Customer Reviews

Robert E. Lee (Penguin Lives)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Several generals of the American Civil war are enigmas, to various extents. Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson, for instance, is very difficult to read, because he left so little in the way of letters or whatever that tell you anything of what he was thinking. Robert E. Lee was equally close-mouthed about this sort of thing, and amazingly stiff and standoffish with most male acquaintances and friends, to boot. The result is that we know very little of what he thought or felt about a variety of things, and must piece together opinions from various sources.

So it was with some trepidation that I approached the Penguin Lives version of Robert E. Lee. These are intended to be very short biographies: sketches rather than anything detailed. In addition to the fact that it's a short book, the series editor took a chance and commissioned Roy Blount Jr. to write the book. Blount is a Southerner (though he lives mostly in the North now) who writes newspaper columns and books, and is generally what's called a humorist. He also appears on the radio. This is (as far as I know) his first venture into real non-fiction (as opposed to funny stuff that's based on reality) and I'll admit I was some what curious and a bit apprehensive as to what he would do with the book. I needn't have worried.

Blount is an accomplished writer (obviously) and does a good job of outlining Lee's life and career. He's also a Southerner, and understands the mystic attachment people of the south have for their culture and society, and recreates what things must have been like for Lee in the mid-19th century. The military aspects of Lee's life are dealt with only in outline (as you would expect in a book with ca. 170 pages of text, but they're explained in enough detail that you get the gist of what's happening. There's a fair amount of information on Lee's life, little of it new, but much of interpreted in a fashion different at least in nuance from previous biographers.

Unusually, Blount relegates his speculation about Lee, his character, and such things as his sexuality, to an appendix labeled "Speculation." This is very unusual in a biography, and I would encourage other writers to use a similar device. While I didn't agree with every one of Blount's judgments, I could see how he came to the conclusions, anyway. On that note, I enjoyed the book a great deal, and think it valuable, in spite of its small size.

This is the fourth Penguin Lives title I've read (the other three being Auchincloss on Wilson, Keegan on Churchill, and Johnson on Napoleon), and for pure biography, this one is the best of the four. Other reviewers who criticize the relative superficiality of Blount's analysis need to recognize that the Penguin Lives are not intended to be comprehensive, ground-breaking studies. That just couldn't be done in under 200 pages.

No, these books -- essays, almost -- are introductions to, surveys of, key historical figures. The question shouldn't be, Did Blount give us all the answers about Lee? but rather, Has Blount painted a sharp enough portrait that we have a clear idea of who the man was, why he did what he did, and what impact his life had? I think the answer to that latter question is a decisive Yes.

Unlike Keegan and Johnson, Blount is not a professional historian. But he's done a fine job with a subject all biographers admit to be a man very difficult to get close to. This fact in itself forms part of Blount's theme, as he explores the roots of Lee's famous reserve and inapproachability. He largely avoids pop psychoanalysis -- when he wades into those waters, he tells us he's doing so -- and his insights seem to make sense.

I particularly appreciated the way Blount addressed the issue that defines (many, if not most) modern treatments of Lee: the question of whether he can justly be called a Great Man while having fought, if not explicitly for slavery itself, at least for a nation and a culture in which slavery played a central role. The fact that Blount sees nuances to the discussion, instead of making the absolute, unarguable, definitive statement "Lee = slavery = evil", may cause ideologues, or people who just don't know any better, to reject his reasonings entirely. But that would be their loss because this section, too, is rewarding reading.

I said this book is good pure biography. That's because Blount is an excellent writer and storyteller, as well as a fine presenter and interpreter of facts. As a "humorist," (I've always hated that term), he has a keen eye for the ridiculous, both in human behavior and in historians' more labored interpretations.

So, no, this isn't a scholarly, definitive, biography that will become the new gold standard in Civil War Studies. But as a highly readable thumbnail portrait of one of the most loved and reviled, admired, misunderstood, and dare I say, greatest, figures in American history, I think it will be hard to beat.

Roy Blount, Jr. is an interesting choice to write the short biography of Robert E. Lee for the Penguin Lives series. Historians have had their chance and now it is Blount's and he makes good use of many of their interpretations, in addition to his selective, yet effective, use of primary sources. All the facts are in evidence and the details feel right. The narrative is straight forward and moves at a brisk pace appropriate to the small format of this impressive series of biographies. The usual witty style of the author breaks through on occasion and he lets his best self come out in the appendices, including one on the humour of Lee and Lee's attitude to slavery. A biography of Lee still suffers a little as Lee never seems to come across as colourfully as most of the Civil War leaders but the author does his best to provide his own colour commentary. A quick, interesting read.

Blount helps us understand the real Lee for a change, not the "marble man" admired and revered by simple Civil War buffs. Those looking for yet another breathless account of the same old stories will be intellectually overmatched by the insightful, sensitive and illuminating portrait Blount presents. A real contribution to understanding Lee, the Civil War, and the mindset which led the nation to and through that disaster.

Too much psychoanalysis and too little factual information. Almost 140 years after the Civil War and Blount searchs for personality quirks to define a complex and interesting gentleman, general and leader.

I'm disappointed too in the general trend for many historians to ever search and highlight as much negative as they can about our historical figures, especially military leaders.

