Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis As Commander in Chief - Hardcover

McPherson, James M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1594204977 ISBN 13: 9781594204975

Publisher: Penguin Pr, 2014

Synopsis

"From the Pulitzer Prize winningauthor of "Battle Cry of Freedom," a powerful new reckoning withJefferson Davis as military commander of the Confederacy" History has not been kind to Jefferson Davis. Hiscause went down in disastrous defeat and left theSouth impoverished for generations. If that causehad succeeded, it would have torn the UnitedStates in two and preserved the institution ofslavery. Many Americans in Davis s own time and inlater generations considered him an incompetentleader, if not a traitor. Not so, argues James M.McPherson. In "Embattled Rebel," McPherson shows usthat Davis might have been on the wrong side ofhistory, but it is too easy to diminish him because ofhis cause s failure. In order to understand the CivilWar and its outcome, it is essential to give Davis hisdue as a military leader and as the president of anaspiring Confederate nation. Davis did not make it easy on himself. Hissubordinates and enemies alike considered himdifficult, egotistical, and cold. He was gravely illthroughout much of the war, often working fromhome and even from his sickbed. Nonetheless, McPherson argues, Davis shaped and articulatedthe principal policy of the Confederacy with clarityand force: the quest for independent nationhood.Although he had not been a fire-breathingsecessionist, once he committed himself to aConfederate nation he never deviated from thisgoal. In a sense, Davis was the last Confederate leftstanding in 1865. As president of the Confederacy, Davis devotedmost of his waking hours to military strategy andoperations, along with Commander Robert E.Lee, and delegated the economic and diplomaticfunctions of strategy to his subordinates. Daviswas present on several battlefields with Lee andeven took part in some tactical planning; indeed, their close relationship stands as one of the greatmilitary-civilian partnerships in history. Most critical appraisals of Davis emphasizehis choices in and management of generals ratherthan his strategies, but no othe

About this title

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Review:

"North South" "Magazine"
"Superb... McPherson succeeds admirably in recreating the world of 1861-1865 as seen through the eyes of a Southern nationalist and ardent defender of the established social order, and provides readers with a more balanced view of Davis than that handed down by many of his contemporaries."
History Book Club:
"The first work to discretely consider Davis as head of his armies and navy... Crisply written, thoughtfully considered, and ultimately persuasive, "Embattled Rebel" is McPherson and biography at their best."
"The Washington Post"
"[A] fine study of Davis's military leadership....To this day it is difficult for many Americans to view Davis with dispassion, but McPherson has made a noble attempt to do so....Davis himself does not make that easy."
"Christian Science Monitor"
"Open minds are in short supply today, so it is refreshing that Civil War scholar and Pulitzer-winning author James M. McPherson has taken a fresh look at a subject with which is he eminently familiar: the life and times of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. With more than a dozen books about America's greatest crucible to his credit, the 78-year-old author is still challenging past postulations."
"North South" "Magazine"
"Superb... McPherson succeeds admirably in recreating the world of 1861-1865 as seen through the eyes of a Southern nationalist and ardent defender of the established social order, and provides readers with a more balanced view of Davis than that handed down by many of his contemporaries."
History Book Club:
"The first work to discretely consider Davis as head of his armies and navy... Crisply written, thoughtfully considered, and ultimately persuasive, "Embattled Rebel" is McPherson and biography at their best."

"The Wall Street Journal"
"Mr. McPherson...mounts a defense of Davis is provocative; the book in which he argues it is quietly persuasive.... Mr. McPherson covers a great deal of ground. And there is an economical grace to his prose that makes the book a lightning-quick but lingering read that will appeal not only to Civil War buffs but also to those curious about the Southern presidency and government."
"The Washington Post"
"[A] fine study of Davis's military leadership....To this day it is difficult for many Americans to view Davis with dispassion, but McPherson has made a noble attempt to do so....Davis himself does not make that easy."
"Christian Science Monitor"
"Open minds are in short supply today, so it is refreshing that Civil War scholar and Pulitzer-winning author James M. McPherson has taken a fresh look at a subject with which is he eminently familiar: the life and times of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. With more than a dozen books about America's greatest crucible to his credit, the 78-year-old author is still challenging past postulations."
"North South" "Magazine"
"Superb... McPherson succeeds admirably in recreating the world of 1861-1865 as seen through the eyes of a Southern nationalist and ardent defender of the established social order, and provides readers with a more balanced view of Davis than that handed down by many of his contemporaries."
History Book Club:
"The first work to discretely consider Davis as head of his armies and navy... Crisply written, thoughtfully considered, and ultimately persuasive, "Embattled Rebel" is McPherson and biography at their best."

