From Publishers Weekly
This provocative and ably written biography views Sherman's military career in light of his passion for social order and intellectual certainty. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Sherman taught America that "War is hell" as he swept through Georgia and the Carolinas to destroy the Confederates' will to resist. The roots of Sherman's philosophy of total war and of his enigmatic personality have fascinated historians since the Civil War, when Sherman was thought both insane and brilliant. Now, in Marszalek's ( Grover Cleveland, Greenwood Pr., 1988) full and fascinating biography, we get the whole man--a warrior who hated killing but carried war to civilians; a foster son craving paternal approval who led hardened men; a writer and talker who preferred action to words. Marszalek finds the key to Sherman in his search for order, both in a private life troubled by uncertain financial prospects and relations and in a civil war, and later Indian wars, where old West Point verities did not apply. That Sherman was a troubled soul who sought to make his family appreciate his trials and triumphs is evident in the small cache of Sherman letters published for the first time in Joseph Ewing's Sherman at War (Morningside, 1992). The new letters notwithstanding, Marszalek's psychobiographical musings about Sherman's inner self doubtless will cause some historians to blush. But the rich historical contextual material on everything from Western finances, Indian wars in Florida and the West, and Civil War military policy make Marszalek's Sherman real and powerful. Highly recommended.- Randall M. Miller, St. Joseph's Univ., PhiladelphiaCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From the Inside Flap
General William Tecumseh Sherman has come down to us as the implacable destroyer of the Civil War, notorious for his burning of Atlanta and his brutal march to the sea. A probing biography that explains Sherman's style of warfare and the threads of self-possession and insecurity that made up his character. Photos.

ANNOTATION

General William Tecumseh Sherman has come down to us as the implacable destroyer of the Civil War, notorious for his burning of Atlanta and his brutal march to the sea. A probing biography that explains Sherman's style of warfare and the threads of self-possession and insecurity that made up his character. Photos.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Among the towering figures of the Civil War, none is more enigmatic than General William Tecumseh Sherman. Widely denounced as fiendishly destructive and even insane for his infamous March to the Sea across Georgia, Sherman was a brilliant commander and strategist who helped bring the bloody war to a swifter and surer end. Yet he left a legacy of "total war" against unarmed civilians and their property which has haunted military leaders and all Americans up to the present day. Now, in this definitive biography, the nature and motives of this legendary and controversial military genius are at last explored. Delving into the complex personality of the gruff and charismatic general, Marszalek explores Sherman's life as a series of struggles for order. A rootless childhood, shaped by his father's early death and the ensuing separation from his mother, compelled Sherman to fight instability with a passion bred of personal loss and uncertainty. Even the hallmarks of democracy - a free press and unfettered public opinion - he considered troublesome obstacles to his efficient military pursuits. Convinced of the necessity of preserving the complete union of all states, he fought the "anarchic" Confederate secession despite his love for the South, where he had lived. His crusade for control carried over to his personal life, where he balked at what he considered the vaguely defined role of husband and father. He rarely resided with his wife, feeling most comfortable when his position was established by official rank, in the company of his troops or as a public luminary adored by the great political and artistic figures of his time. Marszalek's full-scale biography richly captures not only the Civil War, but the entire extraordinary life of this man who attended West Point, fought in the Indian Wars, experienced the Gold Rush in San Francisco, was involved in the construction of the transcontinental railroad, worked as a banker, teacher, and public speaker, and turned awa

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly