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Title: Winfield Scott Hancock: A Soldier's Life by David M. Jordan ISBN: 0-253-21058-5 Publisher: Indiana University Press Pub. Date: February, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.23 (13 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Hancock the superb.
Comment: There is little doubt that Winfield Scott Hancock should get far more press than he gets. In reading about the Civil War in the east one time and again runs into the name Hancock. He was there for most of the major battles and he and his men could almost always be counted on when most of the rest of the army could not be. Between the movie "Gettysburg" and this fine book maybe Hancock will get some of the credit that should be his.
David Jordan has put together a book that is both informative and very easy to read. In fact, I would call it a real page turner.
Since Hancock's politics without a doubt held him back both during and after the war Jordan handles that early on by introducing the reader to Hancock's father, an avid Democrat. Hancock's views were set early on and he stuck by his beliefs in spite of Republican domination of both the government and the army. The reader is led through hancock's life and is also treated to many funny stories about Hancock many of which include his close friend Harry Heath who would lead his Confederates toward Gettysburg and kick off the great battle. We also find out that Hancock was one of the best cursers in the Union army and that he and General Zook could be counted on to lighten the mood of the second corps every so often with a heated exchange of some of the finest swear words known to man.
Jordan does a good job of recounting Hancock's performance in battle without getting to stuck in the mire of names and regiment numbers. He also manages to handle Hancock's political campaigns both for the Democratic Presidential nomination and as his party's candidate without getting his reader lost in the jungle of politicans most of which the average reader would not have heard of.
It is very hard to paint a picture of Hancock's contribution to a battle without getting the reader lost in detail or simply putting them to sleep. Jordan walks that fine line as well as most and better than many but he does fall a little short of giving us enough detail. Just a little bit more information on some of these battles would have made this a far better book. Still, if one must fall to one side of that fine line or the other Jordan picked the right side to land on.
The lack of detail by itself did not cost this book a star and in spite of this problem I would probably awarded Jordan five stars if he had not repeated the old myth that Harry Heath was on his way to Gettysburg looking for shoes. A man who could turn out this superb book should have known better.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Fantastic Biography
Comment: I heartily agree with the above reviews. Jordan has written a masterpiece, extensively researched and extremely well written. The author's admiration for Hancock is obvious, but understandable: the reader - if he/she had not known it before - soon comes to realize that Hancock was an extraordinary soldier and person....My two complaints: that the book did not cover the Civil War in more depth (but that would have required many more pages in an already lengthy work); and that the more personal side of Hancock was not revealed more fully (but, then again, Hancock's wife burned all of Hancock's correspondence after writing her own book on her husband).....On the whole, Jordan treated Hancock and others - including Hancock's rivals - very fairly, something rarely done in such research-intensive biographies......I highly recommend the book.
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent Biography of an Overlooked General!
Comment: Jordan's book is an excellent biography of an overlooked and almost forgotten general of the Civil War. While Hancock was an excellent fighter and tactician, he is often overlooked in favor of Lee, Grant, Sherman, and Jackson. Thankfully, Hancock's important contributions to the Union are chronicled in Jordan's interesting text.
The book is full of interesting anecdotes of the following periods of Hancock's life:
1. Early childhood and life leading up to West Point.
2. West Point years.
3. Service in the Mexican War and just before the Civil War.
4. Excellent leadership at the Civil War battles of Antietam, Williamsburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Petersburg.
5. Role during the Reconstruction Period.
6. Political aspirations and almost presidency.
7. Final years.
As I read Jordan's book, I came to appreciate Hancock more and more. Jordan is able to keep the reader's interest throughout the text. For instance, while I was much more interested in Hancock's Civil War service instead of his politics, Jordan was able to keep me interested in Hancock's run for the presidency.
The only reason I did not give the book 5 stars is because the maps were few and of mediocre quality. When reading a Civil War book, I like several maps to enable me to better understand troop movements. Adding more high-quality maps would have done much to better clarify Hancock's movements during a certain battle.
Despite this minor complaint, I highly recommend this book as the definitive biography of and excellent leader!
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Title: Reminiscences of Winfield Scott Hancock by A. R. Hancock ISBN: 1582180555 Publisher: Digital Scanning Inc Pub. Date: March, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: General John Buford: A Military Biography by Edward G. Longacre ISBN: 0306812746 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Rock of Chickamauga: The Life of General George H. Thomas by Freeman Cleaves ISBN: 0806119780 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: April, 1986 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Through Blood and Fire at Gettysburg by Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain ISBN: 1879664178 Publisher: Stan Clark Military Books Pub. Date: July, 1996 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War by Alice Rains Trulock, Alan T. Nolan ISBN: 0807849804 Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr Pub. Date: September, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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