Lee

A great read. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. And I read a lot of history

" Lee", an abridgement by Richard Harwell of Douglas Southall's classic four-volume biography. Robert E. Lee is best known for having been the commanding general of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during most of our Civil War. That sad fact underscores how badly our nation wasted the absolutely incredible talent and character and heart of Robert E. Lee. That fact, in turn, helps illuminate why Lee, after the War, was (and is) one of the very most revered, most admired, best-loved and most studied men in the entire 600 years or so of recorded History of the North American continent. Lee graduated from West Point as an engineer and Harwell presents the reader with enough of Lee's pre-War career assignments and accomplishments to realize that an upstart new nation perched on the edge of unprecedented expansion and The Industrial Age could have put Lee's talents to infinitely better use in a thousand different ways. To spend that treasure on four years of national self-mutilation was the height of the sinful imbecility and avarice that has so commonly characterized our Federal government. Perhaps the single most striking trait Lee exhibited during the War was his seemingly uncanny ability to come up with the right answer at (or even before) the right time. Probably thousands of people have expressed wonder at Lee's calmness -even serenity- during battles and campaigns - reverses, disasters, surprises, catastrophes and assorted crazy events notwithstanding. Harwell demonstrates over and over that Lee's "genius" had a lot more to do with the good sense to "do his homework", stay clear-eyed and to then make the right decisions for the right reasons than to any mystical power. Lee's post-War life - tragically far too brief - is the best testimony to Lee's character and heart. Lee looked forward for the South and for the nation. He focused on healing the country and, in remarkably stark contrast to nearly all other Civil War officers on both sides; he didn't "re-fight" the War or seek to capitalize on the fame of his service, or try to burnish his reputation by disparaging the others involved. He had the good sense and magnanimity to leave the War where it belonged - in the Past. His tenure as President of Washington University was spent working diligently to instill the ideals of honor and humility and service in the students because he believed the success of their Futures in the nation they were inheriting would be determined almost completely by their faithfulness to those basic ideals. Lee certainly had flaws and Harwell isn't bashful or apologetic in describing them. But that's good because it lets Lee be human when we meet him instead of some inscrutable, unapproachable demi-god from the hoary pages of Glory. Harwell (and presumably biographer Freeman) believes that the key to understanding this incredible person, Robert E. Lee, is to understand that Lee was always a man of Christian Faith, ideals and strong spiritual substance. In fact Harwell believes the essence of Lee was/is his simplicity and spirituality. He presents Lee's inner character and attitude as something of a "Pilgrim's Progress" study or, in today's parlance, a devoted WWJD personage, and makes convincing links between that and the Lee the world saw in action. The salient point is that Lee didn't wave the Christian banner nearly as much as he simply lived the Christian ideals and tried to emulate the life of his hero Jesus Christ.That likely explains why Lee was, and is, acclaimed - virtually around the entire World - as among the greatest people of the 19th Century. If you enjoy keeping splendid company, you'll be thrilled with Robert E. Lee. He may well truly be the best person you ever meet.

This biography of Robert E. Lee is actually an abridged version of the author’s original 1934 four volume work on the subject. Even stripped of footnotes, bibliographies and indexes, it is hard to imagine that there was almost 300% more material in the expanded work. This book certainly contained all of the information I needed on the life and work of Robert E. Lee.First, from a full disclosure standpoint, it should be noted that I attended Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia for my undergraduate degree, so I was somewhat familiar with the subject and favorably inclined as well. I have read dozens of books on the Civil War and the major participants, having recently read biographies of U. S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.The author of this biography was certainly a Lee fan, and regardless of your views on the causes and the justifications for the American Civil War, there is much about the character of Robert E. Lee to admire and emulate. Certainly, prior to the War, Lee was one of, if not the most highly regarded and accomplished soldiers in the American Army.As you might imagine, over two-thirds of the book cover the period of time between 1860 and 1865. It goes into great detail regarding the strategy and tactics of each troop movement over which Lee had authority. It does this through reference to small towns, names of roads, crossings and fords, yet the book contains only the most basic and rudimentary maps, infrequently situated and very scantily notated; in other words, of virtually no help whatsoever in visualizing or making sense of the pages and pages of descriptive text. These textual sections, of which there are dozens, which sometimes stretch for pages, are therefore rendered largely meaningless. In my case, this was not fatal, since I was largely familiar with most of the major battles and their development, but a Civil War novice would be largely handicapped by this absence of maps.Of particular interest to me were the early and late sections of the book, dealing with Lee’s years at West Point and in the Mexican-American War and then his years as President of what was then Washington College.While largely hagiographic, the author does point out a number of strategic and tactical errors made by Lee during his generalship of the Army of Northern Virginia and makes reference to criticism by others, though largely holding these to be poorly supported. All in all, a good, comprehensive biography of the life of Robert E. Lee, the only major complaint being the paucity of descriptive maps to support the referenced troop movements in the text.

I bought the book for myself. Very pleased with the book and as advertised.

If you want a single-volume biography on Robert E. Lee, Richard Harwell's abridgment of William Southall Freeman's four-volume Pulitzer-prize-winning biography is a pretty good place to start. It is an extremely readable, solid (did I mention the Pulitzer?) history that covers the significant events in Lee's life, and more importantly delves into some of the thinking of the reserved General as he made critical decisions as a commander. Oddly, in many ways, I came away as intrigued by the author Freeman as I was by the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Freeman, a leading proponent of the "Lost Cause" school of Civil War history, at times leaves history behind and slips into hagiography. However, as Freeman was the son of a confederate veteran, would one really have it any other way? As an abridgement, this volume lacks the details and footnotes that might add context for the serious historian, and it would be nice to have more maps. But then, if you really want that detail, go read the unabridged biography. Admittedly Feeman does write in a dated style, but that only adds to the fun. While Lee is portrayed as a great soldier and a gentleman in the finest traditions of the South, I came away thinking how nice it would be if one could have one last bourbon with Douglas Southall Freeman.

La monumentale biografia del gen. Lee scritta dal sempre piacevole D.S. Freeman viene qui riassunta, abilmente direi, da Richard Harwell.Purtroppo il libro è afflitto da scarsità di mappe , il che costringe il lettore a far ricorso ad altri testi (o alla propria memoria, che però può essere fallace - almeno nel mio caso) per seguire gli spostamenti degli eserciti.Purtroppo il buon D.S. Freeman è un pò troppo di parte, il gen. Lee viene piazzato su un altare, santificato dall'autore senza che vi sia mai una valutazione men che positiva del suo agire e questo modo di scrivere una biografia risulta piuttosto datato.

This is a lovely work of “fiction” by the son of a former CSA officer who grew up idolizing Lee and the old South. The book presents Lee as a god-like vision, perfect, incapable of error. Any shortcomings are ascribed to others. After all, the god-like Lee must rely on mere men to carry out his orders. The description of. The battle of Gettysburg is filled with inaccuracies and incorrect information, and subscribes to the now disproven notion that Longstreet was the cause of the Confederate loss.If you are looking for a factual account of RE Lee and the civil war, DO NOT read this book. If, however, you are well acquainted with the battles and wish to see how they were described by those who worshipped Lee, then this book provides insight into that story.

Second book I have picked up General Robert E. Lee and found a lot of similar information which is to be expected I guess, but none the less I still found this book worth the read.

Gift for a family member. They loved the book for its authoritative account and excellent details. Arrived quickly and in excellent condition.

well written and very knowledgeable