STEPHEN W. SEARS is the author of many award-winning books on the Civil War, including Gettysburg and Landscape Turned Red. A former editor at American Heritage, he lives in Connecticut.,
This companion to Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam ( LJ 5/15/83) continues the author's narrative of the fortunes of the Army of the Potomac and its leader, General George B. McClellan. Sears's compelling Civil War chronicles rival those of the late Bruce Catton, and this work resonates with authority derived from a thorough knowledge of McClellan and his adversaries and immediacy achieved by extensive use of eyewitness accounts gleaned from the reminiscences of combatants on both sides. Lucid maps, accurate tables of command, and a comprehensive bibliography all contribute to the book's usefulness. Those reading it may also want to consult Richard Wheeler's Sword over Richmond ( LJ 4/1/86) for other eyewitness accounts and William C. Davis's The Guns of '62 ( LJ 2/15/82) for a superb photographic record of the campaign. Recommended for most libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/92.--Lawrence E. Ellis, Broward Community Coll. Lib., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Sears complements his 1988 biography of George McClellan with this definitive analysis of the general's principal campaign. McClellan's grand plan was to land an army at Yorktown, move up the Virginia peninsula toward Richmond, and fight a decisive battle somewhere near the Confederate capital, thereby ending the Civil War while it was still a rebellion instead of a revolution. The strategy failed in part because of McClellan's persistent exaggerations of Confederate strength, but also because under his command the Federals fought piecemeal. The Confederates were only marginally more successful at concentrating their forces, but Sears credits their leaders, especially Lee, as better able to learn from experience. Confederate victory on the Peninsula meant the Civil War would continue. The campaign's heavy casualties indicated the kind of war it would be. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Sept.)
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