American General: The Life and Times of William Tecumseh Sherman

摘要

American General is not a great book, but it is a good book. Published posthumously (John Eisenhower, Ike's son, died in December 2013, at 91), this is a fairly standard biography of William T. Sherman, containing no surprises or new insights. Although it's billed as Sherman's "life and times," only 30 pages are devoted to his pre-Civil War life, and barely 22 pages cover his postwar career. The general's role in the Indian Wars, for instance, deserves much more scrutiny than provided in the scant few pages allocated here. Eisenhower's well-written narrative does not depart from the generally accepted story line of Sherman's role in the Civil War: Idiosyncratic, opinionated and careless of his appearance, Sherman was Ulysses S. Grant's confidant and trusted subordinate, a professional who understood the necessity of waging Industrial Age warfare in order to defeat a nation-in-arms, and ruthlessly prosecuted a "hellish" conflict, gutting the Confederacy's heart in order to assure Union victory. This book does not leave behind that well-known narrative.