Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson - Hardcover

Gwynne, S. C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1451673280 ISBN 13: 9781451673289

Publisher: Scribner, 2014

Synopsis

From the author of the prize-winning New York Times bestseller Empire of the Summer Moon comes a thrilling account of how Civil War general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson became a great and tragic American hero.

Stonewall Jackson has long been a figure of legend and romance. As much as any person in the Confederate pantheon, even Robert E. Lee, he embodies the romantic Southern notion of the virtuous lost cause. Jackson is also considered, without argument, one of our country's greatest military figures. His brilliance at the art of war tied Abraham Lincoln and the Union high command in knots and threatened the ultimate success of the Union armies. Jackson's strategic innovations shattered the conventional wisdom of how war was waged; he was so far ahead of his time that his techniques would be studied generations into the future.

In April 1862 Jackson was merely another Confederate general in an army fighting what seemed to be a losing cause. By June he had engineered perhaps the greatest military campaign in American history and was one of the most famous men in the Western world. He had, moreover, given the Confederate cause what it had recently lacked--hope--and struck fear into the hearts of the Union.

Rebel Yell is written with the swiftly vivid narrative that is Gwynne's hallmark and is rich with battle lore, biographical detail, and intense conflict between historical figures. Gwynne delves deep into Jackson's private life, including the loss of his young beloved first wife and his regimented personal habits. It traces Jackson's brilliant twenty-four-month career in the Civil War, the period that encompasses his rise from obscurity to fame and legend; his stunning effect on the course of the war itself; and his tragic death, which caused both North and South to grieve the loss of a remarkable American hero.

About this title

Review:

"With the reporter's eye for the revealing vignette and the story-teller's ear for the rhythm of human striving, S. C. Gwynne gives us a beautifully penetrating account of the meteoric rise and tragic death of the most legendary of Civil War soldiers."--H. W. Brands, author of The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace

"The great tragedy of modern historiography is that more historians don't write like S.C. Gwynne. In this book on Stonewall Jackson's Civil War career, Gwynne has fashioned a fast-paced narrative of a man complex and enigmatic, awkward and exceptional. Gwynne has taken on a giant figure of quirks and brilliance who demands both restraint and a facile pen, and he delivers in vivid form."--John Hennessy, author of First Battle of Manassas: An End To Innocence and Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas

"Rebel Yell breathes contemporary insight and fresh energy into the life of an authentic American legend. In this crackling narrative, S.C. Gwynne gives us the bold tactics, the eccentric thinking, and the wicked genius of one of history's most brilliant--and unconventional--military minds."--Hampton Sides, author of Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West and In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette

"Powerfully told, richly detailed, but also deeply human in timeless ways, Rebel Yell unmasks Gen. Stonewall Jackson, one of American history's most enduring legends (and yet most private of men). This is history at its best."--Michael Duffy, co-author of The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity

"Rebel Yell is the best biography of Stonewall Jackson I have ever read. The scholarship is exemplary, the narrative riveting and richly textured. With a rare combination of unflinching objectivity and genuine compassion, Rebel Yell unraveled for me the enigma of Stonewall Jackson. A magnificent achievement, Rebel Yell represents a milestone in Civil War literature."--Peter Cozzens, author of Shenandoah 1862: Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign

"In Rebel Yell, Mr. Gwynne's easy, loping style wraps itself effortlessly around the particulars of Stonewall Jackson's life, from his back-of-the-mountain upbringing to the outburst of military genius in the Civil War. The result is a narrative vivid with detail and insight."--Wall Street Journal

"In the magnificent Rebel Yell, one of the year's best biographies, writer S.C. Gwynne brings Jackson ferociously to life... His battle scenes are marvels of description and kinetic action. [He] brings a deep humanity to his portrayals of Jackson, his fellow Confederate generals and their Union adversaries... Gwynne's pages fly by, brimming with excitement and terror."--Newsday

"Gwynne stirringly recreates the bloody, error-plagued battles of the early war and argues that Jackson's legend galvanized the South, outmanned and outgunned, to keep fighting."--New Yorker

"An engaging narrative with a pace that never flags... Gwynne accomplishes a great deal in his clear and highly readable book... If you read everything about the Civil War -- or if you have read very little about the Civil War -- Rebel Yell is an excellent addition to your reading list."--Huffington Post

"I've reviewed many books on the Civil War, and this is far and away the best biography of a Civil War general that I've read... If you're a Civil War buff -- as I am -- or if you're just interested in wonderful biographies -- as I am -- Rebel Yell is a must-read book. It reads like a novel, but it's based on extensive beyond belief research."--Huntington News

About the Author:

S.C. Gwynne is the author of Hymns of the Republic and the New York Times bestsellers Rebel Yell and Empire of the Summer Moon, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He spent most of his career as a journalist, including stints with Time as bureau chief, national correspondent, and senior editor, and with Texas Monthly as executive editor. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1451673280
• ISBN 13: 9781451673289
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 672