Sherman: The Ruthless Victor

The Generals

by Agostino von Hassell, Ed Breslin

A compelling and rounded portrait of the man who set the stage for “total warfare,” Major General William Tecumseh Sherman.

General Sherman has come to be regarded as one of the most influential military strategists and tacticians. His campaigns in the South during the Civil War set the precedent for 20th century warfare. Sherman set the stage for “total warfare,” and for this he is considered the ultimate Yankee. In the American South, even to this day he is reviled for it. He was the self-fulfilling proponent of his apt observation that “war is hell.”

Psychologically complex, intellectually brilliant, militarily inventive, Sherman was hounded by depression and plagued by an inherited tendency to nervous collapse. Nevertheless, he compelled extraordinary loyalty from his troops. Sherman will explore these and many other aspects of his life and military career.
(from Thomas Nelson)

Genres: History, Biography, Civil War, Nonfiction

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2011

Reviews

[Louis Picone · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for a very basic overview of Sherman, this is a good choice. However the authors could have dedicated more space to his life after the Civil War (summed up along with his legacy in 5 pages) and any history text should have footnotes & an index

[Vera Godley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began reading Sherman-The Ruthless Victor as most Southerners are prone to do prejudiced toward and with disdain for a Union General who pursued a ruthless rampage of killing, burning, raping, and destroying the peoples and every step of Southern soil on which he and his Union soldiers trampled in his march to the sea aimed at subjugating the peoples of the South and as he continued marching into North Carolina and the surrender. I finished still feeling that Sherman's war strategy was and still is inhumane and uncalled for.

I was saddened to learn that his childhood and approach into maturity was so riddled with lack of family continuity and strength. His dependency and "beholdenment" to his step father who eventually becomes his father-in-law. Sherman's background as portrayed in Sherman-The Ruthless Victor gives much insight into his early life and how it shapes his personality and need to succeed. However, success eludes him at every turn.

The Civil War gave opportunity for Sherman to advance and potentially succeed. Perhaps it is his drive and need to succeed that made him into the man he became and the ruthless invader he was.

pg. 114 - "Sherman prosecuted the remainder of the Union war effort with savage efficiency. Rentless and unflinching, Grant pressed onward, practicing all-out war, a new kind of war, not the Napoleonic warfare taught at West Point ....... Sherman did likewise, adding even speedier features to Grant's strategy of constant forward aggression. Sherman, however,despite the unprecedented mobility he brought to modern warfare, would cross a line, becoming almost feral as he implemented 'total war' and its gratuitous horrors." (italics mine)

This small biography gives a good, clear historical overview of Sherman's life, events that shaped his life, and his resulting success as a General in the Union army. It is indeed interesting to learn that Sherman's tactics have been studied by military strategists in several countries and have been adapted as military methodology.

If one enjoys history, this is a good read. Not undully long yet covers fairly comprehensively the life and events of the time of General Sherman.

I was given a copy of Sherman: The Ruthless Victor by Thomas Nelson Publishers to review as part of the BookSneeze program in exchange for an honest review. I was not under obligation to give a positive review. This book is one in a series, The Generals, published by Thomas Nelson.

The review was originally posted on my blog: my link text

[Jeff Randleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Nelson Publishing Company has released a series called The Generals, biographies of the great generals of American history. Several months ago, I read and reviewed Lee: A Life of Virtue.

I loved it. So when I had the chance to read and review another book in this series, I jumped at it.

This time around, I read Sherman: The Ruthless Victor. Again, I loved it. However, I have to say that I'm not a big fan of William Tecumseh Sherman.

Sherman was one of the first to implement the concept of "total war", the goal being to leave your opponent unable to continue to fight. Early warfare was structured, armies facing each other across a field of battle, visible to one another. During the Revolutionary War, that started to change, as American colonists adopted native American methods of fighting.

By the time of the Civil War, this was becoming more accepted in war. But Sherman, along with Grant and a few others, began to take this concept one step farther: Not only did they use concealment as they fought; they attempted to annihilate the enemy's ability to fight back. This meant destroying supply lines, ammunition stores, factories and industry, and anything else that would enable the enemy to continue to wage war.

Sherman took this too far by destroying homes and possessions that didn't fit into this criteria.

While I'm not a fan of Sherman, I did love the book. It was well written and very informative. It was definitely worth reading. If you are a history buff, especially of the Civil War era, I suggest you pick up a copy and read it. You won't be able to put it down.

Who is your favorite American general? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Brenten Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve whole heartedly enjoyed the Generals series because each book has opened my eyes to the story of an heroic historical figure and detailed some practical and important leadership practices. And I’m honestly glad the editors included this entry in the series as well as it reveals the other side of leadership – one I’m far more familiar with.

Sherman was something of a scoundrel. One of those weaselly folks we all work with at some point in our lives who does everything they can to take credit for anything good that happens while disappearing completely when things go awry. Sherman did this at pretty much every turn of his career, military and otherwise. He failed time and time again in business and avoided military assignments he deemed destined for defeat. However, on the positive side, he did persist and he did eventually succeed. Unfortunately, even in his success, he failed as a leader – possibly because he was so determined to be loved by all and paranoid that he was hated by all. Despite his acumen for leadership, he chose to let his soldiers cross the line of humanity time and time again, justifying it as best he could.

Another great read from the series and another reminder that we need better History curriculum in schools.

- from trudatmusic[dot]com[slash]raw

[Cyndi Beane-Henry · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a difficult read for me. At my age, I prefer books that are uplifting and inspiring.


I found nothing uplifting or inspiring in the story of William Tecumseh Sherman.


Instead I found a military man who regarded his in-laws as domineering, and wished to make himself aloof to them. At times to the point of alienation. His gruff demeanor would have been a burden on any wife, and yet how his wife perceived him isn't addressed by the writers.


I found him harsh and uncaring. And when reading between the lines, perhaps even endangering to those put under his charge.


I do not care for this book at all, and cannot begin to imagine how this biography made it into The Generals series of books.


I allow this book one star alone and that is entirely for the photographs included.


I do not recommend this book to anyone under the age of 18, and it should be read solely as a lesson in how a young man should not lead his life.


****Disclosure: This book was provided by Book Sneeze in exchange for an independent and non-bised review.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

A troubling biography.

Thomas Nelson Publishers has stepped out and published an attractive series of short biographies of American generals - all nicely bound and immensely readable. But, I found Sherman: The Ruthless Victor to be more than a little troubling for what really amounts to just a few sentences in a 163 page book.

Clearly von Hassell and Breslin are not writing this biography as fans of Sherman - they dislike the man as a person and do not respect his accomplishments on the battlefield. That is fine. I can live with a negative biography of an historical figure, but this book has moments that stretch the limits of responsible biography...

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...

[Gwynfor · Rating 2 out of 5]

For my complete--and sadly, scathing--review of this book, visit The Beauty of Eclecticism.