2 comments about Custer And His Wolverines: The Michigan Cavalry Brigade, 1861-1865.

1. As a history of the Michigan Brigade and its famous commander, this is a worthwhile addition to the library of Civil War and military history enthusiasts. It is well-written, engaging, and makes solid use of primary sources. Coverage of the formation of and early service of the various regiments is quite good.
   My only two serious complaints are: Inadequate maps - a real flaw for a military history; A terrible index - undoubtedly not the author's fault, but the index is useless in that the vast majority of people, places and events described in the text are nowhere to be found in the index. This is the book's main problem and it handicaps the reader.
   All that said, certainly a good item to have on your Civil War shelf.



2. The Michigan Cavalry Brigade achieved its' greatest triumphs under the command of George Armstrong Custer. The troops were greatly disappointed when he eventually moved on to higher command. Under his impetuous leadership the Brigade gained respect for the Union Cavalry and its' famous red ties, emulating Custer, were a badge of pride and honor. Books by members of the Michigan brigade make it clear that the youthful Custer was greatly respected by his troops. The book is a useful tome describing the times and experiences of this unit. Like most Civil War books it bypasses the hardships, disease and despondency of the troops in favor of describing the battle related history. The book is worthwhile reading for students of the war, cavalry and Custer.

5 comments about Sheridan: The Life And Wars Of General Phil Sheridan.

1. 
   One wonders if "Little Phil" Sheridan might be the perfect example of someone afflicted with the "little man complex." Only 5'5" tall, he was combative and aggressive almost to a fault. He was almost booted out of West Point for attacking a fellow cadet with a bayonet and then his fists, and his severe Reconstruction methods in Texas and Louisiana got him transferred - twice. But he was a competent commander and inspired loyalty in his troops. Roy Morris's biography is a good one, especially regarding Sheridan's Civil War career.
   
   After leaving West Point, the 22-year-old Sheridan served in the infantry on the Texas frontier. Working in administrative posts during the early months of the war, it wasn't until May 1962 that he got his first command in the Michigan Cavalry. He distinguished himself at Booneville, MS, and then at Perryville, KY, three months later. He also played prominent roles at Stones River, TN, Chickamauga, and at Yellow Tavern, VA, where his men killed Lee's "eyes of the Confederate Army" Jeb Stuart. His most celebrated engagement in the war came during the so-called Shenandoah Valley Campaign (Aug, '64-March '65), with important victories at Winchester and Waynesboro. He was instrumental in halting Lee's retreat westward at Appomattox Court House.
   
   After the war he commanded forces of the Fifth Military District in Texas and Louisiana, but his harsh Reconstruction enforcement policies led to his being transferred to Missouri. He led a campaign against the Indians in Kansas in 1868-69 (it was during this time that the infamous quote about dead Indians being the only good ones was attributed to Sheridan, though he always denied it and Morris can offer no proof that he actually said it). After this campaign Sheridan spent two years observing the Franco-Prussian War first-hand. Upon his return he was in Chicago during the famous fire that consumed the city in 1871 and directed further campaigns against the Indians. In 1883 he replaced Sherman as commanding general of the army. He died in 1888 soon after completing his Memoirs.
   
   Morris's biography is vigorous and honest and measures the man fully. Sheridan was a forceful commander, but he could also be cruel. His Valley Campaign turned into a scorched-earth expedition, and his actions against the Indians were relentless. Morris captures Sheridan in his glory but also reveals his dark side. The book is fair and just, and Morris writes well. Recommended.



2. As a story, this book is one of the better written biographies I've read in a while. Morris's style is compelling, and his writing flows in such a way that it is difficult to lose interest in the narrative. As a biography, however, this book is mediocre. The work is well-documented, but the chief problem I see is that the greater part of Morris's quotes and ideas come from secondary sources, making this book, in some respects, a tertiary source. In searching the notes for the source of several quotes made, I was frustrated to find that the only reference given was to another biography of Sheridan. Morris tells the story beautifully, but there seems not to be much which is groundbreaking or revolutionary.
   
