Robert E. Lee: A Biography Paperback – Illustrated, June 17, 1997

This is a very well written book, whose text is both clear and a pleasure to read. The book covers both Lee the man and Lee's campaigns. The author takes a middle ground with respect to Lee. In the 19th and early 20th centuries Lee was painted as a saint who only lost because of the Union's greater manpower and industrial resources. Recently, however, many have pictured Lee in a much less favorable light. The present book, while still favorable to Lee paints a much more nuanced picture of him and his military acumen. I found the picture of Lee the man to be very interesting and complex - with Lee painted as a chivalrous knight of some sort. Highly restrained, he was a product of a father, Light Horse Harry Lee, who was imprisoned for debt and eventually abandoned his family, leaving Robert to care for his ailing mother. Lee became a mass of contradictions - a faithful husband he had mostly women friends to whom he wrote letters that today we might consider somewhat inappropriate. One gets a picture of the knight who would ride into battle carrying the scarf of a woman he would pledge his life to, although in a courtly manner, while remaining faithful to his wife, in a marriage that became increasingly strained.Lee of this book has his flaws - a tendency to avoid personal conflict, leaving the instead of acting to resolve a problem. Reserved and cautious personally he was aggressive as a general, perhaps too aggressive since his attacks into the Union led to disaster. He was deeply religious, although only sought communion in his 40's. He loved his wife, but was highly critical of her actions and carried on what might be considered as platonic (non-physical) adulterous relations with many women.This book is not primarily an in-depth detailed study of the battles Lee fought. Rather, it attempt to show how Lee the man formed Lee the general, with his aversion to personal conflict resulting in his tendency to keep poorly performing subordinate commanders at their posts far too long, before eventually getting rid of them. His faith in God led him to develop the plans for a battle, then allow his subordinates to carry our his orders, which were often poorly worded, and often oral, trusting the outcome to the will of God, and all too often with Lee not intervening when his instruction were not being carried out. While Lee the man avoided conflict, his instincts as a general led him to be overly aggressive, preferring a climactic battle instead of a defensive posture, defeating the Union by bleeding it to death through it attacks of his fortified positions. This aggression led to his defeats at Antietam and Gettysburg. .The book contains 20 maps, notes, a bibliography and an index.

The book on Lee is a good look at his entire life, not just his Civil War years. There is plenty of information about both Lee and his family, so much so that you need a program to keep up with all the extended family members mentioned. The strength of the book is also its weakness. I covers Lee through many different situations in his life from growing up to the Mexican War to running West Point to the Confederacy to being president of Washington (and Lee) College. In every situation we get repeated analyses of Lee's behavior. There are constant threads that keep reappearing in each with variations on a theme. The author, however, never seems to be comfortable pulling it all together to say "this is the person Lee really was." The reader is left to cobble together a conclusion from bits and pieces. If you are doing a biography I think failing to sum up Lee is a major defect. Without trying to post my own conclusion about Lee, I would say that this complete picture of him is much better than just knowing about him as the head of the Army of Northern Virginia. You won't be unhappy with this book, but you won't be overjoyed by it either.

This book was given to me by an historical expert, professor, and good friend, at a prominent university as one of the finest and most balanced works on Robert E. Lee. It did not disappoint.A Southerner by birth, with almost all of my family having been in the Confederate Army, and as a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, General Robert E. Lee was as close to deified during my formative years as a mortal could be. General "Stonewall" Jackson was always mentioned in the same breath. So it was with some trepidation that I undertook to read a "balanced" view of Robert E. Lee, the man, that word most often being used today as camouflage for "revisionism". I found the actual man even more intriguing than the myth, though some of my childhood romantic impressions were dispelled. The author strives for truth, first and foremost.Thomas does not disappoint the admirer nor can he fail to impress the detractor with his honesty. The author's objective in this work is to reconcile Lee's many contradictions: "Unionist" who was the Confederacy's most prominent general, "Plantation Owner" who disliked slavery...these are only a few. Admirer or detractor, this book will challenge many preconceptions. R. E. Lee is portrayed as a "whole" man, of notable flaws, but one who's virtues, which included a double portion of humility, triumph in the end, though Lee likely never thought so. A shy man who avoided conflict, he doggedly led an army that should never have survived unbelievable privation and disadvantages for four years, but for his efforts. He did so with a Jomini-like, aggressive pursuit of decisive battle despite his reticence in almost every other area of his life. In a career spent with the toughest of soldiers and in shaping the lives of young men, his favorite company was that of young women with whom he corresponded throughout his life with his wife's encouragement, no less. A picky, particular man in private, the bane of many of his staff officers, and one who fretted over the faults of people, Lee almost always exhibited grace, combining it with justice, when it came time to mete out punishment. He is similar to a Washington in this characteristic but seems to have been much more approachable and warm as a person.Probably the most significant issue the author addresses is Lee's views on, and practice of slavery. This is something I will leave for readers to discover, and to judge for themselves. Thomas tells all and thankfully is no revisionist. He sets the context for Lee and his contemporaries by explaining the common thoughts and prejudices of most Americans of the 1860s. No matter what the era, I personally need a review of the times to set my mind into context for understanding that of the subject. The author "first seeks understanding" but also is not afraid to bring critique where it is obviously due. In the end, Lee's actions, often contradicting his spoken words, once again seem to lead people in at least beginning to tackle a most important challenge with which we still struggle: how to live together in peace.Lastly, the student of military history will not be disappointed. Thomas gives insight into many of the reasons Lee made particular decisions during the most important battles and campaigns. Defining the "why" behind the "what" may be Emory Thomas' most significant contribution to the subject of General Robert E. Lee.

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.

The iconoclastic fury against the statues of Robert Lee prompted me to read this excellent biography. Lee opposed Secession, but chose to fight on the side of his native Virginia. He fought, with considerable success, against superior forces. After defeat, and until his death, he was president of a small college. He worked for reconciliation. His attitude toward slavery was mixed and probably enlightened for the times. I recommend this book as an antidote to the google copy-and-paste simplifications.

I have a humble collection of American Civil War books. Many are written by Emory Thomas. I find his writing style keeps me interested and I think he gives a fair assessment of a very complex and interesting man.