About the Author

During the Second World War, Byron Farwell (1921–1999) served as a captain of engineers attached to the Mediterranean Allied Air Force in the British Eighth Army area.

Reviews

"[Farwell] gets to the heart of why Jackson is so legitimately fascinating." -- Chicago Tribune "An exceptionally balanced view of a very complicated man... Farwell lets Jackson emerge from his own words and actions. As a result, Jackson is no less a great figure of the Civil War, but he is equally an imaginable human being. " -- Journal of Military History "The finest depiction yet of this shy, enigmatic, and devoutly religious Confederate commander... Mr. Farwell writes with a lucidity and elan that rank him with the likes of Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote, and James McPherson." -- Washington Times

Farwell, a leading popular military historian ( Mr. Kipling's Army ), argues that his subject's reputation has been so highly polished by admirers that both the man and the soldier are obscured. Here he depicts a Stonewall Jackson (1812-1863) as a complex person who could be petty as well as pious, vindictive as well as heroic. The core of the work, however, is a series of battle narratives that establish Jackson as a hard-driving offensive fighter who took risks and made them pay off. Farwell's insistence that Jackson was consistently lucky understates the effects of Stonewall's ability to force his enemies to make mistakes. He is more convincing in arguing that Jackson's difficulty in cooperating with colleagues and subordinates meant that corps command marked his effective limit. The author's concluding implication--that Jackson's death at Chancellorsville might not have been an overwhelming disaster for the Confederacy--is certain to attract attention. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Oct.)