number of personal accounts from those around Rodes - in particular there seem to be a lot from men such as Major Eugene Blackford - who served directly under Rodes, thus having very close first-hand knowledge of the subject.
   
   I should note that the book seems to be well-footnoted, a quick look through the bibliographical contents show some fine research accompanies this work. There is an index, but I haven't really looked at it. I'm not a scholar, so I really am not qualified to judge the quality of the research, but from my readings it looks fine.
   
   The first three chapters describe Rodes childhood through his becoming a brigadier general at the start of the war. This takes about 100 pages to accomplish, and Collins fills it with enough information to not only teach you about Rodes background, but gives you a good feel for the type of man he was at the start of the war. Rodes' trials and tribulations as a railroad engineer after leaving VMI are well documented - but those tough days helped harden Rodes' into a the general he became. The road to the start of the Civil War helped Rodes learn that above all else he had to be reliant upon himself, he wasn't about to be "given" anything, it all had to be earned. The third chapter also details Rodes' entry in what became the Army of Northern Virginia and the opening battle of First Bull Run.
   
   The next 300 or so pages are broken down into 8 chapters, each based primarily around the campaigns he was in with the ANV. Collin's does a very good job here of providing enough general information so as to place Rodes' decisions and actions in proper context, while at the same time remaining focused upon Rodes as a general. In these chapters (whenever appropriate) he also discusses non-military matters that Rodes attended to - including his devotion to his wife Hortense, his fathering of two children, along with the more mundane management of his estate. We also get a very decent look at "Rodes the man" as opposed to just "Rodes the general", there's enough human stories strewn throughout the work describing Rodes more genial nature as well.
   
   As to the military aspects and judgments concerning Rodes, Collins shows fine skill as well as his own good judgment. He doesn't hold punches where Rodes perhaps doesn't perform up to what would have been expected of him. His handling of his troops at Gettysburg for example comes under close scrutiny. Collins questions some of Rodes decisions and non-decisions, while at the same time offering up the potential mitigating issues surrounding Rodes' health. But even there Collins does note that /if/ Rodes was so impaired physically, he should have turned over command. Collins' even-handed evaluation of Rodes seems very fair throughout the book - his praise for Rodes at Seven Pines, South Mountain, the Bloody Lane, or the counterattacks at the Mule Shoe are offset with questions about actions at Gettysburg and other battles where Rodes was less than perfect.
   
   On the personal side Collins also tries to show the love and devotion to Hortense, and then his children. But as the latter were born so late in his short life - his son was less than a year old and Hortense was pregnant with their second child when Rodes died - its a bit harder to understand Rodes' history on that side of the ledger. And as noted earlier, Hortense's destruction of their private correspondence removes a whole slew of potentially important clues on Rodes' personal life. Nonetheless, one does get enough information showing Rodes concern for his wife's welfare, and coupling that with the abundant evidence showing his loyalty and concern for those around him, one certainly does grow to respect and "like" Rodes as one reads the book.
   
   Besides the great job done by the author at achieving his goal, I should also mention the fine quality of book production. The book itself is quite well made, the font is eminently readable, and the book jacket is very nice as well - a fine portrait of Rodes gracing the cover.
   
   As is usual, the number and perhaps the quality of the maps /may/ be one slight negative area. History readers always clamor for more and better detailed maps, but this is really a very small quibble: This is not a military treatise per se, it is a biography after all. To offset this, there are a number of fine photographs of key people mentioned in the text, and a couple of nice pictures of Rodes as well. I don't recall seeing one of Hortense offhand, interestingly enough.
   
   And as I noted in the introduction, as one reads a well-written biography, you do grow to "know" the subject - so when they do die it can be a bit saddening. Especially with one so young, so chivalrous, and so gallant - I'll end quoting the key paragraph:
   
   
   Quote (pg. 402)
   "As [Rodes] was trying to control his mount, Rodes' head snapped violently forward. A bullet or shell fragment (the record is unclear) had struck him in his skull behind the ear. The general hesitated for a brief moment, then tumbled hard to the ground."



