Jefferson Davis is a historical figure who provokes strong passions among scholars. Through the years historians have placed him at both ends of the spectrum: some have portrayed him as a hero; others have judged him incompetent.In Jefferson Davis and His Generals; Steven Woodworth shows that both extremes are accurate—Davis was both heroic and incompetent. Yet neither viewpoint reveals the whole truth about this complicated figure. Woodworth's portrait of Davis reveals an experienced; talented; and courageous leader who; nevertheless; undermined the Confederacy's cause in the trans-Appalachian west; where the South lost the war.At the war's outbreak; few Southerners seemed better qualified for the post of commander-in-chief. Davis had graduated from West Point; commanded a combat regiment in the Mexican War (which neither Lee nor Grant could boast); and performed admirably as U.S. Senator and Secretary of War. Despite his credentials; Woodworth argues; Davis proved too indecisive and inconsistent as commander-in-chief to lead his new nation to victory.As Woodworth shows; however; Davis does not bear the sole responsibility for the South's defeat. A substantial part of that burden rests with Davis's western generals. Bragg; Beauregard; Van Dorn; Pemberton; Polk; Buckner; Hood; Forrest; Morgan; and the Johnstons (Albert and Joseph) were a proud; contentious; and uneven lot. Few could be classed with the likes of a Lee or a Jackson in the east. Woodworth assesses their relations with Davis; as well as their leadership on and off the battlefields at Donelson; Shiloh; Vicksburg; Murfreesboro; Chickamauga; and Atlanta; to demonstrate their complicity in the Confederacy's demise.Extensive research in the marvelously rich holdings of the Jefferson Davis Association at Rice University enriches Woodworth's study. He provides superb analyses of western military operations; as well as some stranger-than-fiction tales: Van Dorn's shocking death; John Hood and Sally Preston's bizarre romance; Gideon Pillow's undignified antics; and Franklin Cheatham's drunken battlefield behavior. Most important; he has avoided the twin temptations to glorify or castigate Davis and thus restored balance to the evaluation of his leadership during the Civil War."A long-awaited work on an important topic—a counterpart for T. Harry Williams's celebrated Lincoln and His Generals. Experts in the field will have to take Woodworth into account. He writes well—in a good; clear style that should appeal to a wide audience. I found many passages to be pure pleasure to read. . . . The really exciting thing; though; is his insightful series of conclusions."—Herman Hattaway; author of How the North Won."Highly readable; stimulating; and at times even provocative. This fast-paced and compelling narrative provides a very effective overview of Confederate command problems in the West."—Albert Castel; author of General Sterling Price and the Civil War in the West.
#155206 in Books Ingramcontent 2015-02-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.33 x 6.00l; 1.72 #File Name: 0692395881590 pagesShadow of My Father
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Double Review: Shadow of My Father; and Gotti's RulesBy Chris KasparozaI read both “Shadow of My Father†and “Gotti’s Rules†and here’s what I think:Shadow of My Father came off from the heart. It felt real; like John Gotti Jr. was speaking direct to the reader and not necessarily telling them a story. That being said; it was overwritten; repetitive at times; and could have easily had 100 pages cut out of it; but; as an author myself this is something I overlooked as he had no editor and was rushing to put this e-book out in advance of the release of Gotti’s Rules which is from a multi-published writer with a major publisher and public relations team behind him.Not like it matters; though. Shadow of My Father was touching; especially towards the end when Mr. Gotti goes through his four trials; parole hearing; diesel therapy and all the ways the government tried and failed to break him. Some people will say he was a criminal and deserved it; but those who read this book and hear his side of the story will be rooting for him and when his memoir is released in paperback I hope Gotti adds to this story; and maybe thirty of forty years from now; when many of the old gang are dead and gone; and Gotti can write more in depth about his experiences without ratting anyone out; I hope he comes back and tells a fuller tale as it has the potential to be one of the all-time great autobiographies. It really does.What I found touching in it was the story of how in his fourth trial; he brought several people in to testify on his behalf; criminals all serving long prison sentences who had nothing to gain and perhaps everything to lose by helping him. I won’t spoil the details