Sherman Best book

[mphstteach]

Hello all! I was very disappointed in the book Sherman's March I recently bought on thrift. Written in the 80s it was very pro southern and pretty much just bashed Sherman and his men during the entire book. Is there a good recommendation out there for a balanced and well written book about Sherman?

 

[JeffBrooks]

Albert Castel's book Decision in the West is the most comprehensive account of the Atlanta Campaign and I think it presents a very balanced view of Sherman, equally emphasizing his strengths and weaknesses. As far as dedicated biographies are concerned, I have not yet had a chance to read Fierce Patriot by Robert O'Connell, but I have heard many good things about it. And B. Liddell Hart's biography is an old classic written in the 20s, but deeply fascinating (I have always found it very useful to read books on the American Civil War written by British authors).

 

[rhettbutler1865]

If you want to read a book about Sherman that has "fluff" concerning him--it's going to be fiction. (IMO)

 

[mphstteach]

If you want to read a book about Sherman that has "fluff" concerning him--it's going to be fiction. (IMO)

When did I ask for fluff? I asked for balance, I don't want this to become a Sherman bashing thread, if you don't like the man thats fine, I just want to read a balanced account of the campaign without the woe is me southern slant

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Hello all! I was very disappointed in the book Sherman's March I recently bought on thrift. Written in the 80s it was very pro southern and pretty much just bashed Sherman and his men during the entire book. Is there a good recommendation out there for a balanced and well written book about Sherman?

I just finished reading this book last month. It was written with a military minded style......

 

[AndyHall]

Trudeau's Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea

Lee Kennett's Marching Through Georgia: The Story of Soldiers and Civilians During Sherman's Campaign

Burke Davis' Sherman's March: The First Full-Length Narrative of General William T. Sherman's Devastating March through Georgia and the Carolinas

 

[Drew]

I read Trudeau's Bloody Roads South, about the Overland Campaign. I thought it was very fair and enjoyable to boot. For that reason, his Southern Storm is sitting in my pile of books to read.

 

[DanF]

Read southern storm last year. Good book.

 

[ole]

For Sherman himself, Sherman's Civil War, compiled by Brooks Simpson.

For The March, Trudeau's Southern Storm, hands down.

 

[Chattahooch33]

Southern storm is top-notch.

 

[cash]

John Marszalek's Sherman: A Soldier's Passion for Order.
Lee Kennett also wrote an excellent biography of Sherman.

 

[hanna260]

I have not yet had a chance to read Fierce Patriot by Robert O'Connell, but I have heard many good things about it.

I looked through quite a bit of Fierce Patriot, and what I saw was very good. The book is in a breezy, conversational style- fun reading, I thought, but it really looks at Sherman through his relationships in a way that sheds a lot of light on him as a human being, not just some mythical being of destruction. However, though the parts I looked through seemed fairly balanced, one could argue that it leans a bit too far in the other direction- the author makes it very clear that through researching him, he's come to be a bit of a Sherman fan.

 

[Jamieva]

I just read Southern Storm about 2 months ago I would recommend it.

 

[Gandycreek]

Southern Storm, is well worth reading.

 

[E_just_E]

To learn about Sherman, you got to start with his memoirs. Biased, of course, but you got to start with that. And it is available for free in many places as an ebook.

Fierce Patriot, is an excellent and well researched book, and I'd probably have it as second in my list after his memoirs.

But you got to let the guy tell his story first...

 

[ole]

To learn about Sherman, you got to start with his memoirs. Biased, of course, but you got to start with that. And it is available for free in many places as an ebook.

Fierce Patriot, is an excellent and well researched book, and I'd probably have it as second in my list after his memoirs.

But you got to let the guy tell his story first...

Disagree. His memoirs were written when he was a top General. For the real Sherman, "Sherman's Civil War'" captures the man.

 

[KLSDAD]

I enjoyed Fighting Prophet. Have others but have not read them yet.

 

[LittleGuy1864]

I just finished Lloyd Lewis' Fighting Prophet last night actually. I enjoyed it. I have also read Sherman's memoirs and Sherman's Civil War as well, and Sherman's Civil War is by far my favorite book I've read thus far. I really got to "know" Sherman while reading that book and didn't want to put it down. I felt like I got a better sense of Sherman from that book than his memoirs, to be honest.

Rebecca