2. During the Civil War, it was only two promotions from command of a regiment to command of a division. Assuming you were not killed or crippled, two promotions in four years of war seems an easy project. Without a West Point education, a powerful patron and backing of a major state the second promotion was almost impossible to secure. This was even truer in the Army of Northern Virginia, the South's most professional army. A West Pointer and a Virginian fill almost every major command. The list of Brigadier Generals who assumed temporary division command but never get a division is long and distinguished. An example of these men is Evander Law. Their always seemed to be a reason that kept him from getting that second promotion. These few men lacked the necessary qualifications had to rise on merit alone. Simply put, they had to be much much better than the men in the approved group. This was no easy task. Some of the approved group was very good and all of them were connected by their West Point education and army service. Where would George Pickett have been without his association with James Longstreet?
   Robert E. Rodes was a Virginian. However, he came into Confederate service from Alabama. This put him in a position of being almost but not quite a member of both state's group and lost political support, from both, for his advancement. Robert E. Rodes was a graduate of Virginia Military Institute. In 1861, VMI was not the respected fabled school that it is now. This was a school for those not good enough for West Point who wanted a military education. He was promoted after First Manassas to Brigadier General. In January 1863, he received temporary command of Hill's division and was promoted to Major General after leading the attack at Chancellorsville. He led that division until mortally wounded in September 1864. He was considered one of the best division commanders in Lee's army, respected by all and recognized as an excellent combat officer.
   This is a military biography, Rodes was in his mid 30s when he died. Without the American Civil War, Robert E. Rodes and Thomas J. Jackson would be footnotes in a VMI history dealing with the early staff. Rodes would be one of the first graduates to assume a chair and Jackson would be known as "old Tom fool", reputed to be the worst instructor VMI ever had.
   1860 found Rodes, newly married, employed as a chief engineer for an Alabama railroad. The book covers his non-military life in about 60 pages. This gives us a good foundation of understanding and some sympathy for the man. The next 350 pages is an account of the war through his eyes. This gives us a look at life from regiment to division, not in terms of grand battles but personal issues, traumas, disappointments, triumphs and endless effort. Death, illness, exhaustion, bad food, no pay, rain, mud are all woven together into an intensely personal and readable book. The author has a very readable style and is able to describe things in a way that allows us to see and understand them. I am not a great reader of biographies. This is as much a military history on the regiment, brigade and division level as a biography. Rodes is presented fairly, the author recognizes his flaws and failures as much as his strengths and triumphs.
   The book contains nineteen excellent maps at the right location. There are pictures and illustrations throughout. One nice feature, the last picture is of Robert Emmett Rodes IV holding his Great Grandfathers sword. This is a Savas Beatie civil war book. We expect a physically attractive book, excellent maps, artwork that enhances the story. Within a well-written, informative, well-bound book. They have maintained these production values in this volume and it is a worthy member of an exclusive club.

5 comments about Jefferson Davis, American.

1. Like many of the reviewers, I think this is very good. I came to this biography because I wanted to understand The Civil War better from the perspective of the South. This book covers that well in that it does provide a good overview of how Davis viewed equality as being about equality and balance between the states in the union and not equality between people. For Davis, the Constitution was primarily about the interactions between states.
   
   On the reviews that say that the book glosses over Davis's owning of slaves, I saw these sections differently. It appears that Cooper did not have any evidence that Davis had abused his slaves in the cruel sense. So, he can't write that. However, just the simple description of how many slaves Davis owned, how old they were (adult, old, and children), and how Davis's slave "assets" grew from the birth of children was disgusting to me. There did not need to be cruelty for the idea that a child born into slavery could not decide on their own future. While it is hard for me to fathom how Davis could speak of liberty while owning slaves, Cooper did a good job of framing how Davis probably thought about slavery. In the end, the overview made me more thankful to have not lived in those times, just as living in even more ancient times would have been even worse.
   
   The other sections that I found interesting were the descriptions of Davis' participation in the Mexican War. Having recently read a biography of James Polk and now this, I think I will have to look for a good history of the Mexican War.
   
   Lastly, I agree with the reviewer that the book needed an epilogue that spoke to Varina Davis's last years. Throughout the book, she is a large part of the story and to stop the book with Jefferson's death just didn't work.



