2 comments about General Wadsworth: The Life And Wars Of Brevet General James S. Wadsworth.

1. General Wadsworth: The Life And Times Of Brevet Major General James S. Wadsworth is an in-depth biography by American Civil War expert Wayne Mahood of New York politician, anti-slavery statesman, and Union General James S. Wadsworth. This was a man who despite his devotion to his wife and six children, was called to serve his country in the Civil War. Wadsworth paid for patriotism with his life and fell mortally wounded on the field of battle, eventually perishing in a Confederate field hospital. A dramatic, extensively detailed and captivating summary of a proud, courageous, and determined life well lived, General Wadsworth is an outstanding work and a welcome contribution to the growing library of Civil War Studies biographies, autobiographies and memoirs.



2. This excellent biography of James S. Wadsworth by Wayne Mahood is a striking example of how a detailed historical biography does not have to be dry and weighty. The book opens up with a marvelously dramatic retelling of the Wilderness battle, at which Wadsworth was mortally wounded while commanding the 4th Division of the V Corps, dying two days later.
   
   Wadsworth was born in New York in 1807. He studied for the law in Massachusetts, but spent most of his time managing his large property holdings in New York. He attended the Peace Conference in Washington in February 1861, and then served as a volunteer at First Manassas under Irvin McDowell. Promoted to Brigadier General, he became Military Governor of Washington for six months in 1862. In the fall of that year he ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York. Returning to the army, he saw action at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, occupying a portion of Culp's Hill throughout the Second and Third days of the latter battle. At the Wilderness in May 1864, he was ordered to attack Hill's exposed left through heavy underbrush, where he received his mortal wound.
   
   Mahood's account of Wadsworth's life and career is both scholarly and well written. Included are excellent battlefield maps and many illustrations. His notes are thorough. This book is a major contribution to Civil War biography/history and should be enjoyed by those interested in that subject.

5 comments about Man-Eaters of Tsavo.

1. The author gives the true account of the Tsavo Lions. He seems to downplay the story at times, but it makes for very interesting reading. The last 2/3 of the book are about his other hunting adventures while in Africa. Worth your time for sure.



2. "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" (also available in this edition The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (Peter Capstick Library Series)) is a fascinating book that tells of a time on the continent of Africa that is now long past. When the author, John H. Patterson, an engineer for the British Empire at the peak of its power, arrived in the southeastern African region of Tsavo, wild game, including dangerous, predatory man-eaters abounded with such profusion that a man armed with a rifle could sling up and shoot from virtually anywhere, for animals of all kinds densely populated the land. As an engineer in charge of planning and building the railroad and the necessary bridges, Patterson also had the responsibility of managing the workers, primarily Indians imported into Africa from India, their country also being under British rule at that time. Patterson's workers began to become unmanageable when huge, man-eating lions in the Tsavo region began eating the workers on a regular basis, somewhat dampening the coolies' enthusiasm for the already backbreaking job at which they toiled in brutal heat amidst vicious biting insects--though the prospect of the bite of the lions understandably troubled them more. Patterson's book is an enthralling, well-rounded account of his experience there and not merely a hunting tale.
   None of this life of relatively unrestrained high adventure could take place in today's Africa, which is dominated by third world dictators who, with the evil assistance of IANSA, heavily restrict the right to bear arms in general and hunting in particular. Anyone interested in this time period should read With the Judaeans in the Palestine Campaign and Warrior: The Legend Of Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen.
   The world of that time is long gone, as are most of the individuals of that type. More's the pity on both counts.
   The edition referred to here is an inexpensive paperback reprint with poor photographs.
   Had I known about the Capstick edition (see above) prior to ordering, I would have chosen it instead.
   Nevertheless, this "low budget" edition of "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" is well worth the read.
   But be warned: you'll want to read more stories like it when you finish . . . and you might even develop a yen to hunt large, dangerous, predatory, man-eating game in the long grass that grows in the vast silent places of what was once the "heart of darkness."



