Robert E Lee – A Biography

I haven't read a biography of Lee for 30 years, so it was with a bit of trepidation that I embarked on this bit of historiography. It is easy to either vilify or sanctify Lee. I feel this biography avoids both poles. What emerges is the portrait of a man, governed by birth, context and circumstances, who tried to make the most of what life offered him--and did (including with the Army of Northern Virginia--but much more than that). It's a worthwhile read for anyone interested in this fraught period of American history.

In many ways this is a well-written life of Lee, which avoids the worst excesses of both idolatry and revisionism. Greater emphasis is accorded to the pre-Civil War years: the treatment of the War's military side, and of Lee's generalship, is at times perfunctory. The author offers some shrewd insights into Lee's character but at times creates distortions of his own, eg by suggesting that "in a very real sense" Lee sided with Virginia to avoid conflict with his wife and family! There is also an element of distortion through "presentism", ie judging Lee's character, motives and actions by late 20th century liberal standards rather than in the context of his own time, circumstances and background. Although at the end of the book Thomas accepts that Lee was a Hero "with a capital H", the rather anti-heroic feel of his biography sometimes appears at variance with this assessment. The definitive study of Lee remains Freeman's great four-volume work, which, while clearly admiring, is by no means uncritical. Apart from other factors, considerations of space mean that Thomas cannot compete with Freeman's level of detail. With these caveats Thomas' own account deserves to be read as a worthwhile introductory study of a very great man and General.

Great read for someone who is intersected in the war and its main characters. It's just a pity the man never penned his memoirs