2. It is rare that a biographer can capture both the essence of his/her subject and the historical context of that particular subject's time. Cooper not only does so, he does so brilliantly, like no other biographer of Davis has done to date. Cooper focuses less on Davis's role as leader of a doomed Confederate Nation and more on his accomplishments as a Mississippi politician. That is not to say that Cooper ignores Davis's role in the Confederate war effort and national politics. He writes extenisvely on the friction between Davis and two of his leading Generals, explaining how Davis went from being a luke-warm secessionist to the most ardent Confederate Nationalist in the South. Cooper also focuses on Davis's role in the Mexican War and his youth at West Point, his managing of slaves, his friction with his wife, and his constant battles with weak health. Cooper also focuses rather extensively on Davis's time after the war and his travels abroad. In this excellent biography, Cooper captures Davis the man, not Davis the symbol of a lost cause, setteling ultimately on Davis as a patriot and American.



3. Alone among historical events from which the participants are all dead, our Civil War continues to ignite passions. Many treat the issues as current, and see the personages as a still-living presence. Trust me; I live in a suburb of Richmond, and see it all the time. Up front, let me say that I respect President Davis; I visit his house and grave, and contribute to the maintenance of both.
   
   Was Davis the right man for the job? He was probably the best man available. Bob Toombs? He would have been perfect if he could have been depended on to be sober. Breckinridge? Sure, but he was Vice President of the United States when the Confederacy was formed, and he also knew which end the bottle poured out of. Louis Wigfall? Brilliant, loyal, but an alcoholic hot-head. Alex Stephens? Please. A brilliant man; a good and decent man, but not a true leader.
   
   This is an absolutely outstanding biography of a very difficult man to study. Sure, it's a long book, but Davis' life was long, and complicated. Reading it, one doesn't notice the length; Cooper is such a superb writer that this is a "page turner". Davis gets full cradle to grave coverage. The tough issues are in no wise avoided. His early education, West Point training, and U.S. Army career are all well documented. The stories of Davis' all too brief marriage to Sarah Knox Taylor, and the subsequent seven years of isolation are particularly poignant. Marriage to Varina gave him a second start, and he made the most of it. To my mind, Varina Davis is the absolute definition of "First Lady".
   
   Jeff Davis was a man of his time and place. Before anyone would criticize him, it is well to reflect on the danger of applying the standards of our day to a man from another; Thomas Jefferson, Ty Cobb, even FDR, all came from a different age; so did Jeff. In his day, the right [NOT wisdom] of secession was assumed; the White man's right to own, and obligation to care for, the Black were instilled from birth. On the record, Davis was probably as humane a slave owner as existed anywhere. Only once did he ever break up a family, and that was after much begging by the slave. Davis DID NOT want secession; he followed reluctantly.
   
   The tragedy of Jefferson Davis is that he was called to lead a country founded on State's Rights, which was then done-in by State's Rights. Vain, obstinate, and difficult, he was loyal and devoted. His mistakes are not glossed over. His loyalty to a fool like Lucius Northrop, and his tragic inability to get the most out of Joe Johnston and Beauregard are both part and parcel of the man. One of Jeff's flaws was the inability to work with people he didn't like, which FDR, for example, did quite well. One of his very worst errors was in thinking that Braxton Bragg was a field commander; placed behind a desk in Richmond, Bragg could have done for Davis what Marshall did for Roosevelt. By the time Bragg got his desk, it was too late. Davis could also be unwaveringly supportive of great men, like Robert E. Lee, and Judah Benjamin. Was his overall strategic vision the correct one? Who knows? A case can certainly be made either way. Jeff tried his best; I doubt anyone could have done better. Though some may call him obstinate, his strength and refusal to quit kept the country going long after others would have given up.
   
   If I have to criticize something about a great book, it's this: Jeff had a lot of health problems [which may well have affected his job performance], and they are documented as if writing for physicians. No problem here, but...while Plasmodium falciparum and herpetic keratoiritis may be perfectly understandable to me, others may need explanation. You may know a lot about the Civil War, but your knowledge is incomplete unless you know something about the political leaders behind the Generals. Reading this book will be time well spent.



4. I thought this was a good book. William Davis' "Davis" was better in that it gave a more honest personal portrayal. However, and editors do listen up, most of us in the real world don't have time to read an immense book. Keep succinct; keep around 300-350 pages. Thank you.



