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Sherman: A Soldier's Passion for Order (Paperback)

~ John F. Marszalek (Author) "THE HUGE MAN WALKED the one hundred yards down the Main Street hill to the house of his newly widowed neighbor..." (more)
Key Phrases: letterpress copy, military seminary, army reform, Thomas Ewing, New York, West Point (more...)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

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  Hardcover, October 22, 1992 -- $13.73 $1.37
  Paperback, November 7, 2007 $18.21 $16.39 $13.45
  Paperback, January 13, 1994 -- $16.65 $1.29

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This provocative and ably written biography views Sherman's military career in light of his passion for social order and intellectual certainty.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal

Sherman taught America that "War is hell" as he swept through Georgia and the Carolinas to destroy the Confederates' will to resist. The roots of Sherman's philosophy of total war and of his enigmatic personality have fascinated historians since the Civil War, when Sherman was thought both insane and brilliant. Now, in Marszalek's ( Grover Cleveland, Greenwood Pr., 1988) full and fascinating biography, we get the whole man--a warrior who hated killing but carried war to civilians; a foster son craving paternal approval who led hardened men; a writer and talker who preferred action to words. Marszalek finds the key to Sherman in his search for order, both in a private life troubled by uncertain financial prospects and relations and in a civil war, and later Indian wars, where old West Point verities did not apply. That Sherman was a troubled soul who sought to make his family appreciate his trials and triumphs is evident in the small cache of Sherman letters published for the first time in Joseph Ewing's Sherman at War (Morningside, 1992). The new letters notwithstanding, Marszalek's psychobiographical musings about Sherman's inner self doubtless will cause some historians to blush. But the rich historical contextual material on everything from Western finances, Indian wars in Florida and the West, and Civil War military policy make Marszalek's Sherman real and powerful. Highly recommended.
- Randall M. Miller, St. Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 688 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (January 13, 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0679749896
  • ISBN-13: 978-0679749899
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #900,607 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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THE HUGE MAN WALKED the one hundred yards down the Main Street hill to the house of his newly widowed neighbor. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
letterpress copy, military seminary, army reform, undated newspaper, military division
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Thomas Ewing, New York, West Point, United States, San Francisco, South Carolina, Mississippi River, New Orleans, Abraham Lincoln, John Sherman, Jefferson Davis, War Department, Winfield Scott, Notre Dame, Army of the Tennessee, Joe Johnston, Andrew Johnson, Braxton Bragg, Army of the Cumberland, White House, Fort Moultrie, Fort Sumter, Bull Run, Chickasaw Bayou, Supreme Court
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best treatment of Civil War's greatest general, May 2, 2001
Sherman: A Soldier's Passion for Order, by John F. Marszalek, is a model biography of possibly the greatest general to emerge from the Civil War. Marszalek gives a very even-handed account of the general's rise from relative obscurity to command the second largest army in America, becoming a hero to most, and the equivalent of Satan to some in the process. Unlike Longacre's biography of John Buford, Marszalek did not labor under a shortage of primary information about his subject. With such a luxury, Marszalek follows the development of Sherman the man, and shows how particular events shaped his future views on warfare and towards the South. Most notably, the author points out his experience in the Seminole War as the basis for Sherman's ideas on war against populations. He also describes Sherman's time spent in the South, and how his friendliness towards its people led to leniency towards them after the war concluded. It would appear that Marszalek was somewhat influenced by B.H. Liddell Hart's Strategy, when describing Sherman's military campaigns. Hart states that he believed Sherman was the best Civil War general because he promoted the "indirect" approach to warfare. On many occasions, Marszalek refers to Sherman's "psychological outflanking" of the enemy and winning military victories without fighting battles-the very essence of Hart's tract. At the same time, the author insists that Sherman was driven by his need to have order in a chaotic world. This is in fact the theme of the entire book, and Marszalek does an admirable job of showing that Sherman fought the war in the manner he did in order to provide order (Union) the quickest way possible. Marszalek stretches his analysis of Sherman's desire for order into his post-war life. Sherman's experiences fighting the Indians, as well as "dalliances" with other women, and conflicts with politicians at caused him great distress because they were disorderly. In the end, Sherman's desire for stability led him on a campaign to provide an accurate history of the Civil War. Though his efforts made him many enemies in the South, his contributions ensured his place in American history, and the order he so desperately desired.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, readable bio of a complex person., September 13, 2002
By Q. Publius (Annandale, VA USA) - See all my reviews
  
