This is one of three books that I picked up to learn a little about William Tecumsah Sherman, the other two being The Soul of Battle by Victor Davis Hanson, and Grant and Sherman : the Friendship that Won the Civil War by Charles Bracelon Flood.

This is easily the least flattering. Since I am after all, reading to learn, I can't say which is the most accurate. This seems impressively documented, but Kennett himself says: "Two historians can defend diametrically views of the man, each armed with quotations by the general himself." (p.346) There are times when Kennett deals beautifully with this disparate evidence, and other times when I am completely unsatisfied with his arguments.

To take one example, where I can judge for myself, considered Sherman's promise Ellen Ewing: "Sherman has promised his intended that he will 'examine with an honest heart and a wish to believe, if possible,' the doctrines of the Catholic Church ... He will also look into the possibility of a civil career. Strictly speaking, neither of these promises is kept."

Kennett and I must have a different definition of "strictly". In the first place, Sherman agreed only to consider each choice, not to decided one way or the other. Sherman did in fact leave the military about three years after the marriage. He only returned to it after the Civil War drove him out of his job in Louisiana. As to the former, no-one can judge whether Sherman undertook his studies with "an honest heart and a wish to believe", but he apparently did undertake a study of doctrine and he and Ellen discussed the matter in several letters. He didn't show a great enthusiasm for either project, but the reason for the promises is that he wasn't naturally inclined to do either.

A small point, perhaps, but it makes me a bit more leery of accepting Kennett's other judgements. He generally portrays Sherman as inept, so I am puzzled when I read: "Hitchcock ... accords well with the judgements made by many others: "He impresses me as a man of power more than any other man I remember." (p.267). Kennett also relates the outpouring of grief at Sherman's death: huge crowds, people climbing light poles for a better view of the funeral procession, etc. So, how did such a lackluster man as Kennett portrays manage to fool most of the people (of the North, at least), most of the time? I know that others have done it, but given Sherman's lack of political skills, his feuds with the press, etc., how did he do it?

In considering Sherman's (in)famous Marches, Kennett seems to consider them only from the point of view of affecting civilian morale, but which he judges them a failure. I had usually heard them discussed in terms of destroying infrastructure, which is a different matter. I am a little surprised that he says little on the issue of the freedman, especially Stanton and Sherman's faceoff on the subject. Kennett judges Sherman's real actions against an ideal of "good" war; anyone judged against the ideal is bound to come up short. One wonders how well other "good" wars actually succeeded in not injuring civilians. He does, in the end, compare Sherman to other Union generals and find him to be not far out of line, although one could argue whether that elevates Sherman or damns the other generals. (pp.352-353).

Kennett does not go into great detail about battles, for which I personally am grateful. The highlights and the significance of the results is quite enough for me, especially in a biography. If I wanted all the details, I'd read military history.

In all, while I did learn a lot, I found the book a bit dull. I am also skeptical of posthumous psychology: in this case, Kennett's expert describes Sherman as a narcissist. This appears to be based in part on the "self-esteem" hypothesis, i.e., grandiosity as a cover for low self-esteem, which has been recently losing ground.

The notes are in a format that makes them easy to match with the citations. They are not always clear, however. I attempted and failed to find the source of a direct quote. There were numerous citations to a preceding reference, so perhaps it was mixed in with those, but I couldn't be sure. The index could have been a bit more thorough, and I always want a chronology.

There are 16 pages of plates and 6 maps. ( )