This incredible book documents the personal saga of a Confederate soldier from Texas who fought with General Forrest and other southern heroes. It's a true account of Obed Christian's encounters against the Union Army in the south; containing original letters and documented eye witness accounts. Through handwritten letters, my Great Grandfather depicts the massive destruction of cities and hardships encountered by military existence. The stunning eyewitness account of his brother's death, horrifying massacre at Ft. Pillows and bloody combat at Harrisburg, recaptures the devastation of the Civil War. Unique and rare, this book is a MUST READ for all Civil War enthusiast. Students of history will marvel at the captivating personal memoirs and heart warming letters. Military scholars will be enlightened, informed and illuminated by brilliant wartime maneuvers and eye witness accounts. Finally, it belongs on the library shelf of every researcher and historical society.

The Nashville Campaign, culminating with the last major battle of the Civil War, is one of the most compelling and controversial campaigns of the conflict. The campaign pitted the young and energetic James Harrison Wilson and his Union cavalry against the cunning and experienced Nathan Bedford Forrest with his Confederate cavalry. This book is an analysis of contributions made by the two opposing cavalry forces and provides new insights and details into the actions of the cavalry during the battle. This campaign highlighted important changes in cavalry tactics and never in the Civil War was there closer support by the cavalry for infantry actions than for the Union forces in the Battle of Nashville. The retreat by Cheatham's corps and the Battle of the Barricade receive a more in-depth discussion than in previous works on this battle. The importance of this campaign cannot be overstated as a different outcome of this battle could have altered history. The Nashville Campaign reflected the stark realities of the war across the country in December 1864 and would mark an important part of the death knell for the Confederacy.

This provocative story illuminates the lives of 2 wayward adventure seekers. It's the unfortunate true account of myself and equally neurotic traveling companion. As young, naive gringos, we sought a mood altering pilgrimage to South America. We followed our siren's call towards drama, chaos and confusion in the jungles and mountains of the Inca Empire. For nearly a year, we played hide and seek from military police, danced the jig of civility while dodging the bullet of sanity. Exploits contained in this work are not intended for the squeamish, timid, faint of heart or too delicate. Graphic episodes may offend fragile, tightly wrapped and emotionally stable individuals. That being said, this narrative is equally seductive to extreme travel junkies and adventure seekers. A burgeoning population of recovery oriented Baby Boomers, will discover a niche of paradoxical insight. Arm chair travelers will be shocked, amused, entertained and educated. Hipsters will marvel at the high drama and drop dead humor.

Discover the art of being human in this provocative story of redemption, hope and change. Meet yourself for the first time as you travel the hero-path with the world's greatest philosophers, psychologists, poets and family therapists. Confront raw human emotion with highly celebrated literary giants, sports' heroes, music legends and spiritual masters. Come face-to-face with your phantom self, your shadow, your stranger, your false role-self...the dark side of your own nature. Uncover your own dysfunction, thinking errors and diabolical force of the human ego. Experience the magic of grief, of forgiveness and velocity of anger. Absorb the healing virtues of patience and humor. Witness the downward spiral of addiction and life-affirming grace of recovery. Lounge in the serene luxury of mindfulness, of surrender and inner non resistance. - Become present for your own life. - Turn the mundane into the sacred.

In February 1864, General William Sooy Smith led a force of over seven thousand cavalry on a raid into the Mississippi Prairie, bringing fire and destruction to one of the very few breadbaskets remaining in the Confederacy. Smith's raid was part of General William T. Sherman's campaign to march across Mississippi from Vicksburg to destroy the railroad junction at Meridian. Both Smith and Sherman intended to burn everything in their path that could aid in the Southern war effort. It was a harbinger of things to come in Georgia, South Carolina and the Shenandoah Valley. But neither reckoned with General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest's small Confederate cavalry force defeated Smith in a running battle that stretched from West Point to Okolona and beyond. Forrest's victory prevented Smith from joining Sherman and saved the Prairie from total destruction. Join Civil War historian Brandon Beck as he narrates this exciting story, with all the realities and color of cavalry warfare in the Deep South. Also included is a brief guided tour of the extant sites, preserved for future generations by the Friends of the Battle of Okolona, Inc.

A New York Times bestselling author writes about West Point. This new paperback edition of Stephen E. Ambrose's highly regarded history of the United States Military Academy features the original foreword by Dwight D. Eisenhower and a new afterword by former West Point superintendent Andrew J. Goodpaster.

Most Civil War generals were graduates of West Point, and many of them helped transform the U.S. Army from what was little better than an armed mob that performed poorly during the War of 1812 into the competent fighting force that won the Mexican War. Wa