but their stories really hit hard on what it means to be loyal; and to be a man.And then there is this other thing; “Gotti’s Rules†by George Anastasia with John Alite.Let me be clear—I have a great respect for Mr. Anastasia and his work; and his book “Blood And Honor†that he wrote about the Philly mob with federal informant Nick ‘The Crow’ Caramandi is easily one of the all-time great mob stories. A true tour de force.But; this falls far short. In some respects; it is even insulting—to me; and I assume; anyone who has ever had lies and rumors spread about them.In the opening pages of Gotti’s Rules it says that “no member of the Gotti family†was contacted while writing this.Really? So then how did you write it? On the words of a cooperating witness who was discredited on the witness stand?Looking back the whole book felt like ‘Gotti-bashing’ to me with one insult against that family after the next; some kind of tabloid fodder instead of a literary work that made me glad I took it out of the library instead of paying money for it.As I said; I respect Mr. Anastasia and his writing; but I don’t know what happened here. Was he blackmailed into writing this? I have no idea. But what I do know is the title “Gotti’s Rules†is just some marketing ploy to sell the book because if it said “Alite’s Life†on the cover no one would care.And; I have to be honest—in my opinion; the cover of Shadow of My Father would make a nice painting; but; as a book cover it is lacking while the cover art for Gotti’s Rules is totally awesome. It really does look great. But; how can a guy like Alite go around with a straight face promoting a book about his life that has someone else’s name and picture on the cover?These last few weeks I have seen and heard him in interviews contradicting himself in one lie after the next. For instance; he keeps calling Mr. Gotti “a rat;†yet refuses to call himself the same. In fact; he says he only cut a deal with the government because he heard that John Gotti Jr. and Ronald Trucchio were informing against him.Really? Hmmm… so then wouldn’t that mean that after Trucchio got a life sentence; and Gotti stood tall through three straight trials; that Alite would have no reason to testify against Gotti in his fourth trial?I could go on and on; but it is clear to the educated reader that Alite’s stories are filled with holes that this book is buried in. And; I have to be honest—as someone who has had rumors spread about him in the past—I find Alite going on his current media tour personally insulting. He’s like the Sarah Palin of the mob world. Does he think we’re stupid?I don’t know; but what I do know is that since Anastasia is not accompanying him on this tour he probably knows his book is bogus also.The bright side being; I have little doubt he will come back and make his next true crime book one of the best anyone’s ever read. I mean; he kind of has to.But on this one; while I feel like being nice and giving Gotti’s Rules two stars; I’m only giving it one. I don’t see how you can write a book about someone and interview his enemies but not give the subject the chance to speak his mind. That is not journalism to me.And as for Shadow of My Father? A part of me feels like giving it four out of five stars; but; I am giving it five because I know there were many details Gotti would have liked to include but could not as he is not a federal informant selling out all of his friends unlike his nemesis.And; that’s something I’d like to close with. Today I heard Alite on the radio saying that Gotti is scared; that he is an informer and won’t do any interviews; and then in another interview I heard him say that he won’t do interviews without his lawyer. Which one is it? Either way; he has his lawyer with him because he is not the informer Alite makes him out to be and doesn’t want to get indicted again. I mean; how can you call someone an informer after they stood tall through FOUR straight trials; plus a parole hearing?Does anyone think that’s easy? I can’t even imagine the stress that puts on someone; not to mention the loved ones of that someone. The stress from those trials probably took years; if not decades off of Mr. Gotti’s life; especially since he was fighting kidney disease at the time without proper medical attention; spending many of his days in solitary confinement; at one point in a terrorist wing surrounded by Al Qaeda.But; Alite does not care about this. Instead he rails on and on about how Gotti is an informer; and insulting him and his family in all sorts of ways. Towards the end of Gotti’s Rules; Mr. Anastasia even brings up an alleged affair that took place between Alite and Gotti’s sister; but; says that Alite will not discuss it and “continually takes the high road…†which makes perfect sense as Mr. Alite is the one who brought it up in the first place.In addition; Mr. Anastasia