5. With so many reviews already, it is hard to add much so I'll keep this short and sweet. This is a great book and the seminal biography of Davis. Historians will be hard pressed to top Cooper's work. The book on the years preceding the Civil War were, at times, not overly inspiring, but the chapters on the war years and Davis' post-war life more than made up for it. Page turning reading and solid research to boot. This book is the best kind of history--readable, entertaining, yet solidly researched and educational as well. Having read other books that discussed Davis in varying capacities, I feel like I have a much better grasp on Davis the man than ever before. Highly recommended for any and all history buffs.

5 comments about Mary Chesnut's Civil War.

1. Mary Chestnut was an insightful, well educated, frustrated woman in a society that did not openly encourage women to become interested, certainly not involved, in politics. James, Mary's husband, was what we would call a Washington/Richmond insider. Poor Mary had to convine herself to venting in her diary which requires a good background in the politicians of the day to be informative. For this reason I give it only 4 stars, The earlier edition,Diary from Dixie, was edited by the diarist to be more politically acceptable and better able to sell. There is a considerable amount of gossip in the book which will be interesting to those interested in the personal lives of prominent Confederates, e.g., the affair between General John B. Hood and Sally Preston. Anyone willing to wade through the book with the help of a good who's who in the Confederacy will indeed find this book valuable and interesting.



2. Reading this book is like opening a door through time and having a daily cup of coffee & gossip session with Mary Chesnut. She was from a fine family with her father being a senator and one of the largest slave owners in South Carolina. Her husband, John Chesnut Jr., was also a senator before the war. He remained politically connected in the Confederacy. He was a general and an aid to Jefferson Davis. Given her situation in life it is not surprising that Mrs. Chesnut had an elite circle of friends and knew everyone that was anyone.
   Mary loved to gossip and name drop and had very strong opinions on any given subject. She had no children so she had plenty of time to be self indulgent and a bit vain. She really must have been a fascinating person as people seem to be drawn to her. Varina Davis was one of her closest friends and she visited the Davis home frequently. She believed slavery to be wrong & hated the fact that there were so many racially mixed children that looked very much like the master of the plantations. She complained about the costs involved in keeping slaves and thought the time had come to abolish slavery. On the other hand, she spoke of slaves like children that needed to be cared for. She also had never had to take care of herself or run a house. She relied totally on her servants for everything.
   She wrote this diary with the intention of including rumors, facts,and anything she might be thinking at the time. John Bell Hood was a frequent visitor and is talked of in her diary quite frequently. She talked about Hood's love for a woman and of his wounds. She referred to him as their "wounded knight". She was a very opinionated, outspoken, and (I think) spoiled women. There are no great military strategies and battle description in her book. She describes the dinners they had or how people were dressed. She talks of all the gossip about all the differert generals and the politics of the day. Reading her diary is like sitting down for coffee with her and listening to the events,real or rumored, that she chats about. She loves all the gossip and thrives on attention She had a front row seat to all events about the war, civilian life, and the downfall of the Confederacy It's wonderful to have the chance to get to know Mary Chesnut with her candid way of writting. She also writes of the trials and tribulations when everything was crashing down aroound her. Her first experience of wearing old clothes, food shortages, no money, & wondering all the while what was going to happen to her and her husband. People were dying all around her and her. Her entire culture & lifestyle were disapearing, everything simply falling apart, yet she kept up her writting. What a fascinating woman Mrs. Mary Chesnut must have been.
   It may be a little difficult to read for some. I think maybe most difficult for men for much of it is "idle chatter" that women do when they get together. There is much information in here that you can only get from someone in the middle of it all.



3. This book is very interesting but it is hard to follow. The intro is very interesting but once you get into the diary part she skips from one topic to another and it assumes a lot. I think it will be worthwhile - it is just going to take me a while to get through it.