   Another flaw in the book, which occupies a disproportionately large amount of space, is the excessive attention it pays to General Rosencrans in the Tennessee era of Sheridan's Civil War career. During this time, Sheridan seems to be left in the background, and the resultant feeling almost left me with the impression that I was reading a biography of Rosencrans rather than of Sheridan. It seems that Morris has an ax to grind, and that ax is to glorify Rosencrans to the fullest extent. He claims that there were three major achievements around the 4th of July 1863: Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Rosencrans's driving of the Rebels out of Tennessee. While it is true that he did indeed command the force opposing the Rebels, the sad truth is that Lincoln and Co. wanted this to happen nearly six months before it did. I have no problem with Morris's high opinion of Rosencrans (though I do not share it myself), but I don't think a biography of Sheridan is the place to extol the virtues of that man.
   
   Overall, this is a good study of a great man. It is thoroughly well-written, and a joy to read. At times, it is even funny, and Morris's dry wit (such as recounting how General AS Johnston "carelessly" bled to death at Shiloh) keeps things entertaining while not straying into the inappropriate. Also a plus is the detail given to the many aspects of Sheridan's campaigns. Morris has a talent for painting the whole picture and not just the scant part Sheridan played in it. Again, this becomes excessive (to me, at least) only when praising Rosencrans. This book is certainly worth the time it takes to read it.



3. Though Roy Morris writes well and illuminates Sheridan's character adequately, there is ultimately something flat about this effort. His attempts to give a definitive analysis of Sheridan are compromised by some factual gaffes and problems in interpreting Sheridan in the context of his times. It must be stressed that being a bigot in the mid-19th century was accepted practice and not odious, as it's viewed today. Morris is sympathetic to Sheridan throughout, even in the midst of his advocating genocide for the Native American.

   The lack of personal detail is disquieting. There is insufficient material on Sheridan's mistress from the 1850's and his marriage late in life.

   A strong point of the book is Morris' descriptions of little Phil's relationships with Grant and Sherman, two generals infinitely superior and more intelligent that Sheridan. Morris does a good job in explaining this triumvirate that saved the nation during the civil war.

   This is a good biography, but scarcely groundbreaking or on the cutting edge of scholarship. The elusive character of Philip Sheridan will have to await a more gifted and grounded biographer.




4. Phillip Sheridan's importance to the Union effort in the Civil War cannot be overstated. His place as a general in blue ranks behind only Sherman and Grant. His best moments were at Winchester where he stemmed a Union defeat and turned it into a smashing vistory, and at Five Forks where he routed a derelict George Pickett and ended the stalemate around Petersburg. He also led a fascinating life in the military both before and after the war, eventually becomming the army's commanding general late in his life. Morris's book is well written, but it lacks the drama of say the recent biographies of Grant and Sherman. I think this is because the stories of those two generals, who both overcame much adversity in both their personal and professional lives, are much more compelling. Sheridan was a great general, but not a tragic or epic figure. But at least he has a biography that does his memory justice.



5. I've always found General Phil Sheridan to be a fascinating figure, and "Sheridan: The Life and Wars of General Phil Sheridan" was the first biography about him that I found. It's reasonably well written, chronicling Sheridan's early life, his attendance at West Point, and his meteoric rise to general officer rank in the early days of the Civil War. Author Roy Morris, Jr. also details Sheridan's post-Civil War military career as an unsuccessful military governor of Louisiana, an Indian fighter in the midwest, and ultimately as General-in-Chief of the U.S. Army. Especially interesting was Sheridan's relationship with George Armstrong Custer, which Morris traces from their days fighting together during the Civil War, to the time of Custer's death at Little Big Horn.

   I did find a problem with this book, despite its being fairly well written. While it provided some reasonably detailed information on Sheridan's life, times and personality, I didn't feel that it approached depth found in the best biographies of military leaders. When I finished "Sheridan," I felt I hadn't really been introduced to the man; I almost got the feeling Morris left out information in order to keep down the length of the book (which runs only to 393 pages.)

   "Sheridan" is a good basic survey of one of the great U.S. Army generals of the 19th century, but it's not a particularly penetrating study of General Philip Sheridan's life and times. In my view, Phil Sheridan deserves better.

2 comments about The Bridges of Vietnam: From the Journals of a U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer.

1. Fred Edwards served as an intelligence officer during the Vietnam War and visited very major ground unit from Special Forces camps and ground reconnaissance unites, to armored calvary units, and waterborne reconnaissance units. An invaluable and strongly recommended contribution to the military annals of the Viet Name conflict, Edward's The Bridges Of Vietnam: From The Journals Of A U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer is as vivid and candid memoir of the war from the perspective of a front-line intelligence officer as is available to the non-specialist general reader or military buff.



