Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.

A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the award-winning historian and best-selling author of Gettysburg comes the definitive biography of Robert E. Lee. An intimate look at the Confederate general in all his complexity—his hypocrisy and courage, his inner turmoil and outward calm, his disloyalty and his honor. "An important contribution to reconciling the myths with the facts." —New York Times Book Review Robert E. Lee is one of the most confounding figures in American history. Lee betrayed his nation in order to defend his home state and uphold the slave system he claimed to oppose. He was a traitor to the country he swore to serve as an Army officer, and yet he was admired even by his enemies for his composure and leadership. He considered slavery immoral, but benefited from inherited slaves and fought to defend the institution. And behind his genteel demeanor and perfectionism lurked the insecurities of a man haunted by the legacy of a father who stained the family name by declaring bankruptcy and who disappeared when Robert was just six years old. In Robert E. Lee, the award-winning historian Allen Guelzo has written the definitive biography of the general, following him from his refined upbringing in Virginia high society, to his long career in the U.S. Army, his agonized decision to side with Virginia when it seceded from the Union, and his leadership during the Civil War. Above all, Guelzo captures Robert E. Lee in all his complexity--his hypocrisy and courage, his outward calm and inner turmoil, his honor and his disloyalty.

First published in 1957, this second edition of the analysis of the generalship of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee remains one of the most readable histories of the Civil War. The author began his research sharing the generally held assumption that Lee was a great general and Grant a clumsy “butcher.” By the time Fuller completed his project, however, he regarded Grant as the greatest general of his age and one of the greatest strategists of any age. Grant and Lee is a compelling study not only of two remarkable men but also of the nature of leadership and command in wartime. “...cuts squarely across the accepted tradition...[Fuller] examines these two great soldiers from a fresh viewpoint and refuses to let himself be bound by tradition.”—Bruce Catton, New York Times Book Review “...a stimulating study which appreciates both the unique personalities of the protagonists and the social conditions which stamped their tactics.”—Commonweal “Fuller’s...analysis and comparison of the personality, leadership, and generalship of Grant and Lee is as readable, instructive, stimulating, and...controversial as when first published.”—Military Review

Great Military Leaders - A Bibliography with Vignettes

No other general in American history has attracted the attention and adoration accorded to Robert Edward Lee, the peerless chieftain of the Confederacy. Indeed, in all of history, only Napoleon can vie with Lee for the hold he maintains on the imagination of students and admirers around the globe. Succeeding generations have invented and reinvented Lee, trying to make him a man for their own times, and year after year the writings of worshipers and revisionists—and occasionally even revilers—continue to come out. It is time for a step back, to take a reflective look at Lee through neither the eyes of adoration nor iconoclasm, and that is what eminent Southern historian Charles P. Roland does in Reflections on Lee: A Historian’s Assessment. One of the country’s most distinguished students of the South and the Civil War, Roland used the accumulated wisdom of a long career to draw a fresh picture of Lee—the man, the soldier, the symbol. Reflections on Lee is not a conventional biography, though the outline of the general’s life is here in full. Rather, it is a contemplative look at what made him the man he was, and how the man was made into the general he became. Though Roland takes issue with Lee’s recent and harsh critics, he is not uncritical himself; while he cuts through the patina of worshipfulness that has characterized so many Lee biographies, Roland has no hesitation in expressing his own admiration for this great and good soldier and man. In the endless quest for understanding of this pivotal American hero, Roland’s book offers a firm anchor where the newcomer to Civil War studies can begin and the experienced reader can regroup and, in the light of Roland’s mature insights, make sense of all that has been written. After all, reflections on Lee are reflections on much of the American mind and spirit as epitomized in one of our defining characters. Reflections on Lee gives that character new definition for our own and future generations.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1871. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

A Life of General Robert E. Lee is a fascinating character study of Lee written by a Civil War veteran who regularly observed the Confederate General in thought and action on the battlefield. John Esten Cooke's book offers a unique perspective on both Robert E. Lee and the Civil War, using direct quotes of dialogue by the War's principals (including Lee), official military communiqués and personal letters, all of which brings the man and era alive.