Fierce Patriot

May 5, 2014
Considered by various contemporaries to be insane, ruthless, and brilliant, William Tecumseh Sherman is a hard man to pin down. Here, O’Connell (The Ghosts of Cannae) expresses his concerns about unreadable academic histories and shallow popular histories by journalists “who often lack the background to see deep trends and long-term causation,” and instead focuses on Sherman as a strategist, soldier, and family man. However, the relationships O’Connell draws between activities in Sherman’s life feel forced, as with his likening military strategy to surfing: “Big waves and battle leave little room for piggishness.” Similarly, O’Connell employs rather idiosyncratic imagery, noting that Sherman was a “visual vacuum cleaner,” and that he and his wife were “mated like geese.” This manner of shaking the dust off Sherman’s story distracts from the portrait that O’Connell builds. Details like Sherman’s involvement with the discovery of gold in California in 1849, his genuine heartbreak when the South seceded, and even his apparent blindness to the horrors of slavery seem overshadowed by the writer’s techniques. O’Connell’s delivery of Sherman’s story is frustrating, especially because of the richness of the subject.

May 15, 2014
An admiring triptych of the Civil War hero-or villain, depending on your loyalties-popular cultural figure and family man.Military history scholar O'Connell (The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic, 2010) does not discover a lot about William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) that he doesn't like. He divides his text into three major sections. The first, and by far the longest, begins with the arrival of the 16-year-old Sherman at West Point in 1836 ("he was beginning a process that would induct him into a warrior elite, forging bonds that would last a lifetime") and follows him to the end of the Civil War. In the second section, O'Connell focuses on Sherman's relationships with his men and on his soldiering. We hear (as we do in the first section) about his men's restraint during the March to the Sea through Georgia and the Carolinas. Sure, they burned houses and scavenged food and supplies, but they didn't rape or murder anyone. The final section of the triptych chronicles Sherman's family life: the early death of his father; his foster family (the politically powerful Ewings); his marriage to his foster sister, Ellen; his children (one son became a priest, a decision that angered Sherman); and his lovers (among them, sculptor Vinnie Ream). The author shows us a garrulous Sherman, a man who had difficulties in his banking career, a highly skilled administrator, a fearless leader, a man who bonded with Ulysses Grant (their relationship cooled when Grant pursued the presidency), and a leader who loved the adulation he enjoyed throughout his post-Civil War days-from his former soldiers and the general public.Although O'Connell excuses Sherman's excesses-he was the man we wanted, after all-he does show us his humanity with impressive clarity.

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February 1, 2014

In time for the 150th anniversary of G. William Tecumseh Sherman's iconic and inexorable march through the South, nationally best-selling author O'Connell (The Ghosts of Cannae) offers a biography that presents Sherman as implacable military strategist, revered leader of the Army of the West (he made the transcontinental railroad possible postwar), and family man facing a contentious wife. Billed as revisionist biography; pushed back from May 2014.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2014
Sherman remains one of the most celebrated and controversial military icons in American history. Adored by his Union troops during the Civil War as Uncle Billy, he was despised by Southerners as the monster who mercilessly waged war upon the civilian population in Georgia and the Carolinas. Praised by some for his effective campaigns against the Plains Indians, he was condemned by others as a proponent of genocide. O'Connell, an author, analyst, and professor of history, views Sherman's controversial legacy as a reflection of the contradictions and complexities within his character. By nature and inclination, he despised the pretensions and affectations of the wealthy, but he mixed with them freely and aspired to match their financial success. He claimed to hate politicians and journalists, yet he talked incessantly in their presence, and his off-the-cuff remarks often served to distort his true views. Despite the apparently wanton destruction of Sherman's March, he actually kept tight discipline over his troops. This is a well-written and revealing reexamination of the character and career of an undeniably great American.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)