Memoirs (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading)

By Ian M. Cuthbertson and William Tecumseh Sherman

General William Tecumseh Sherman stands out as a master of maneuver warfare. In a bloody Civil War chiefly remembered for battles in which each side tried too often to simply pummel the other into submission by sheer weight of numbers and volume of fire, Sherman tried to keep casualties low, both among his own troops and, perhaps equally significant, among those of his Confederate enemy. Sherman, known for his quote, "War is hell," explains in this account of his life how a man of compassion came to embrace a brutal and inhumane approach to war, one that has been the mark of every major conflict since his time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Sep 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781411428997

Reviews for Memoirs (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading)

[leahschoice · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

General Sherman tells a good story, and in this book he certainly lives up to his reputation for talking a lot. Now and then he gets bogged down in details, but most of what he has to say is interesting, and quite descriptive.

[buffalogr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The period of the book includes only the siege on Atlanta and the "march to the sea"...one of the first American examples of total war taken to the enemy's people. The book is composed, largely, of correspondence between Sherman and other generals. Although he adds some personal opinions, it's largely about movements of the Army...boring to me. I plodded through the book expecting some good things later. As a career airman, I began to see the beginnings of a separate air force as well as the subsequent strategies of some air pioneers.