"The best and most balanced of the Lee biographies."—New York Review of Books
The life of Robert E. Lee is a story not of defeat but of triumph—triumph in clearing his family name, triumph in marrying properly, triumph over the mighty Mississippi in his work as an engineer, and triumph over all other military men to become the towering figure who commanded the Confederate army in the American Civil War. But late in life Lee confessed that he "was always wanting something."
In this probing and personal biography, Emory Thomas reveals more than the man himself did. Robert E. Lee has been, and continues to be, a symbol and hero in the American story. But in life, Thomas writes, Lee was both more and less than his legend. Here is the man behind the legend.
Thomas's thorough examination of Lee's life reveals more than the man did himself, allowing readers to find meaning in Lee's failures and successes. Lee was actually a man of little expressed passion for whom war was a release. His sense of duty and ability to push to a conclusion helped him rise to power and survive his inevitable defeat.
Report an error with this book