#1614511 in Books 1951 #File Name: B000M4ZUZO
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. What can I say- this book is simply the bestBy BookwormNo one can beat Dr. Freeman in research. He devoted his life to researching Virginia history. If you want to know the subjects Dr. Freeman writes about- read his books and you will feel you have actually met the individuals he writes about; whether it's Geo. Washington; R.E. Lee; A.P. Hill; Jeb Stuart and Stonewall Jackson (just to name a few) you will come away knowing more about them as people- not just icons of history.If there was a fan club for Dr. Freeman's books; I would want to be a member. He is truly one of the greatest historians ever!3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Great book; but not for the Civil War beginnerBy David H. EisenbergThis is a great book; and it is fine that it is abridged. Nothing essential is lost and the large volume will suffice everyone but three types - the professional scholar reading for those purposes; the truly obsessed amateur and those with pretensions of being one of the first two. However; if you are already well versed in the war and don't have to think about which one is A. P. and which one D. H. Hill; or wonder who this Toombs guy is; etc.; then you are going to love this and learn a whole bunch more.But; I do not recommend this book (and certainly not the unabridged volumes) for beginners or those casually interested in the Civil War. It just presumes too much knowledge for the beginner outside of the small area of the country in which Lee's Lieutenants fought. If you are a beginner; more general histories; probably many; should be read first. This is a blow by blow; battle by battle; officer by officer description and read first; not only would the beginner be lost; but also probably bored.Then again; for those who are already well read in it; but never satiated; this is cat-nip.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A Must Read on the cast of the CSABy 5/0"Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command" by Douglas S. Freeman and abridged by Stephen W. Sears Serious Civil War students; amateur Civil War aficionados and casual readers alike will find this to be a splendid work. The list of its' positive aspects is too long to enumerate here but of the many good things to be said of it for all classes of readers; there are a few that really stand out. The personalities of the Confederate leaders are shown to be "works in progress". That is a big improvement over so many writings that present the leaders as the same man at the end of the war as at the beginning. The struggles with changing leadership clear to the company levels and the negative impact of constant change in leadership at all levels give the reader a much more accurate sense of why things often went wrong - or right - in the field operations. The view of the Administrative side of the Confederate war efforts frees the reader from the tunnel-vision that so often misguides debates and assessments of leaders; battles and operations. Seeing the conditions and circumstances the leaders had to work within enables the reader to keep criticism or praise in a much truer and fairer perspective. The "sketches" of the leaders' personalities actually give the reader a more accurate measure than all the pseudo-in-depth analyses (and taint) usually found in the biographies written by the "armchair analysts" and politically correct types. It illustrates through the successes and failures of the leaders the astounding logistical complexity of warfare in that era. In all; it is a fascinating look at an incredible group of men - every one of them as human as you and I - involved in one of the most incredible series of events imaginable
