Thomas F. (hardtack) -
I wrote a long review here, several long paragraphs worth, then the site hiccuped and I lost it all. I'm not in the mood right now to do it again. Sigh!
Lets just say I mostly viewed the book favorably, but that you probably shouldn't believe everything you read in it. This is because sometimes the author over-reaches to "prove" his point. He also persists in a number of cases of speculating "What ifs" that had a very slight possibility of happening.
Two good examples: He credits the North Carolina soldiers as being called "Tar Heels," due to some praise from Robert E. Lee. A quick trip to the Wikipedia page on "Tar Heels" proves the term was applied to people from that state long before the Civil War. Plus, the Battle of Olustee wasn't fought in an "open area" but in an open pine forest. While these are minor points, he makes many of them.
The value of the book is it introduces 50 Civil War personalities which might capture the reader's attention to investigate further. In many cases there are entire books written about the people he gives just several pages to in this book.
Lets just say I mostly viewed the book favorably, but that you probably shouldn't believe everything you read in it. This is because sometimes the author over-reaches to "prove" his point. He also persists in a number of cases of speculating "What ifs" that had a very slight possibility of happening.
Two good examples: He credits the North Carolina soldiers as being called "Tar Heels," due to some praise from Robert E. Lee. A quick trip to the Wikipedia page on "Tar Heels" proves the term was applied to people from that state long before the Civil War. Plus, the Battle of Olustee wasn't fought in an "open area" but in an open pine forest. While these are minor points, he makes many of them.
The value of the book is it introduces 50 Civil War personalities which might capture the reader's attention to investigate further. In many cases there are entire books written about the people he gives just several pages to in this book.