It's easy to second guess and use modern beliefs to define the past. Blount (or anyone else for that matter go lead men in battle for four years) and then write your book.

Robert E. Lee remains one of the great heroic figures--and one of the great enigmas--of the Civil War era.
A host of factors, from his own noble stocism and reticince, to his adoption as a symbol of reconciliation in the decades after the great war, have conspired to rob Lee of much of his humanity. More than 130 years after Lee's death, Roy Blount does a remarkable job of transfusing the blood of life back into the marble man.
If you're looking for a comprehensive biography of Lee, Emory Thomas' might be a better choice. But if you're looking for a briefer sketch that manages to cover the outline of his life, while providing some insights to the upbringing, education and other factors that shaped his character, this book is an excellent choice.

The Penguin Lives series purports itself to be "A beautifully designed, innovative series of biographies pairing celebrated writers with famous individuals who have shaped our thinking." Larry McMurtry on Crazy Horse. Thomas Keneally on Abraham Lincoln. And, unfortunately, Roy Blount, Jr. on Robert E. Lee. I'm wondering if Penguin assigned the biographies or if the writers picked their topics--I'm looking to place the blame here.
Blount's bio of Lee is rambling (strange for a bio of less than 200 pages) and at times pointless. Its as if the task of distilling this giant of American history down to a couple hundred pages was so daunting that Blount just couldn't get his arms around it. He wades into Lee's life, seems to get hopelessly lost, realizes he's bumping into the space constraints of the series, and kills the man off. That's the good part.
Then, he adds a couple of appendices. The first is called "Speculation" in which he psychologizes (badly and amateurishly) about Lee, quoting from a text on the psychology of gifted children and from contemporary letters regarding the erotic view of feet in the 19th century. It seems it all boils down to Lee's small feet, or to his mother's feet, or to women's feet in general, not sure and neither is Blount. Consider this passage: "Elvis (Presley) and his mother made a great deal over each other's feet, calling them 'sooties.' Did Robert (E. Lee) and his mother? We don't know. (P.180)" And we don't even know what character traits or flaws or strengths that Blount is ascribing to the small foot issue (apparently Lee liked to have his kids massage his feet in the evening--which explains I suppose his decision to send Pickett against the center of the Union line on the third day at Gettysburg.) Blount spends the better part of a page speculating on whether Robert Duvall will make a good Lee in an upcoming TV show. I guess it all lacks focus and that's what bothers me most--a time waster. I think Blount wanted to say something about Lee, something new maybe, something important maybe, but he never figured out what it was, so he fell upon Lee's small feet and Elvis's mother. Fortunately, I bought the book used.
The second appendix is on Lee's sense of humor. A great deal of it is spent trying to explain a remark Lee made to some cronies regarding "pussyism." Roy, as a humorist, should know, if you gotta explain it, it ain't funny. This section does, however, contain an interesting anecdote about a Lee letter to a friend that for while was taken as a confession of the murder of a Canadian lighthouse keeper, but was, in fact a joke on Lee's part about the killing of a snake.
The third appendix is on Lee's views on slavery. He was apparently a reluctant slaveholder, receiving all of his chattel through inheritance. Blount sheds nothing new on this topic.
If I go on any longer, I will have taken more space to decry this biography than the actual biography takes to present the life of Lee. I am hoping that some of the other "celeberated writers" manage better with their subjects.

I like the Penquin series of short biographies but this one was too much of a strange psychohistory. As other reviewers have pointed out, author Roy Blount seems to have a need to go into details 9at fairly great legnth) such as Lee's small feet and that he liked to play games with his children where they tickled his feet. First of all, I knew this because as a Civil way buff, I have read a lot about Lee so I come across such material. However, someone who knows less about Lee who is reading a very short biography would want to know more substance and less psycho nonsense in those few pages.

There is not a lot of military history but, then again, this is a short book. Still, military history is basic to an initial understanding of Lee, therefore, perhaps Blount should have been more carefully in allocating scarce page space in this short book. In general, I have enjoyed reading short biographies of historical figures I am familiar with. I have read several biographies of Grant, for example, and I found two short biographies to be worthwhile in that in the few pages, they added insights. I suppose this book is OK for someone who knows nothing about Lee but it would be better to include more of the military and political facts. However, I found that it didn't really add much to my personal understanding of Lee.

I came away from this biography of Robert E. Lee feeling that the author didn't like his subject very much. It was almost like he wanted to prove that General Lee was just another man with more than his share of faults. He kept trying to pick Lee's personality apart and gave meaning to every gesture and casual comment that Lee had ever made. I felt that the historic facts in this book seemed accurate as far as I could remember from other things that I had read, but I also felt that there was not enough information given to substantiate some of the negative comments. He painted Lee as somewhat of a flirt, ignoring his wife, and being a cold and indifferent father to his children.

If you want to read about General Lee, there are better biographies available.

I found this book to be very disappointing. Significant parts of Lee's life are poorly covered. The author seems to want to psychoanalyze Lee. Inordinate time is spend on Lee's realtionship with his mother (mostly conjuncture) and the flaws in his personality.
This book is a very poor treatment of a great and complex man.
If you want an insight in to Lee, don't buy this book.