4. Mary Chesnut was a name dropper, and thank goodness, because in passing along her gossip, opinions, news, and personal undertakings, she created the most comprehensive day-to-day record of life in the Confederacy that we have. Although this is both a diary and a later refurbishment of earlier writings (to the point it almost becomes a memoir in epistolary form) Mrs. Chesnut, an aristocratic lady in a position to know a great deal about the workings of her short-lived nation, makes everything seem like a first-hand conversation. Chesnut, like Mrs. Grant and Amanda Wilson, a Civil War-era diarist from Cincinnati, Ohio, has a true gift at making the distant seem immediate. Her reports on the initial euphoria of southern independence from the north and later the reality of hardship and war, are touching, even for one not in deep sympathy with her ideals. What I took away from this diary was something of the horror of loss, as Mary Chesnut's society reeled from death after death, not just of men from combat, but children and women in part from the deprivations war mandated they endure. By the mid-point of her diary, it is a rare entry, indeed, in which Chesnut does not tell of the passing of at least one more friend, or son of a friend. She lived through the destruction of a society and a war in which blood flowed in rivers. Chesnut personally knew a number of the primary figures of the American Civil War, including the wife of Jefferson Davis. She gives a point of view that is not hamstrung by being modern in sensibility, and charts a course of the war's prosecution that might vicariously suggest a later alteration of the record in northern-authored history books. For all these reasons, Chesnut's diary is worth reading.



5. "Mary Chesnuts's Civil War" is a monumental reading task: lviii introductory pages, 836 pages of smallish text, and 49 index pages listing more than 1,000 people mentioned in the text. The Editor received a Pulitzer Prize for his work.
   
   The diary (actually much of it was written or elaborated nearly twenty years later) begins on February 16, 1861 at the time of the secession of the Southern states from the Union and ends abruptly on July 26, 1865 after the surrender of the Southern armies. Mrs. Chesnut, the friend of Southern leaders such as Jefferson Davis, spent most of the war years in Richmond and her plantation home in South Carolina.
   
   Mary Chesnut purveys gossip among the elite and offers sharply worded opinions about the South, its leaders, negroes, and slavery. On page 71, we see for example that Robert E. Lee is being called a traitor by some people after his early military failures. Of Gen. Joe Johnston she says, "Being such a good hater, it is a pity he had not elected to hate somebody else than the president of our country." An outspoken woman of about 40 with a goodly share of self esteem Mrs Chesnut does not spare her husband -- who she despises -- and acquaintances from her worldly opinions. With passages on virtually every aspect of day to day living as well as the rush of events leading the downfall of the South, the diary of Mary Chesnut may be the best single source about life in the South during the Civil War.
   
   The most vivid passages in the diary are about the end of the war when the fashionable Mrs. Chesnut feels the pinch of poverty and despair as the Yankee armies conquer South Carolina and burn down her plantation home. She captures the fear of Southerners, "as of a Bengal tiger in the home" of the Yankees and of the newly-freed negroes. "The weight that hangs upon our eyelids -- is of lead"
   
   I haven't read this book cover to cover. I pick it up occasionally and randomly read a few pages or look up the entry for a event of interest. There is sufficient material to spend weeks reading and puzzling out the meaning of elliptical statements or distant relationships or obscure references. The Editor has done a splendid job identifying in notes nearly all of the people Ms. Chesnut mentions and in clarifying the events to which she refers. This is a book you might choose to take to a desert island as it is nearly unconquerable as well as fascinating.
   
   Smallchief

5 comments about A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation.

1. Recently two new important African-American slave narratives have come to light, published here along with scholarly commentary for the first time. They are considered significant by historians because they support a theory that slaves played a role in bringing about their own freedom. Traditionally slavery is thought to have ended with Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation - Lincoln freed the slaves, we are taught in school. However, is it possible that the slaves themselves played a role in their own freedom, that their own actions, conscious or not, helped bring about Emancipation? This is what today many historians contend, and these two narratives support that view. "For most slaves", Blight says, "freedom did not come on a particular day; it evolved by process." It was the process of waves of slaves escaping into Union lines as the war moved south, often forming shanty towns of "contrabands" (as the Union called escaped slaves, they were initially classified by the north as property). Eventually something had to be done about the"contraband" and Lincoln signed some limited laws that gave them freedom, which eventually morphed into the Emancipation Proclamation. But it was the slaves desire for freedom, willing to risk life by escaping, that forced the issue of Emancipation. Further, many of these freed slaves then took up arms and joined the Union army. It is estimated over 700,000 of the nearly 4 million slaves found freedom through this "process", the remaining 3.3 million achieving freedom with the 13th Amendment.
   
   Whatever the historical debates, these narratives are interesting and even thrilling. Although not as well written as Frederick Douglass, in many ways the adventures of these young men are more real and tangible - as private documents they were not written to be published, not filtered through an editor. They were meant for friends and family and thus have a rough, raw real edge to them.
   