3. I read this book several years ago before purchasing it and thoroughly enjoyed the story of the lions of Tsavo. The historical account of the facts behind this story are fascinating. I purchased this book as a Christmas gift, and was very disappointed with the paper stock on which it was printed. Had I seen this book in a store I would not have purchased this edition because the paper and printing reproduction are of such poor quality. If I didn't need it for a Christmas gift, I would have returned the item.



4. A fascinating snapshot in a small hiccup in the giant that was the British Empire. "Progress" is stopped by two lions who have developed an appetite for tender meat. Patterson is an engineer and really not a hunter. Nevertheless, he struggles manfully and heroically to protect his workmen and advance the empire.
   
   He's ultimately successful but not without failures. Despite his impressive efforts, the lions devour Indian workers, native tribesmen and even Europeans. Clearly these cats aren't racist. Everything is turned into lion scat.
   
   Perhaps "Maneaters" isn't the best-written book in the world but it is documentation of a world long past and to the courage and endurance of a very brave man.
   
   Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Conquest of Mexico



5. Excellent book about actuall events in the late 1800's of a British Officer in Africa. The events with the two man-eating lions represents a small portion of the adventures of Patterson.

4 comments about Jackson's Way: Andrew Jackson and the People of the Western Waters.

1. Jack Buchanan is a great writer! I was enthralled by this book from the moment 15 year-old Andrew Jackson swept onto the page. Buchanan brings to life the saga of the Old Southwest and the American pioneers. The most interesting element of the book is the portrait you get of Andrew Jackson, who was so loved men voted for him fifty years after his death. Anyone interested in the Presidents or the history of the Old Southwest will want to read this book.



2. The reader gets two stories for the price of one in "Jackson's Way." The first 150 pages tell the story of America's expansion West to the Mississippi River with objective and rich detail about the conflict and trials of both settlers and Indians, but little about Andrew Jackson. The book is also a good balance between modern apologists and proponents of manifest destiny. The second story describes Andrew Jackson the soldier and general, mostly Andrew Jackson the consummate leader. I can list with the fingers on one hand the really good books about leadership, this book fits in that count. If you're tired of sniveling and self serving politicians and generals driven more by bureaucracy and pomp than fighting skill and tired of selfish chief executive officers raking in million dollar stock options while laying off thousands of workers without adequate severance compensation then meet Andrew Jackson as described by author John Buchanan. If you teach history and want to see students sitting on the edge of their seats instead of falling asleep then this book is for you too. The story describes in detail battles in the Mississippi River watershed during the war of 1812 culminating with the Battle for New Orleans (1814-15) when we whupped the British tail. Buchanan describes Jackson's leadership traits in a way that readers in virtually any profession can relate.



3. John Buchanan has written a most interesting book. Spanning the thirty year period 1780-1810 he covers a time of great uncertainty about just what to do with the existing and projected geographical definition of the fledgling United States. Aaron Burr was not the only person to think in terms of separation. Today, driving on Interstate Highways at 70 MPH through the Appalachian Mountains, it is difficult for us to understand just what an impenetrable barrier these mountains really were. No less a figure than Thomas Jefferson thought "whether we remain one confederacy or form into Atlantic and Mississippi confederacies I believe not very important to the happiness of either part."

   No wonder then that the people of the west, as the west was then defined, drew so closely together and became such an interdependent, insular block. Surrounded by enemies (Great Britain on the North, Spain to the South and West and indifference from their own countrymen to the East), land locked with no natural outlet for their goods and agricultural products and at constant war with Native Americans, this, the fastest growing segment of the US population, was threatened with extinction. Thus, the setting was a tinder box with a truly separate people ready for that particular leader whose interests were not just aligned with but also coincident with their own.

   Andrew Jackson was such a man. This is a story of survival, a story of great personal courage, of a very independent people who hacked their homes and way of life out of a true wilderness. It is a story of how the foundations of the Jacksonian Era were so firmly laid that the 34 year history of the Virginia Dynasty was so completely crushed in American politics that it never resurrected. An oft overlooked, misunderstood or just plain ignored segment of American history, these thirty years in the west were pivotal to the development of early America. Andrew Jackson was truly THE man, a most amazing force to be reckoned with, and an American to the very core of his soul.




