Customer Reviews

Ranger Mosby

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have read Mosby's Memoirs, Mosby's Rangers and Rebel-The Life & Times of John Singleton Mosby. Ranger Mosby by Virgil C Jones is the best of the lot. An insight to the adventurous daring of Mosby and his men; an event in history never to be repeated by men of such daring and cunning skills. Required reading for every Civil War enthusiast.

I would suspect that this book never made it to the shelves of West Point. The West Point Generals in the Civil War (as well as Vietnam) just never understood Guerilla warfare. If Generals Lee and Westmoreland had only employed Mosby's techniques, we would have won both wars (I'm from Virginia). In reading the book from this point of view, it was a real "Fountainhead." Ranger Mosby was Roak in every sense of the word. He was daring, he persevered, and he endured. The book brought to life more than any other book I've read (including Cold Mountain) the excitement of that era.

The Marylanders: Without Shelter or a CrumbI read this book when I was in the third grade. It helped shape the good direction of my life. I had the pleasure of meeting Virgil Carrington Jones in Fairfax County, Virginia when he gave a talk about Col. Mosby. Mr. Jones is the modern incarnation of a scholar and a Southern gentleman. I give my strongest recommendation that you purchase it. His excellent work served as the inspiration for my book. In addition to what is told in my product review, my book details the activity of Maryland rangers and the Confederate underground during April of 1865 in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

I was totally amazed at the greatness and importance of Mosby. If only there were more men like him in the South! His valiant deeds extended the war (not that long wars are better) quite a bit, I think. This book shows you a new (at least not as well known) aspect of the Civil War. Those of you who love the South will find their hearts beating as Mosby makes his dashing raides behind Yankee lines. It is almost unbelievable! Get it, by all means.

I'm a Virginian, a lover of history, and for the most part hold Southern military leadership in great respect. I grew up in Northern Virginia and am familiar with many of the places described in "Ranger Mosby." This, and the memory of a college dorm mate who was a direct descendent of Mosby, piqued my interest.

Unfortunately, this book turned out to be a great disappointment--not because it was poorly crafted (I give it a C-), but because it's such lousy history. James provides little to no insight into Mosby's thinking or true character. Nor does he provide any historical context, insight, or investigation. For example, at the beginning of the book Jones tells us Mosby was not interested in secession. When Mosby changes his mind, there is virtually no explanation as to why. That could have made for worthwhile and thought provoking reading. Nor does Jones deal at all with the overriding issues or causes of the war. I'm not even convinced Jones provides an accurate (or complete) portrayal of Mosby's true impact on the course of the war.

Ultimately, I felt I was simply reading pep rally material for the Southern sympathizer. The story line is simple--Mosby is brilliant, brave, and gentlemanly while his Union opponents are foolish, arrogant, and helpless.

Mosby appears to have been a truly courageous, bold, and capable leader. In the end though, this book is a simple series of "rah rah" adventure stories for those who might wish the South had won the war but it provides little of historical value on Mosby the man or the Civil War in general.

I recommend you pass on this one.

As another reviewer mentioned, the telling of the Mosby story is done so awfully. I could not finish the book because I was not able to get into a rhythm (keep in mind I read about 3-4 books a month). Parts where you're expecting to have details he summarizes in broad strokes, meanwhile in other places pages and pages are spent on meaningless points.

I gave the book two stars because when the narrative is good (in a few places) it is very good and you learn some interesting facts. There are also some excellent photos/illustrations.

Other than that, I just got done watching a Civil War Journal episode done on Mosby and it pretty much summed up much more effectively what Virgil took about 300 pages doing. It doesn't look like there is a solid bio out there, other than his own memoirs. I should have started their in the first place.

I bought this book with great enthusiasm due to the reviews I read here. It has taken me three weeks to literaly "plow" through this disjointed and just plain difficult to follow narrative. The attemps at literary fluorish are constant distraction and hinder the reader's progress. This book is written as if someone simply took various accounts from other sources and cobbled them together with no idea how to make truly fascinating events into a readable story. There are areas where there is given painfully intricate detail in non-essential minutae and then where there could be benefit from detail there is only the briefest passing mention of important events. There has to be a better book on this.