General John Bell Hood tried everything he could: Surprise attack. Flanking march. Cavalry raid into the enemy's rear lines. Simply enduring his opponent's semi-siege of the city. But nothing he tried worked. Because by the time he assumed command of Confederate forces protecting Atlanta, his predecessor Joe Johnston's chronic, characteristic strategy of gradual withdrawal had doomed the city to fall to William T. Sherman's Union troops. Joe Johnston lost Atlanta and John Bell Hood has gotten a bum rap, Stephen Davis argues in his new book, Atlanta Will Fall: Sherman, Joe Johnston, and the Yankee Heavy Battalions. The fall of the city was inevitable because Johnston pursued a strategy that was typical of his career: he fell back. Again and again. To the point where he allowed Sherman's army to within five miles of the city. Against a weaker opponent, Johnston's strategy might have succeeded. But Sherman commanded superior numbers, and he was a bold, imaginative strategist who pressed the enemy daily and used his artillery to pound their lines. Against this combination, Johnston didn't have a chance. And by the time Hood took over the Confederate command, neither did he. Atlanta Will Fall provides a lively, fast-paced overview of the entire Atlanta campaign from Dalton to Jonesboro. Davis describes the battles and analyzes the strategies. He evaluates the three generals, examining their plans of action, their tactics, and their leadership ability. In doing so, he challenges the commonly held perceptions of the two Confederate leaders and provides a new perspective on one of the most decisive battles of the Civil War. An excellent supplemental text for courses on the Civil War and American nineteenth-century history, Atlanta Will Fall will engage students with its brisk, concise examination of the fight for Atlanta.

Fought on July 28, 1864, the Battle of Ezra Church was a dramatic engagement during the Civil War's Atlanta campaign. Confederate forces under John Bell Hood desperately fought to stop William T. Sherman's advancing armies as they tried to cut the last Confederate supply line into the city. Confederates under General Stephen D. Lee nearly overwhelmed the Union right flank, but Federals under General Oliver O. Howard decisively repelled every attack. After five hours of struggle, 5,000 Confederates lay dead and wounded, while only 632 Federals were lost. The result was another major step in Sherman's long effort to take Atlanta. Hess's compelling study is the first book-length account of the fighting at Ezra Church. Detailing Lee's tactical missteps and Howard's vigilant leadership, he challenges many common misconceptions about the battle. Richly narrated and drawn from an array of unpublished manuscripts and firsthand accounts, Hess's work sheds new light on the complexities and significance of this important engagement, both on and off the battlefield.

"As General William Tecumseh Sherman set his sights on Atlanta in the summer of 1864, he fought several small battles-Resaca, Pickett's Mill, and skirmishes around Marietta-against an ever-retreating General Joseph E. Johnston who had replaced the beleaguered General Braxton Bragg as leader of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. After heavy rains slowed Sherman's advance, Johnston shored his army up along the Brushy Mountain line. With Johnston's army well entrenched and Sherman unable to flank him because of the mountains and impassable roads, Sherman noted in his reports to Washington, 'Kennesaw is the key to the whole country.' Intended for the Command Decisions in America's Civil War series, this book explores eleven critical decisions that affected the outcome of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain and why the battle unfolded as it did"--

Atlanta's cuisine has always been an integral part of its identity. From its Native American agricultural roots to the South's first international culinary scene, food has shaped this city, often in unexpected ways. Trace the evolution of iconic dishes like Brunswick stew, hoecakes and peach pie while celebrating Atlanta's noted foodies, including Henry Grady, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nathalie Dupree. Be transported to the beginnings of notable restaurants and markets, including Durand's at the Union Depot, Busy Bee Caf , Mary Mac's Tearoom, the Municipal Market and the Buford Highway Farmers Market. With fourteen historic recipes, culinary historian Akila Sankar McConnell proves that food will always be at the heart of Atlanta's story.

Jim Lashley grew up on a small farm in rural West Texas. Following a couple of failed attempts in college because of misbehavior, he elected to enlist in the marines instead of being drafted into the army during the Vietnam War. Throughout his first two tours as a recon marine, Jim learned firsthand how cheap human life was. Following the almost-complete annihilation of his team on a small insignificant hill, Jim was noticed by a very senior officer who decided that he was worthy of special attention. After completing a program to become a marine pilot, Jim returned to Vietnam one final time. Returning home and nearing the end of the war, Jim was recruited to join a very special group that worked covertly to assist a high-profile security firm known as Black Water. That group, Dark Water, performed numerous clandestine activities that the parent company couldn’t afford to be associated with. For the remainder of his time as a marine pilot, Jim traveled around the globe, following the directives of this secretive group known only to a very select few. When his time with the marines came to an end, he was again advised by the same senior officer who had made possible his becoming a marine pilot and admission into the Dark Water group to apply to the airlines as a pilot. After being hired by American Airlines, he was given the opportunity to continue to assist Black Water with another covert group that functioned only in the continental United States. That group was simply known as Muddy Water.