Sherman, The Ruthless Victor by Agostino Von Hassell and Ed Breslin
ISBN: 978-1595551337 (hardback)
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Retail: $19.99
ISBN: 978-1595551337 (hardback)
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Retail: $19.99
Ruthless and downright heartless is what I learned Sherman to be in history classes. However, that was always limited to his involvement in the Civil War, specifically Sherman’s March to the Sea. Van Hasselll and Breslin try to give a glimpse into the life of Sherman before the Civil War and show how that life affected his actions and after.
The book itself was not a chore to read but there were occasions when the writing style was inconsistent. In chapter 5, long after we have been introduced to the Ewings (Sherman’s foster family) we are then given the information that many Ewings went by nicknames. At no point earlier had this information been supplied and seemed out of place. Many times in the beginning years the author(s) make comments and give information about Sherman’s life as it would be many years later, and then add that he wouldn’t come upon that for x amount of years. I felt that they could have left the ‘giveaways’ out and just continued with the story.
I did enjoy how the author incorporated the events that took place although they didn’t directly affect Sherman (because actually almost all the references did indeed affect him), or he was not directly involved with them. Names of historic individuals help me to make the biography more concrete (since I have heard many of the names before- such as Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and William Henry Harrison) and not just a ‘story’.
I am very interested to read some of the books included in the bibliography because I would like to know how conclusions were come to- such as Sherman’s aversion to being a foster child of the Ewings’ among other things. There were definitely aspects of his life that I was unaware of as well as his personality.
The book was done well enough and I am looking forward to reading more of The General Series. I have also read Patton and Lee of the series and enjoyed them. *I received this book free in exchange for an honest review- no compensation was given.*
Interesting! I live in the Deep South,and Sherman is not a favorite of mine. :-) But he did his job well. I saw a one-page magazine ad a few years ago that featured a photo of the Atlanta skyline at night and the words, "Hey, Sherman! Nah, nah, na, nah, naaaah!"
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out the writers' need for a good editor. The very problems you highlighted are the kind that drive me nuts when I'm reading.