Overview
In this in-depth examination of the career of Gen. Robert E. Lee, noted historian Brian Holden Reid looks beyond the legend to arrive at an objective assessment of the man and his military career. Holden Reid argues that Lee’s qualities as a general do not require any exaggeration or embellishment. Tracing the military campaigns of the Civil War, he shows that Lee’s short period of field command, just under three years, was marked by imagination, decisiveness, stamina, and a determination to win the war against the better-equipped union army, rather than just avoid losing it.
Some historians have criticized Lee’s offensive strategy as an error that became ultimately self-defeating. By contrast, Holden Reid asserts that it was the only realistic way for the Confederacy to win its independence. Nonetheless, he acknowledges that Lee exhibited occasional overconfidence, sometimes underestimated his enemy, and failed to develop his staff in any modern sense.
As a British historian, Holden Reid brings a fresh, detached eye to his evaluation of Gen. Lee, and in the end he presents an authoritative and balanced assessment of a great American commander.
Marked by clarity of style and filled with fascinating historical details, this new reconsideration of a legendary southern general will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of Civil War enthusiasts as well as students and scholars of American history and military history.
This book title, Robert E. Lee (Icon for a Nation), ISBN: 9781591025856, by Brian Holden Reid, published by Prometheus Books (September 30, 2007) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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