says that Gotti’s sister; Victoria; found a way to capitalize off his legal troubles by publishing her own memoir.Wrong. The woman wrote that memoir to hopefully help get her brother acquitted; to tell her own story to contradict that of Alite’s and all the other rats telling lies about her brother to make their own lives easier.In fact; Mr. Gotti’s fourth trial would not have been brought without Alite as the star witness in the first place. The government had no case without him.And; as it turned out; had to case with him; either.Mr. Alite says that in the mob; the rules were; at least the code he lived by was that he would never hurt someone’s family. Yet; he is an admitted drug dealer; selling poison that invariably ends up in the hands of children; and tells these lies that put Mr. Gotti on trial that inevitably hurt not just Mr. Gotti’s children; but his own. And that’s who I feel bad for in the end—the children of John Alite. They did nothing to deserve all of this.In his book; John Gotti says that he could never go through with being a rat because he wouldn’t want to hurt his kids; to have them change their name or disown him unlike one of his cooperators… which leads me to another thing I don’t understand.In Gotti’s Rules; Alite’s justification for calling Gotti a rat is the infamous 302 report published within it… which Alite says was given to him by noted mob attorneys in 2005.Yeah; sure. If that was the case; it would have made the internet soon after; just like this review.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The book became very boring. John ABy Louis RomanoI have mixed feelings about this book. There wasn't much that I haven't already read or heard about John Gotti. There was way too much about how Jr. was mistreated by the criminal justice system. The book became very boring. John A. Gotti sounded like he was whining and that does not befit a man from "the life". I respect the writer for choosing his children over the mob life and wish him the best. As a writer who made mistakes with some of my books; I can see by the editing that this book was rushed. It could be cut; checked for errors and some new; revealing information would make it a better read.5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. a good read. What I found somewhat ridiculous are the ...By George J.BubrickI have mixed feelings about this book. I lived in NYC during the 70s and 80s. I know and visited many of the places where scenes took place. I have also been interested in the Mafia for 40 years. Its stories always draw me. For that reason; I found the book an interesting read. John A. Gotti (aka Junior) tells many stories; which are fascinating. How true? No idea; but; a good read.What I found somewhat ridiculous are the book's attempts to depict John J. Gotti (the father and Don) as somehow noble by characterizing him as a figure of intense loyalty; courage; wisdom and generosity. While there may have been occasional evidence of these positive qualities in Senior; they pale when compared to his commitment to the "Life". It is incontrovertible that this man was a bad actor. A thief; a thug; a vicious killer. He was; in the classic sense; a Mafioso. Please. To make him out as anything else is ludicrous. I sure hope Junior has left the Life for good as heclaims.On the other hand; Junior's recounts of how he and his father were treated by the federal legal; law enforcement and prison systems is; indeed; disturbing. Their treatment; in terms of hygiene; food; medical care and physical treatment; can only be described as inhumane; based on the book's allegations. To my mind; when someone commits a crime; is tried; found guilty and sentenced; that sentence should be the restitution expected. To make serving that sentence an inhumane ordeal is not what is expected in this country. If a criminal deserves to receive inedible food; sleep deprivation; physical abuse and subhuman medical care; then the sentence should decree such. It should not be up to prison officials to conduct their own personal vendetta; regardless of whom the criminal is.Finally there is the matter of Machiavellian treatment. On numerous occasions; the book unambiguously accuses law enforcement and legal authorities of grossly distorting testimony and evidence to achieve convictions. In all cases involving persons clearly guilty of countless crimes. First; I have no doubt that the federal government is oft times guilty of distorting truth to get what it wants. If one ever doubted this; the last 8 years have proved there is no room for doubt. That said; the question is do the means justify the end; if the end is appropriate? Gonna have to think on that one.In closing...Now that the Mafia; as I knew it in the 1950-80 period; is pretty well finito; this might be one of the last good reads on that chapter.