4. For someone so supportive of Jackson, his policies and actions (even when Buchanan himself deems them "going too far"), Buchanan fails to support his arguments. Clearly the author is enamored with the former President. Even during his military career when Jackson frequently disobeyed orders or followed his own code of conduct, Buchanan argues that he has sufficient reason for doing so and his actions were justified. But where is the evidence? By arguing that the Monroe administration was acting covertly to takeover the Floridas, he fails to cite from where he gets such information. There are no references to Monroe's history.
   Buchanan has done his homework when discussing Jackson. He cites Jackson's papers and other credible biographies. He gives a well-rounded picture of the life and hardships Jackson endured and how electrifying his personality must have been. However, Buchanan goes a tad too far in arguing that Jackson, even when he broke the law, seized sovereign territory, killed two foreign residents, etc. was acting justly or on behalf of the administration where there is only evidence that he acted on his own accord. If those arguments are to be deemed credible in their own right, Buchanan needs to provide ample evidence that supports Jackson's seemingly arrogant decision-making process. He may have done his homework for Jackson, but the basis of his arguments seem based solely on his admiration for the man and not on historical facts or opinions of those present in that time. In other words, he acknowledges that there are those who call Jackson an Indian-hater or say he wanted to govern as a military dictator (ex. Napoleon), but fails to discredit those notions.

No comments about Reluctant Witness: Memoirs from the Last Year of the European Air War 1944-45.

5 comments about The COMPANY THEY KEEP.

1. Anna Simons, a Harvard-trained anthropologist, studies the dynamics of the U. S. Army Special Forces in THE COMPANY THEY KEEP. And she gets it totally right. This is one of the finest books written about Special Forces, the U. S. Army, and the role of the officer/NCO relationship in the American Armed Forces.

   "The third Special Forces soldier I met I would up marrying." That's the hook for the book's Prologue. Given almost unlimited access to 3rd SF Group over an 18 month period. We see the team rooms, patrol bases, Q Course, the plain hard work that goes into training, analyzed from a professional outsider's point of view.

   And Simons gets it right -- she joins the select group of outsiders -- Ward Just, Maureen Mylander, Mark Bowden, Rick Atkinson, among others -- who really understand the American military.




2. Very detailed and good book, but definitely written by an outsider. I read it quickly and it moves nicely. There are better books if you are looking to be a soilder, but there are certainly worse. If you are really interested on the anthropology than this is for you.



3. Great Book explores all aspects of the life of Special Forces folk from the myth that surrods them to the reality that is SF. Great read,one will not put the book down until it is finished.



4. They all sound alike. Gee, a military-hater claiming that the author is biased while using multiple uninformative, anonymous reviews to try to run the book down? How original is that?
   
   Anyway, I read this book when it was new. It is not about combat stories or Rambo wannbes are anything like that. It is the story of one woman's quest to better understand her husband. It succeeds quite well at that.
   
   Inadvertantly, she reveals how far the current SF guys have fallen from the original high standards and how much their mission had changed by the time of the writing. (They and their new missions have changed just as much since this was published as they have become even the step-and-fetchits of the State Department and feel-goodism.) Instead of the level of excellence that the SF founders were (let's face it, most of those guys had 5-10 years of actual combat experience hundreds of miles behind enemy lines in occupied Europe before their ever was a SF)or the shake-and-bakes that were created to expand SF and replace casualties from 1964-65 or so onward. These guys are modern Americans in every sense.
   
   Her descriptions of them reveal that they are flawed with all of the same shortcomings that characterize today's society from which they come. They frequently lack the age of experience that made the old SF what it was. They typically come through the Airborne/Ranger "Super Soldier" pipeline. They are still Type A personalities; some of them not-so tempered, either. And they are still very bright fast-learners.
   
   Their standards are about what should be the minimum for a professional soldier. And that is what puts them so far ahead of anybody's average and makes them "elite" in comparison to the others. They are soldiers while the masses are just that, masses of uniform fillers.
   