Marszalek has studied Sherman for years, and his biography reflects a comprehensive knowledge of the sources on Sherman. Sherman was a highly complex and intelligent person, fourth academically in his class at West point, though a prankish student who finished sixth in his overall graduating class because of demerits. If you don't know much about Sherman, if you only know he said war is hell and marched through Georgia, this is a good book for you. Sherman's army assignments before the Civil War were mostly in the South, and he loved it, but he hated secession, though he did not oppose slavery. Under Grant's wing he became an excellent general. He believed in a hard war but a soft peace, and opposed the conduct of reconstruction after the war. The only reservation I have is the author may overpsychologize his approach to Sherman: the passion for order theme runs throughout the book. But the book's quality is saved by the mountain of details the author relates about Sherman's life and other's views of him, and by a highly readable writing style. As one of the most important generals in the Civil War and in the history of the U.S. Army, and an important influence on modern concepts of total war, William Tecumseh Sherman (aka "Cump") is well deserving of study, and this biography is well worth reading.
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive Sherman biography, January 3, 2001
By Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
John Marszalek has woven together the threads of Sherman's life better than any previous biographer. There have been great Sherman biographies in the past, Lloyd Lewis' brilliant 1932 offering comes to mind. But Marszalek benefits from new scholarship and a fresh approach in unearthing the passions and limitations of the brilliant and erratic Sherman.

All areas of Sherman's life are explored in depth. The author doesn't stint the reader on details of Sherman's chaotic childhood, the influence of his stepfather or his years at West Point. Marszalek understands the important of Sherman's tortured marriage to Ellen and the consequences that this miserable marriage had upon Sherman. Can anyone blame him for repeatedly cheating on her when her attitudes towards sex approached that of a nun? Especially interesting are the tid-bits on Sherman's lengthy affair with Vinnie Ream, all quite engrossing.

Marszalek strikes a nice balance between Sherman's private life and his military endeavors. The reader never has a sense that the man is sacrificed or buried in minutiae of the battlefield. Sherman was an enigmatic, sometimes baffling man and its hard to get a firm grasp on him personally or emotionally. Marszalek has produced a fine biography and one which will stand as the definitive look at Sherman for many years.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
This is a good book about Sherman and the civil war. If you like Sherman is book is for you. Worth your money.
Published 13 months ago by Jeffrey T. Elder

4.0 out of 5 stars An aversion to anarchy

"Wars are not all evil; they are part of the grand machinery by which this world is governed; thunderstorms which purify the political atmosphere, test the manhood of a... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Joseph Haschka

5.0 out of 5 stars Sherman's March
The difficulty for those of us interested in studying the American Civil War is that the available bibliography is overwhelmingly large. Read more
Published on October 12, 2007 by Borowy26

5.0 out of 5 stars The South's Best Friend? (Could be)
In this book, the author takes us on an in-depth tour of the life and times of William Tecumseh Sherman. Read more
Published on April 11, 2007 by Marvin D. Pipher

1.0 out of 5 stars Sherman a glorified war criminal
Sherman made war on women and children. He had his troops burned houses to the ground, turned a blind eye to the looting his men did, burned crops to the ground, destroyed any... Read more
Published on August 11, 2006 by Cheryl Lynn

4.0 out of 5 stars First in War, First in Peace!
William Tecumseh Sherman was an unusually good soldier. With the exception of Grant, he prosecuted the war as the South never imagined a Yankee could. Read more
Published on February 7, 2004 by Michael E. Fitzgerald

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting look at General Sherman
Marszalek's narrative of the life of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman focuses on order. It is Marszalek's contention that Sherman's early life left him with a lifelong fear... Read more
Published on January 21, 2004 by bixodoido

5.0 out of 5 stars Full Bio on Sherman, Service and Personal Life
This is a complete bio on Sherman who had a very complex personal life and along with Grant had a horrendous start in the Civil War. Read more
Published on January 13, 2004 by Daniel Hurley

5.0 out of 5 stars A Misunderstood Hero
John Marszalek's book is a relatively concise biography of the man who is perhaps the most misunderstood of the Civil War General's. Read more
Published on July 15, 2000 by Brian D. Rubendall

4.0 out of 5 stars Great General, Great Book.
William Tecumseh Sherman was one of the great figures of the Civil War, a visionary whose views on tactics and strategy reshaped the way observers looked at warfare. Read more
Published on February 3, 2000 by Michael J. Berquist

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