Decision in the West

Posted on 18 December 2018 by Albert E. Castel

Following a skirmish on June 28, 1864, a truce is called so the North can remove their dead and wounded For two hours, Yankees and Rebels mingle, with some of the latter even assisting the former in their grisly work Newspapers are exchanged Northern coffee is swapped for Southern tobacco Yanks crowd around two Rebel generals, soliciting and obtaining autographs.As they part, a Confederate calls to a Yankee, I hope to miss you, Yank, if I happen to shoot in your direction May I, never hit you Johnny if we fight again, comes the reply.The reprieve is short A couple of months, dozens of battles, and than 30,000 casualties later, the North takes Atlanta.One of the most dramatic and decisive episodes of the Civil War, the Atlanta Campaign was a military operation carried out on a grand scale across a spectacular landscape that pitted some of the war s best and worst general against each other.In Decision in the West, Albert Castel provides the first detailed history of the Campaign published since Jacob D Cox s version appeared in 1882 Unlike Cox, who was a general in Sherman s army, Castel provides an objective perspective and a comprehensive account based on primary and secondary sources that have become available in the past 110 years.Castel gives a full and balanced treatment to the operations of both the Union and Confederate armies from the perspective of the common soldiers as well as the top generals He offers new accounts and analyses of many of the major events of the campaign, and, in the process, corrects many long standing myths, misconceptions, and mistakes In particular, he challenges the standard view of Sherman s performance.Written in present tense to give a sense of immediacy and greater realism, Decision in the West demonstrates definitively than any previous book how the capture of Atlanta by Sherman s army occurred and why it assured Northern victory in the Civil War. Best Read Decision in the West [ author ] Albert E. Castel [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr Decision in the West has been widely and lavishly praised, and it deserves every bit of it Albert Castel has not only written the most thoroughly researched and most comprehensive history of the Atlanta Campaign, but has also done it with clear, captivating prose that flows easily across the page, keeping the reader enthralled to the very end He uses the present tense throughout the book, which lends a fascinating immediacy to the story, even though we know the outcome.Were I to try to sketch Decision in the West has been widely and lavishly praised, and it deserves every bit of it Albert Castel has not only written the most thoroughly researched and most comprehensive history ...I know this is one of the definitive accounts of the Atlanta campaign, but I didn t connect well with it I personally don t well with the style first person, real time , and I think this format detracts from the over...Back in the days before the big chain bookstores invaded the South, apeaceful and welcome invasion than that by Sherman s armies, it used to be an exciting trip to visit Atlanta on a book buying expedition Before the arrival of the monolithic chains the Atlanta area had several bookstores offering a rich literary variety not found outside the big cities My favorite was called The Oxford Bookstore, in the heart of the city on Peachtree Street It was at the bottom of a valley very near Pe Back in the days before the big chain boo...Decision in the West covers Sherman s campaign in Georgia from May 1864 to September 1864 It also delves into many of the events and decisions earlier in the year January April leading up to the campaign Hood s Nashville campaign and Sherman s March to the Sea are briefly summarized in the last chapter.This is a predominately military history, but it generally doesn t go deeper than the brigade level It is very much concerned with the decisions of the generals what they tried to do, why Decision in the West covers Sherman s campaign in Georgia from May 1864 to September 1864 It also delves into many of the events and decisions earlier in the year January April leading up to the campaign Hood s Nashville campaign and Sherman s March to the Sea are briefly summarized in the last chapter.This is a predominately military history, but it generally doesn t go deeper than the brigade level It is very much concerned with the decisions of the generals what they tried to do, why they tried to do it, if they succeeded, and what might they have done differently It certainly has some interesting but fair opinions of Sherman, Johnston, and Hood The experiences of the soldiers are covered as well and the...This book has two problems One, it s written in the present tense, though that s the lesser difficulty The second problem isserious This is Castel s treatise about how Sherman kept making poor battle plans that went awry, and how Johnston and Hood were better opponents This leaves unanswered the sticky question of how Sherman ended up winning You are left with the impression that Castel simply does not understand Sherman, or grasp that Sherman was essentially an impr...It s a masterpiece, a gem and a fantastic read The book takes you inside high command meetings as you travel down the Western and Atlantic Railroad, the Union Army struggling to turn the Confederate flanks The armies on both sides and their suffering, the blood thirsty sounds of battle, the strange moments when the Johnnies and Billys had informal meetings and truces are vividly described The burning of Atlanta, the re election of President Lincoln are among a dozen ongoing events in the narr It s a masterpiece, a gem and a fantastic read The book takes you inside high command meetings as you travel down the Western and Atlantic Railroad, the Union Army struggling to turn the Confederate flanks The armies on both sides and their suffering, the blood thirsty sounds of battle, the strange moments when the Johnnies and Billys had informal meetings and truces are vividly described The burning of Atlanta, the re ...A masterpiece of scholarship, writing, and analysis Castel pulls no punches but sometimes he seems to go overboard in his attacks on Sherman Overly long and only for those obsessed with the Civil War, like myself. 2009 09 06.

English
18 December 2018

Albert E. Castel