   Since this book was published the guys at SF have been adapting to new wrinkles on old missions. They still get more than their share of Ranger-type assignments; but they are getting to interact more with indigenious people than they were. They aren't training guerilla forces as stay-behinds against to harass the invading Red Army in Europe. And a lot of other units are also training people and attempting to engage them in constructive ways. With their relatively recent popularity (since the formation the joint special warfare command structure and the realization among the promotion-hungry types that in SOF is where they want to do their hiding behind "authority" and beneath desks act)come unrealistic expectations and delibitating interference as everyone wants to take credit for success.
   
   Other things remain the same; changing only when they become worse. The strains of constant deployment upon the dream of having a family have always been difficult for any military; but it isn't as "easy" for today's guys to find understanding and supporting mates. Emails and videos home may not be too difficult for a REMF in a walled compound with electricity, mattresses, DVD players and refrigerators; but what about the guy humping the mountains on foot for weeks or months at a time with 180-200 pounds of mission essential equipment?
   
   But as much as the SF mission changes and as much as it's practicioners reflect the ever-changing society from which they are drawn; one thing remains constant: SF guys have to better than most and able to accomplish a greater variety of missions in a greater variety of roles with less support and more responsibilty and, ususally, more criticism. I'm willing to bet that you will find guys in today's SF who are just like the guys in her book.
   
   In my opinion, that speaks well for the it.



5. The motto of Special Forces translates out to "Liberate The Oppressed" that is what they do. It isn't just about going in blowing something up and leaving. It is about providing medical care for the indigenous peoples, building infrastructure, and helping them achieve better lives as a means of Warfare. While the general military is about winning battles these guys (sorry but it is still and all male unit)are winning friends while defeating our enemies behind their own lines. Some of the finest individuals I have ever met wore the Beret. This book gives a much clearer picture than most that I have read.

No comments about Marching with Sherman: Passages from the Letters and Campaign Diaries of Henry Hitchcock, Major and Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers, November 1864-May 1865.

1 comments about The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War series, Volume 18: 1 November 1778-14 January 1779 (Papers of George Washington).

1. The entire series of George Washington papers is excellent and this volume is among the best.

No comments about First Love: A Fighter Pilot in Korea Memoirs and Love of Flying.

No comments about Patriots and Heroes: True Stories of the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II, Vol. 2.

2 comments about Death of a Nation: The Story of Lee and His Men at Gettysburg.

1. This book reads easily, and manages to give the reader not only a clear picture of the three days at Gettysburg, but also probes into the commanders and their personalities and decisions. The book not only tells of what happened during the battle, but also what was "supposed" to happen and didn't. It goes into the personalities of such generals as Ewell and Longstreet and how they affected the outcome of key engagements and eventually the entire battle itself. Lee's abilities, and short-comings, is shown, and also his frustrations with the shrinking numbers of good Confederate commanders. All in all, if you've never read about Gettysburg, or if you've read extensively about it, this book is as enjoyable as it is informative.



2. This is the story of Gettysburg, from the Confederate viewpoint. The author conducts a searching examination for the reasons for the defeat of the Army of Northern Virginia and examines the behavior of many confederate participants. His central thesis is that Lee lost because a) inferior battlefield commanders were available to Lee in the execution of his battle plan and b) subordinates failed to execute either adequately or promptly.
   
   Who was actually at fault has always been a hotly contested debate: Early, Heath, Longstreet, Ewell? All are evaluated and found wanting. But the key figure, Lee, appears to have never been considered. No matter. This is a remarkably well written description of this battle. It is a very good work. Clear, crisp, very descriptive and concise, the writing is quite engaging. Despite the scapegoating, this has to remain one of the seminal works on this battle.
   
   Is it possible the Yankees were actually that good? The idea apparently never enters the author's mind, but again, no matter. Clifford Dowdey does everyone a serious service; this is one of the better Gettysburg accounts, if not the best, you will find anywhere.