NF Vicksburg -Grant’s Campaign that broke the Confederacy

Non-Fiction
I came here with a few questions, and wanted to read reactions. This is a new book and has not yet been widely reviewed.
I’m only partway through the book, which is highly readable and has a lot of information that is new to me. However I did catch a minor error in that the author calls Sherman a classmate from West Point, a bit of a stretch given that Sherman was a couple of years ahead of Grant.
This sort of minor error always makes me question more important assertions. I’m very interested in learning whether the research is generally solid.
 
I came here with a few questions, and wanted to read reactions. This is a new book and has not yet been widely reviewed.
I’m only partway through the book, which is highly readable and has a lot of information that is new to me. However I did catch a minor error in that the author calls Sherman a classmate from West Point, a bit of a stretch given that Sherman was a couple of years ahead of Grant.
This sort of minor error always makes me question more important assertions. I’m very interested in learning whether the research is generally solid.
I've only skimmed it so far but it seems pretty solid on the research from what I can tell. He used a lot of the reliable secondary sources as well as primary. His analysis of the often-disputed "Yazoo Bender" in June actually seems pretty thorough and reflects a close look at the sources. I can't speak to anything beyond that chapter and the one on Chickasaw Bluffs yet. It's definitely easy reading (not how I'd describe Bearss's three volumes, for example) and he appears to cover a broader set of subjects than the strictly military focus of Bearss, Ballard, et al. He apparently used a lot of archival sources. i wouldn't judge the book by the "classmate" reference. That might be a non-technical statement that they were (briefly) at the Point at the same time.
 
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He goes into considerable detail about the Yazoo “bender” backing up Chernow and arguing for its veracity.
 
I did catch a minor error in that the author calls Sherman a classmate from West Point, a bit of a stretch given that Sherman was a couple of years ahead of Grant.

Sherman was Class of 1840. Grant was 1843. So they overlapped a year at West Point so the statement is essentially true. Schoolmate would have been a better word choice as they probably never shared a class, but the two terms are often used somewhat interchangeably.

He goes into considerable detail about the Yazoo “bender” backing up Chernow and arguing for its veracity.

Interesting. Brooks Simpson's biography of Grant argues the event happened, but has been greatly exaggerated.

For Chernow it fits his "Triumph Over Alcoholism" thesis.
 
My question would be is there new information or insights in this book on Vicksburg that has not been reported elsewhere. There have been many books on Vicksburg so before beginning another volume, would this one really be worth reading?
 
My question would be is there new information or insights in this book on Vicksburg that has not been reported elsewhere. There have been many books on Vicksburg so before beginning another volume, would this one really be worth reading?

Yeah, I'll be curious to see what others say on this one to judge whether it is worth my time and brings anything new to the discussion. Admittedly, a lot of my reading lately has been World War 2 related, but I'll be interested in this if it sounds like it has some newer insight that make it worth checking out. I enjoyed Donald's book on the Eighth Air Force, so this could be good.
 
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