Geoffrey Perret

A very, very good book that will educate you immensely about the difficulties Lincoln encountered while trying to prosecute the civil war. Not being a significant study of the Civil War, I had no clue of how problematic Lincoln’s generals were in carrying out their battle duties. So many of them either did not want to engage the southern armies or harbored southern- and/or slavery-retention sympathies. It is truly amazing that Lincoln was able to eventually bring the south to its knees, despite the generals he had to work with. It was not until late in the war that Lincoln finally found himself some generals (Grant, Sherman and Sheridan) from the western theatre who, brought back east, finally put the Confederacy into surrender mode. The book was very informative; however, perhaps my only complaint was some time-shifts in the later chapters and the author really giving some short-shrift to the latter prosecution of the war under Grant, Sherman and Sheridan. So much of the book was spent primarily on those generals that did not want to fight. But perhaps it was the author’s intent to inform more about the lesser-known generals, and if that is so, the author did a pretty good job of it. Despite the book being historical non-fiction (and with some of those books sometimes being difficult or tough to get through), the author makes it a pretty readable recap.… (meer)

This is an excellent book on the military history of the United States, from the Revolution to just before the first Gulf War in 1990. It is a good read, simple but detailed, very detailed. If you don't like details don't read this book. However he does stay on topic and to be honest I loved reading this book. My only real criticism is that it is a military history of the United States, not of it's enemies, so its one sided. I don't mean it is biased, I mean it doesn't explain why the other side did or didn't do things. It is the story of Americas war, not a history of the wars America fought in, an important distinction.

The annotated bibliography is an added treat to anyone looking for further details or places to research.… (meer)