Customer Reviews

Jefferson Davis, Unconquerable Heart (SHADES OF BLUE & GRAY)

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Felicity Allen's recent biography, Jefferson Davis, Unconquerable Heart, transcends mere history. Such a sensitive and comprehensive work, therefore, may perplex the hardened historian, who is often pleased only with cold chronological facts that fit comfortably into his own predispositions. Allen's intricately documented work has the touch of a true poet who deftly and profoundly reveals not only the heart and soul of a great (and often misunderstood) American but also a way of life gone forever.

No scholar can fail to appreciate Allen's exhaustive research,, nor any layman fail to be amazed at her mass of fact and significant detail. But if fact is the body and bone of biography, truth is its revelation. And this is the outstanding accomplishment of Felicity Allen: she has recovered the heart and soul of an honorable and courageous American patriot who thought and fought and fell with his young nation.

Oxford Stroud

What Mrs. Allen succeeds so brilliantly at is showing the human side of the man. I must admit that I was no fan of Jefferson Davis in his role as the President of the CSA. However, thanks to Mrs. Allen, I was able to see him in a much different light - as an American patriot and a human being. In the passions that colour anything dealing with the War of Northern Aggression, it is sometimes difficult to remember that everyone involved had a life before that tragic conflict. I can't help but be grateful for the way in which Mrs. Allen brought that point home in her book. While I will still take issue with many of his wartime decisions, I can't help but be proud that our nation produced a man like Jefferson Davis. Thanks for the insight and the education Mrs. Allen!

This is a good book to read for anyone wanting to see how a good man dealt with adversity. Allen places much emphasis upon Davis' Christian faith, and how it helped him to be the sort of man who can be worthily imitated. The book also contains a goodly amount of historical information which is not commonly known. It could have used some tighter editing, as there were a few points where I was not quite sure about whom Allen was writing, and had to go back and re-read the paragraph, but, all in all, I was both informed and edified by this book. About the review by Kirkus, I can only conclude that that reviewer is an anti-Christian, anti-Southern bigot, as he obviously had already decided about the book before reading it.

Since becoming interested in the 19th Century, and the oasis of information concerning that time period, I'm still baffled as to why the 21st Century historian cannot understand the greatness of men like Jefferson Davis. All the modern historian can do is point out cultural problems of times past (slavery: as if the South was the only place on earth that had them). After reading the standard review from Amazon, I had to chime in on this great book. I've read William J. Cooper's Jefferson Davis as well as Jefferson Davis himself. Is it not interesting that modern day Jefferson Davis antagonists' (Just read James Mcpherson's preface in 'The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government") can only talk of slavery, as if this is the only motivating factor which drove J. Davis to become a relunctant secessionist, while ignoring our own cultural problems that are far worse and grandiose in scope. Modern day/ post-modern historians cannot grasp the larger picture of history. Their worldview does not allow for such truth gazing. F. Allen does a supurb job of showing us a Davis who was triumphant, depressed,ultimately defeated, caring for Negros, and a dedicated Episcopalian who knew who his Saviour was. Many of J. Davis' associates supported gradual emancipation (Bishop Meade of Va and Bishop Leonidas Polk) as to help assimulate the Negro into society. The Northern invasion of the South precluded any such cultural assimilation to take place. Read this book- It is partisan, but isn't every historian coming to work the task of history with his/her presuppositions? F. Allen is not ashamed of this and her logical conclusions about the man and his times is as accurate as a historian can get. Cheers for independent scholars who have not abdicated the task of passing story to fellow countrymen!