2. I have read quite a few books made from journals of individuals in Vietnam. Most are either dry accounts of movements or almost novelized disjointed experiences. This Book "The Bridges of Vietnam: From the Journals of a U. S. Marine Intelligence Office" Is not only chronologically organized, but also has a list of external events that took place at the same time.
   
   With out a frame of reference it would be hard to tell if he was barging or borrowing someone else's idea of Vietnam. However in chapter Three "Internship" he covered the same territory (II Corps TZ) as I did; only he was there six months earlier. I saw his reference to the Fourth Infantry with out any reference to the armed reconnaissance First of the Tenth attached to the Fourth Infantry. I also spent some time in other locations and he does a good job of describing daily life. It looks like he left out how to do the job he does and maybe some things he did. For the most part he was dead accurate as to the people and environment of the time. He makes you feel that you are there.
   
   This book is well worth reading and then keeping as a reference. Especially as time passed and you forget your first taste of warm "33" beer.

No comments about Sacagawea: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies).

1 comments about Who Killed Martin Luther King Jr.?.

1. makes u think about the whole thing. i haven't finished it yet but it has gotten my attention. i am drawn in. very well written informative and shows a different side to the story.

No comments about Campaigns of a Non-Combatant, and His Romaunt Abroad During the War (Collector's Library of the Civil War).

No comments about Three Years in the Sixth Corps: A Concise Narrative of Events in the Army of the Potomac, from 1861 to the Close of the Rebellion, April, 1865 (Collector's Library of the Civil War).

No comments about LION OF THE SOUTH.

No comments about Man of Douglas, Man of Lincoln.

5 comments about Outlaw Woman: A Memoir of the War Years 1960-1975.

1. Outlaw Woman is one of literally hundreds of books that describe the "movement" in its varied forms during the 60's and 70's, but it shines among all of them. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's honesty, courage, and commitment to self-definition and truth are a shining example of what the movement could have been and could still be.



2. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is from Oklahoma--a story told beautifully in her earlier volume, RED DIRT: GROWING UP OKIE. But her views, both in the 1960s and now, don't fit the Okie image. Yet, paradoxically, she would be the first to acknowledge that her Oklahoma background--poor, part Native American, a socialist grandfather--helped in some ways to shape her radicalism. (To be accurate, her radicalism probably resulted in part from reacting AGAINST her Oklahoma background.)
   Dunbar-Ortiz has a remarkable ability to place the story of her life in context with "historical events" going on at the time--in this volume, the women's movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, the "radical underground," etc. I recommended this book to my daughter, herself something of an activist (anti-nuclear power). She read it, loved it, and said one thing that was obvious was that Dunbar-Ortiz had kept a journal, thus enabling her to tell her story in rich detail.
   She also has a remarkable ability to grab you and shake you and make you think, to make you reconsider stuff you thought you knew. I've been an Okie for 40 years, wear the label proudly, was an activist to some extent in all four major movements of the 60s (civil rights, anti-Vietnam War, environmental, women's). But I was by no means as radical, AM by no means as radical, as Dunbar-Ortiz. Which is part of why this was such a good book for me to read. You should read it too, whatever your political orientation!



3. Outlaw Woman: A Memoir Of The War Years, 1960-1975 by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is the personal and autobiographical testimony of a dedicated anti-war organizer, feminist, and New Left activist who rose from a poverty-stricken childhood to dedicate herself to making a difference. Outlaw Woman is very highly recommended reading as a forcefully told, openly honest, and strongly charged saga of one woman's daily struggle to get her message out to and change society itself.



4. OUTLAW WOMAN is a vivid and compelling account of the author's journey through the upheaval, hope and ultimate implosion of the 1960s. With a keen eye for detail and a crisp prose style, Dunbar-Ortiz evokes the heady combination of idealism and trauma that defined that era and transformed her from an apolitical, married college student into a notorious feminist leader and later, an underground revolutionary. This is fascinating history, and especially important for young people who are trying to make sense of the socio-political moment in America today. OUTLAW WOMAN is an honest and courageous attempt to examine and reclaim some of the history of an era that still divides and perplexes us thirty years later. A wonderful and
   important read.



5. From Chris Crass, anti-racist and anarchist activist/organizer:
   Dunbar-Ortiz takes us into the heart of the women's liberation movement, grassroots anti-war organizing and solidarity work with third world liberation struggles around the world and in the U.S. Outlaw Woman is a fierce and honest narrative about organizing, resistance, and a passion to remake the world.