“mr. shaara begins his civil war retrospective as if he will treat both sides of THE american conflict evenhandedly, but by measures and degrees he changes this outlook to out and out fawning over the southern position. while avoiding politics and sticking to the already well documented facts of the resonant war between the states he follows his father's footsteps in fictionalizing the behind the scenes exchanges and state of mind of the major players on the battlefield. that's a good thing, bringing to life the essence of the people who inhabit the soul of who americans really are after all, but the decided lean to the southern cause begins to take the feel of revisionist history, painting the losing side as moral victors.sure, why not---except they weren't the moral victors. or morally superior.and so the work, superficially well written, left a bad taste in my mouth, and i only finished it because i started it...but was inclined to garbage the thing early on. shaara should be tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail.”