"The New York Times Book Review: "
"The best concise book we have on the subject."
"The Wall Street Journal"
"Mr. McPherson...mounts a defense of Davis is provocative; the book in which he argues it is quietly persuasive.... Mr. McPherson covers a great deal of ground. And there is an economical grace to his prose that makes the book a lightning-quick but lingering read that will appeal not only to Civil War buffs but also to those curious about the Southern presidency and government."
"The Washington Post"
"[A] fine study of Davis's military leadership....To this day it is difficult for many Americans to view Davis with dispassion, but McPherson has made a noble attempt to do so....Davis himself does not make that easy."
"Christian Science Monitor"
"Open minds are in short supply today, so it is refreshing that Civil War scholar and Pulitzer-winning author James M. McPherson has taken a fresh look at a subject with which is he eminently familiar: the life and times of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. With more than a dozen books about America's greatest crucible to his credit, the 78-year-old author is still challenging past postulations."
"North South" "Magazine"
"Superb... McPherson succeeds admirably in recreating the world of 1861-1865 as seen through the eyes of a Southern nationalist and ardent defender of the established social order, and provides readers with a more balanced view of Davis than that handed down by many of his contemporaries."
History Book Club:
"The first work to discretely consider Davis as head of his armies and navy... Crisply written, thoughtfully considered, and ultimately persuasive, "Embattled Rebel" is McPherson and biography at their best."

"The New York Times Book Review: "
"The best concise book we have on the subject."
"The Wall Street Journal"
"Mr. McPherson...mounts a defense of Davis is provocative; the book in which he argues it is quietly persuasive.... Mr. McPherson covers a great deal of ground. And there is an economical grace to his prose that makes the book a lightning-quick but lingering read that will appeal not only to Civil War buffs but also to those curious about the Southern presidency and government."
"The Washington Post"
"[A] fine study of Davis's military leadership....To this day it is difficult for many Americans to view Davis with dispassion, but McPherson has made a noble attempt to do so....Davis himself does not make that easy."
"Christian Science Monitor"
"Open minds are in short supply today, so it is refreshing that Civil War scholar and Pulitzer-winning author James M. McPherson has taken a fresh look at a subject with which is he eminently familiar: the life and times of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. With more than a dozen books about America's greatest crucible to his credit, the 78-year-old author is still challenging past postulations."
"North South" "Magazine"
"Superb... McPherson succeeds admirably in recreating the world of 1861-1865 as seen through the eyes of a Southern nationalist and ardent defender of the established social order, and provides readers with a more balanced view of Davis than that handed down by many of his contemporaries."
History Book Club:
"The first work to discretely consider Davis as head of his armies and navy... Crisply written, thoughtfully considered, and ultimately persuasive, "Embattled Rebel" is McPherson and biography at their best."

"The New York Times Book Review: "
The best concise book we have on the subject.
"The Wall Street Journal"
Mr. McPherson mounts a defense of Davis is provocative; the book in which he argues it is quietly persuasive . Mr. McPherson covers a great deal of ground. And there is an economical grace to his prose that makes the book a lightning-quick but lingering read that will appeal not only to Civil War buffs but also to those curious about the Southern presidency and government.
"The Washington Post"
[A] fine study of Davis s military leadership .To this day it is difficult for many Americans to view Davis with dispassion, but McPherson has made a noble attempt to do so .Davis himself does not make that easy.
"Christian Science Monitor"
Open minds are in short supply today, so it is refreshing that Civil War scholar and Pulitzer-winning author James M. McPherson has taken a fresh look at a subject with which is he eminently familiar: the life and times of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. With more than a dozen books about America s greatest crucible to his credit, the 78-year-old author is still challenging past postulations.
"North South""Magazine"
Superb... McPherson succeeds admirably in recreating the world of 1861-1865 as seen through the eyes of a Southern nationalist and ardent defender of the established social order, and provides readers with a more balanced view of Davis than that handed down by many of his contemporaries."
History Book Club:
The first work to discretely consider Davis as head of his armies and navy... Crisply written, thoughtfully considered, and ultimately persuasive, "Embattled Rebel"is McPherson and biography at their best. "

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Pr
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1594204977
• ISBN 13: 9781594204975
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 301