Forrest Fanny and Willie the children of Gen. N.B. Forrest

I think I did one of my scrambled sentences! Sorry... John Allen Wyeth wrote That Devil Forrest: Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest in 1899. Jordan and Pryor wrote The Campaigns of Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest, and Forrest's Cavalry in 1868. Since then, there have been a few editions with different things added - sometimes extra information, sometimes edited for 'flowery and outdated' language, etc. So, I meant to recommend you start with the first editions of these two books!

Wyeth also wrote With Sword and Scalpel, which was about Joe Wheeler. He served with both Wheeler and Forrest, and was with Wheeler when he took that flying leap into the Duck River to keep Forrest's bacon out of the fire. (As it turned out, Forrest had already escaped the danger and there was no need for Wheeler to hit the water...)
NO, you didn't - that's not the problem! The book I'm currently reading and what I'm asking about is by Wyeth, Life of... and of course he also wrote That Devil... Are you saying these are the same book? I haven't found any reference in the relatively new paperback edition of Life... I'm reading to That Devil...???
 
NO, you didn't - that's not the problem! The book I'm currently reading and what I'm asking about is by Wyeth, Life of... and of course he also wrote That Devil... Are you saying these are the same book? I haven't found any reference in the relatively new paperback edition of Life... I'm reading to That Devil...???

Yes, you're reading That Devil by Wyeth - that's the first biography of Forrest. Some later editions - like my 1996 edition - have an extra long preface dealing with post-war stuff. Another done in the 80s (lost that one in a fire) 'corrected' old-fashioned language. (Apparently that publisher thought people were a bit dense!)

It's a good idea to get as close to the first edition (1899) as possible but...that one can run as high as $600. That's more of an investment than even I would make! As long as it isn't an abridged edition, you should be good to go.
 
Yes, you're reading That Devil by Wyeth - that's the first biography of Forrest. Some later editions - like my 1996 edition - have an extra long preface dealing with post-war stuff. Another done in the 80s (lost that one in a fire) 'corrected' old-fashioned language. (Apparently that publisher thought people were a bit dense!)

It's a good idea to get as close to the first edition (1899) as possible but...that one can run as high as $600. That's more of an investment than even I would make! As long as it isn't an abridged edition, you should be good to go.
After looking carefully at my copy of Life of... which is an early 2000's Borderer's Books paperbound reprint, I've concluded that this must be the same book as That Devil... Researching it a bit online, I find all copies and references to That Devil... only going back to 1959, not 1899. If you think about it, That Devil does NOT sound like at all like a Nineteenth Century title! As the Centennial approached, whoever had the copyright in 1959 must've decided to issue a new edition of Wyeth, now with a "snappy" new and typically Twentieth Century title for those who by then might be less familiar with Forrest than members of Wyeth's generation.
 
After looking carefully at my copy of Life of... which is an early 2000's Borderer's Books paperbound reprint, I've concluded that this must be the same book as That Devil... Researching it a bit online, I find all copies and references to That Devil... only going back to 1959, not 1899. If you think about it, That Devil does NOT sound like at all like a Nineteenth Century title! As the Centennial approached, whoever had the copyright in 1959 must've decided to issue a new edition of Wyeth, now with a "snappy" new and typically Twentieth Century title for those who by then might be less familiar with Forrest than members of Wyeth's generation.

You're right. The original title Wyeth gave the first edition was Life of Lieutenant-General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Then it was marketed as That Devil Forrest: Life of Lieutenant-General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

It's not so bad to get a good 'other' edition. For example, mine from 1996 has a good preface dealing with the klan. Wyeth didn't touch that with a 10 foot pole except to say they were noble - and, at that time, I would too! However, I'm stubborn about getting the original as published by the original author. I don't like modernized Shakespeare, either!
 
Willis' book is the latest Forrest biography I have. Two recent books on Forrest's military performance have each provided me with more knowledge and insight on Forrest than I ever dreamed was possible this far removed in time -- Gen. John Scales' The Battles and Campaigns of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, 1861-1865 and David Powell's Failure in the Saddle.

So are there any other worthwhile contemporary books on Forrest? Recommendations, anyone?
 
Willis' book is the latest Forrest biography I have. Two recent books on Forrest's military performance have each provided me with more knowledge and insight on Forrest than I ever dreamed was possible this far removed in time -- Gen. John Scales' The Battles and Campaigns of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, 1861-1865 and David Powell's Failure in the Saddle.

So are there any other worthwhile contemporary books on Forrest? Recommendations, anyone?

I always recommend Jack Hurst's biography - Nathan Bedford Forrest. It's very good and delves into some things no other biographer really would. Forrest: The Confederacy's Relentless Warrior by Robert M Browning is a good military profile.
 
I always recommend Jack Hurst's biography - Nathan Bedford Forrest. It's very good and delves into some things no other biographer really would. Forrest: The Confederacy's Relentless Warrior by Robert M Browning is a good military profile.
I loved Hurst's biography on Forrest!

And with your insights added to that @diane, let's just say it was a 'masterclass' for @AshleyMel and I.
 
Back
Top