ebooks A History of Prophecy in Israel by Joseph Blenkinsopp in History

Description

For the 200th anniversary of Robert E. Lee’s birth; a new portrait drawing on previously unpublished correspondence Robert E. Lee’s war correspondence is well known; and here and there personal letters have found their way into print; but the great majority of his most intimate messages have never been made public. These letters reveal a far more complex and contradictory man than the one who comes most readily to the imagination; for it is with his family and his friends that Lee is at his most candid; most engaging; and most vulnerable. Over the past several years historian Elizabeth Brown Pryor has uncovered a rich trove of unpublished Lee materials that had been held in both private and public collections. Her new book; a unique blend of analysis; narrative; and historiography; presents dozens of these letters in their entirety; most by Lee but a few by family members. Each letter becomes a departure point for an essay that shows what the letter uniquely reveals about Lee’s time or character. The material covers all aspects of Lee’s life—his early years; West Point; his work as an engineer; his relationships with his children and his slaves; his decision to join the South; his thoughts on military strategy; and his disappointments after defeat in the Civil War. The result is perhaps the most intimate picture to date of Lee; one that deftly analyzes the meaning of his actions within the context of his personality; his relationships; and the social tenor of his times.