Thomas Nelson Publishing Company has released a series called The Generals, biographies of the great generals of American history. Several months ago, I read and reviewed Lee: A Life of Virtue.
I loved it. So when I had the chance to read and review another book in this series, I jumped at it.
This time around, I read Sherman: The Ruthless Victor. Again, I loved it. However, I have to say that I’m not a big fan of William Tecumseh Sherman.
Sherman was one of the first to implement the concept of “total war”, the goal being to leave your opponent unable to continue to fight. Early warfare was structured, armies facing each other across a field of battle, visible to one another. During the Revolutionary War, that started to change, as American colonists adopted native American methods of fighting.
By the time of the Civil War, this was becoming more accepted in war. But Sherman, along with Grant and a few others, began to take this concept one step farther: Not only did they use concealment as they fought; they attempted to annihilate the enemy’s ability to fight back. This meant destroying supply lines, ammunition stores, factories and industry, and anything else that would enable the enemy to continue to wage war.
Sherman took this too far by destroying homes and possessions that didn’t fit into this criteria.
While I’m not a fan of Sherman, I did love the book. It was well written and very informative. It was definitely worth reading. If you are a history buff, especially of the Civil War era, I suggest you pick up a copy and read it. You won’t be able to put it down.
Who is your favorite American general? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
If you are interested in reading the Sherman: The Ruthless Victor, by Agostino Von Hassell and Ed Breslin, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.
Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“
My favourite American general is Douglas MacArthur because of his role in saving Australia from the Japanese. MacArthur had to do this against incredible odds with limited forces. He had to change the whole strategy against the Japanese in New Guinea. While Curtin is widely regarded as a hero in Australia, he apparently supported the ‘Brisbane line’. MacArthur had absolutely no time for this kind of defeatism and actually got rid of it! He is certainly a general very close to my heart.
Thanks for sharing that! I’ve never read much on MacArthur. I’ll have to check into getting something on him to read. Thanks!