   David Blight has done a great service to historians and the public by both publishing the original sources and summarizing and expanding on them. Each of the two narratives has a corresponding chapter that re-creates the narrative in more detail and clarity for the modern reader. In addition there are two chapters that examine what happened to the men after the war including some fascinating pictures. No two slave narratives are alike and these will surely not disappoint as important historical case examples and thrilling stories. America has two new unsung heroes representative of 100s of thousands who sought and found their own freedom.



2. This book makes the Civil War period and slavery come alive, partly through the real voices of 2 emancipated slaves, and partly through the consumate writing skill of the author. The level is just right: carefully documented sources (endnotes) that authenticate the story, plus a wonderfully accessible writing style that is clear, never boring, and quietly compassionate. This is an engaging book I recommend even to those having only a casual interest in history.



3. The book provides an in depth look at the lives of two black men who were determined to escape slavery. The book also reveals the hopelessness experienced by slaves in their daily lives. It also exposed the cruelty of slave owners, who were considered in all other respects to be genteel and upstanding citizens in their community.



4. History buffs in general will find "A Slave No More" a highly valuable read. For students of American history, and particularly for those who are interested in the Civil War and Reconstruction period, this book is must reading. There are not many first-person accounts by former slaves available to us. This volume contains two such narratives, hitherto unpublished: one is by Wallace Turnage and the other is by John Washington, both former slaves who found their way to freedom during the Civil War. David Blight presents them here in their original form "with virtually no changes to the grammar and spelling," although he has done some minor editing in their structure (primarily providing paragraph breaks) to assist in reading.
   
   The reader is not, however, immediately thrust into the narratives themselves. Blight spends the first 162 pages introducing us to the two writers, using genealogical data, and to the context in which the narratives were written. Turnage's and Washington's escape to freedom occurred during the chaos of this nation's most bloody war (over 600,000 casualties) and amidst a political and cultural conflict (state's rights and slavery) which had been ripping the country apart for many decades. It is, I think, essential to understand the plight of the Black slave on a personal level, to understand what it means to be someone else's "property," completely and totally subject to someone else's will, to recognize and accept that slaves were not thought to be fully "human." Blight does an outstanding job of providing the necessary background for the narratives.
   
   I recommend this book to all readers who love the study of history. It is a valuable contribution to the genre.



5. There have been many books about slavery and the brutality of the life that so many people had to endure. Much of this has been documented by authors and historians, and told about in history books and fiction alike. Part of this record includes the slave narratives, first person accounts, written by slaves themselves, that detail their hardships and trials, and most of them, recounting their path to freedom. David Blight has two such narratives in his new, and frankly, phenomenal new book: A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation. This is a book for your shelf.
   
   Blight starts the book with a brief review of the history of slave narratives, the distinct differences between pre and post-emancipation narratives, and how these two remarkable narratives fell into his possession, both within six months of each other. He then retells their own lives, giving background and general information (including some from other slave narratives) to make the two men's accounts more whole.
   
   The rest of the book is the actual narratives of both John Washington and Wallace Turnage. And what a powerhouse of writing both of these narratives are. Both men, finding their path to freedom during the Civil War, both with help from the Union army. But each man found his path to freedom in his own unique way, and both accounts are riveting memoirs of using wits, guts, and determination to ensure their survival.
   
   It's so personal to read these. You get a sense of the men behind the words, it's almost like you are eavesdropping on a grandfather recounting his younger days to a granddaughter. The narratives are edited by Blight, but he largely seems to keep a hands-off attitude with both of them, leaving the reader the chance to experience the author first hand. You leave the narratives painfully wanting more ... even though Blight has provided more.
   
   These narratives paint a picture of true American heroes. Men who lasted, despite incredible odds against them, to live and thrive beyond the situations they found themselves in. When Washington gets to live, as a freed man, in the same house in which he served as a slave, the sense of triumph is palpable, even though Washington is not gloating one bit. Much has been said about the brave soliders that lived and died for the American cause. These two men exemplify that to the fullest.
   
   I finished this book with a sense of awe and wonder with these two men, and a desire to want more. This book is a true piece of scholarship, adding to the growing richness of slave narratives. Hopefully, as time progresses, we will unearth more views of this time long past, to remember and appreciate once again.
   
   A true five star book!