I’ve been meaning to pick one for some time - i’m all Cromwelled and Wellingtoned out at the moment (my normal reads) and Lee is a leader i’ve been looking to read into for some time.
My American Civil War knowledge is pretty good (as Brits go) as it was an area i vaguely studied during my University days (although i was admittedly looking more at the British relations with the Union/Confederacy) and I’m a History Graduate so I’m not really looking for a “Popular History” or entry text - more a mid-level thing.
So any of you American Dopers have any suggestions?
Biographies of American generals are pretty thin on the ground this side of the pond so I’m open to all ideas - since whatever i pick i’ll have to import anyway.
Yes, Freeman’s biography IS definitive. But as an admirable supplement to Freeman’s work, I highly recommend the just-released Robert E. Lee by Roy Blount, Jr. If you’re only familiar with Blount as a humorist who occasionally shows up on Prairie Home Companion, you’re in for a very pleasant surprise. It’s certainly not the scholarly work that Freeman’s is (you can’t do that in 225 pages), but it’s darned good reading!