Member Review William Styple's book on General Kearny

[Crazy Delawares]

Has anyone read the latest book out on Gen. Kearny by Wm. Styple? In it Styple presents some pretty damning evidence for McClellan trying to negotiate a peace with the South during the Seven Days Campaign. It's a serious accusation and could really shift a great deal of thinking on McC and even earlier books written about him.

 

[Lubliner]

This rumor has been discussed in another thread a couple of months ago. The others here that were involved in the discussion should join in, such as @Belfoured, and possibly @67th Tigers. They may have a memory of the thread and what the consensus on it was, but I believe it was considered flimsy at best.
Lubliner.

 

[Belfoured]

Has anyone read the latest book out on Gen. Kearny by Wm. Styple? In it Styple presents some pretty damning evidence for McClellan trying to negotiate a peace with the South during the Seven Days Campaign. It's a serious accusation and could really shift a great deal of thinking on McC and even earlier books written about him.

Styple's book is very good if used for its primary purpose - an account about Kearney with a ton of primary sources, including his letters. I'd be more careful regarding other issues, since I think the author tends to identify with Kearny and Phil wasn't always the most reliable reporter. It also might come in useful as a weapon if dropped from a 3rd floor window.

 

[Cavalier]

As an ardent admirer of Kearney I had to get this book. I confess to not having started it yet though. Its size makes it pretty daunting, however I'm really looking forward to giving it my best effort.

As an added benefit, I have no doubt it could cause substantial injury if applied with a little malice aforethought to an opponents cranium.

John

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

and Phil wasn't always the most reliable reporter

Me again - I need you to explain this and who Phil is?

 

[Crazy Delawares]

My apologies if this has been hashed out already. I've been gone awhile. Could anyone direct me to the thread that has already covered this subject?

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Me again - I need you to explain this and who Phil is?

Phil Kearny.

He was talented, but probably too sure of himself.

 

[Belfoured]

Me again - I need you to explain this and who Phil is?

Kearny ...

 

[Belfoured]

As an ardent admirer of Kearney I had to get this book. I confess to not having started it yet though. Its size makes it pretty daunting, however I'm really looking forward to giving it my best effort.

As an added benefit, I have no doubt it could cause substantial injury if applied with a little malice aforethought to an opponents cranium.

John

You'd have to be a shot-putter to pull that off ...

 

[Lubliner]

You'd have to be a shot-putter to pull that off ...

Wasn't there a thread about McClellan sending some private correspondence to General Lee without notifying Lincoln, round about the time of Antietam, right after?
Lubliner.

 

[Jamieva]

What's the deal with this book it's $80 on amazon?

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

What's the deal with this book it's $80 on amazon?

Big book from a small publisher.

800 pages about Kearny seems like a really hard sell. It would be difficult to convince me the book wouldn't have been better off edited down to half that length.

 

[Lubliner]

Big book from a small publisher.

800 pages about Kearny seems like a really hard sell. It would be difficult to convince me the book wouldn't have been better off edited down to half that length.

A dollar a page and how fast can you read? If I have to dock my time at hand to read it I loose quite a sum.
Lubliner.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

It is 6.5 pounds!

 

[Lubliner]

It is 6.5 pounds!

6.5 pounds? Eighty dollars in Britain is 64 and a half pounds.
Lubliner.

 

[Cavalier]

I don't have a problem with the book's, or any book's size. Its what inside that counts. One volume seems better then putting the same information in two or three volumes, but thats just a matter of opinion I guess.

I'm not aware of many good books on Kearny so I have great hopes for this one.

I rather spend $80.on a book I really enjoy then $25 or $30. on one I end up despising, and I've done that on more occasions then I care to remember.

John

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

I don't have a problem with the book's, or any book's size. Its what inside that counts. One volume seems better then putting the same information in two or three volumes, but thats just a matter of opinion I guess.

I would rather have two 500 page books rather than one 1000 page book. It's easier to take a break and come back later, and it's easier on the physical binding.

I find long biographies usually hard to justify. I don't know how Freeman got 2400 pages out of Lee or Sanburg got 4 volumes out of Lincoln. 800 pages on Grant or Washington feels justified. I'm a big fan of Theodore Roosevelt but I think Morris' trilogy felt like overkill. I can't imagine reading Caro's quadrilogy about LBJ, even if it he writes more of a hybrid biography-history style.

 

[Cavalier]

@Joshism I not sure about justifying anything. If I find the guy interesting I want to know as much a I can about him, however thats just my opinion. But its also true that what I might find fascinating about some historical character others might find boring or totally irrelevant.

John

 

[Belfoured]

I would rather have two 500 page books rather than one 1000 page book. It's easier to take a break and come back later, and it's easier on the physical binding.

I find long biographies usually hard to justify. I don't know how Freeman got 2400 pages out of Lee or Sanburg got 4 volumes out of Lincoln. 800 pages on Grant or Washington feels justified. I'm a big fan of Theodore Roosevelt but I think Morris' trilogy felt like overkill. I can't imagine reading Caro's quadrilogy about LBJ, even if it he writes more of a hybrid biography-history style.

I get that. A relatively large % of the text in this book is from primary sources, so it's more a hybrid bio/"papers of" book. From my perspective, it's not intended to be read through from p. 1-800 as a type of narrative.

 

[JeffBrooks]

What's the deal with this book it's $80 on amazon?

Yeah, I've wanted to get my hands on this book every since it was published. Sadly, $80 for a book is unacceptable is out of my price range in any given month.

I would rather have two 500 page books rather than one 1000 page book. It's easier to take a break and come back later, and it's easier on the physical binding.

Well, in 2024 I read Bud Robertson's biography of Stonewall Jackson and Andrew Roberts' biography of Churchill, both of which clocked in at about a thousand pages and both of which I absolutely loved.