Victors In Blue

Make no mistake, the Confederacy had the will and valor to fight. But the Union had the manpower, the money, the matriel, and, most important, the generals. Although the South had arguably the best commander in the Civil War in Robert E. Lee, the North's full house beat their one-of-a-kind. Flawed individually, the Union's top officers nevertheless proved collectively superior across a diverse array of battlefields and ultimately produced a victory for the Union. Now acclaimed author Albert Castel brings his inimitable style, insight, and wit to a new reconsideration of these generals. With the assistance of Brooks Simpson, another leading light in this field, Castel has produced a remarkable capstone volume to a distinguished career. In it, he reassesses how battles and campaigns forged a decisive Northern victory, reevaluates the generalship of the victors, and lays bare the sometimes vicious rivalries among the Union generals and their effect on the war. From Shiloh to the Shenandoah, Chickamauga to Chattanooga, Castel provides fresh accounts of how the Union commanders--especially Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas, and Meade but also Halleck, Schofield, and Rosecrans--outmaneuvered and outfought their Confederate opponents. He asks of each why he won: Was it through superior skill, strength of arms, enemy blunders, or sheer chance? What were his objectives and how did he realize them? Did he accomplish more or less than could be expected under the circumstances? And if less, what could he have done to achieve more--and why did he not do it? Castel also sheds new light on the war within the war: the intense rivalries in the upper ranks, complicated by the presence in the army of high-ranking non-West Pointers with political wagons attached to the stars on their shoulders. A decade in the writing, Victors in Blue brims with novel, even outrageous interpretations that are sure to stir debate. As certain as the Union achieved victory, it will inform, provoke, and enliven sesquicentennial discussions of the Civil War.

The Victors is a breathtaking new work from bestselling historian Stephen E. Ambrose, author of the classic book Band of Brothers. It follows the momentous events of the Second World War from D-Day, 6 June 1944, through to the final days when the Allied soldiers pushed the German troops out of France, chased them across Germany. Finally, on VE Day, 7 May 1945, they could celebrate the destruction of the Nazi regime as victory in Europe was secured. At the centre of this epic drama are the citizen soldiers, the boys who became men as they fought, eventually proving unbeatable. Drawing from his extensive research for his previous bestselling books on the conflict, Ambrose creates one of the most exciting single-volume histories of World War II ever written. The Victors is a compelling celebration of military genius and heroism, and of camaraderie and courage.

Military power is now the main vehicle for regime change. The US army has been used on more than 30 different occasions in the post-Cold War world compared with just 10 during the whole of the Cold War era. Leading scholar Andrew Williams tackles contemporary thinking on war with a detailed study on liberal thinking over the last century about how wars should be ended, using a vast range of historical archival material from diplomatic, other official and personal papers, which this study situates within the debates that have emerged in political theory. He examines the main strategies used at the end, and in the aftermath, of wars by liberal states to consolidate their liberal gains and to prevent the re-occurrence of wars with those states they have fought. This new study also explores how various strategies: revenge; restitution; reparation; restraint; retribution; reconciliation; and reconstruction, have been used by liberal states not only to defeat their enemies but also transform them. This is a major new contribution to contemporary thinking and action. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of politics, international relations and security studies.

Released to mark the 150th anniversary of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, this book provides general readers with a succinct examination of the Confederacy's last major triumph. There is renewed interest among Civil War historians and history buffs alike about events west of the Appalachian Mountains and their impact on the outcome of the conflict. In examining the Chickamauga campaign, this book provides a fresh analysis of the foremost Confederate victory in the Western theater. The study opens with a discussion of two commanders, William S. Rosecrans and Braxton Bragg, and the forces swirling around them when they clashed in September 1863. Drawing on both primary sources and recent Civil War scholarship, it then follows the specific aspects of the battle, day by day. In addition to interweaving analysis of the Union and Confederate commanders and the tactical situation during the campaign, the book also reveals how the rank and file dealt with the changing fortunes of war. Readers will see how the campaign altered the high commands of both armies, how it impacted the common soldier, and how it affected the strategic situation, North and South.

Victors & Victims unveils the truth that people who find success and joy in life are those who know who they are and give it, versus those who know what they want and take it. Success in life comes in many different forms. Profitable careers and businesses come to mind, but what about happy marriages, well-raised kids, loyal friendships? Success, no matter what its form, has the same foundations. Mastering them means mastering life. We all have different core passions. Some cry for freedom, some for security; some dwell on the past and some on the future. Our core passions dictate how we communicate and what messages and beliefs we listen to and follow. When you understand your own core passions as well as those of the people around you, you can communicate successfully and form powerful relationships filled with joy and promise. And how you understand yourself, God, and your passions will determine whether you live your life as a victim (always wanting and taking more), or a victor (joyously giving more, thus receiving more). In this book, Ken Harrison draws from his powerful experiences fighting violent criminals as a police officer in Los Angeles, running and selling international companies, and his 24-year marriage to his high school sweetheart in order to give the keys to turning ambition into success.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society statistics show every three minutes someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer such as leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, or myelodysplasia. Unfortunately, my family was no exception when my son was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Our experience inspired me to write Victors Over Leukemia to relate my son’s and family’s struggle with, and ultimate triumph over, a disease that not long ago was a certain death sentence. Whatever the situation that has piqued your interest, I am glad you chose this book. I wanted this book to present our ordeal from the perspectives of all the main characters. Whether or not you have had prior experience with a blood cancer, I want you to become part of our story and determine which perspective speaks to you. As you read Victors Over Leukemia, I hope it fortifies your hope in triumph as the main characters articulate their thoughts, fears, faith, and emotions as they travel the tough road of a leukemia diagnosis. Each person’s experience is unique, but there are some constant variables. Based on this premise, I believe the reader will identify with the book. It’s the true story of a brave young man and is filled with facts, faith, humor, and encouragement.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The intimate true story of three of the greatest American generals of World War II, and how their intense blend of comradery and competition spurred Allied forces to victory. “One of the great stories of the American military.”—Thomas E. Ricks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Generals Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton and Omar Bradley shared bonds going back decades. All three were West Pointers who pursued their army careers with a remarkable zeal, even as their paths diverged. Bradley was a standout infantry instructor, while Eisenhower displayed an unusual ability for organization and diplomacy. Patton, who had chased Pancho Villa in Mexico and led troops in the First World War, seemed destined for high command and outranked his two friends for years. But with the arrival of World War II, it was Eisenhower who attained the role of Supreme Commander, with Patton and Bradley as his subordinates. Jonathan W. Jordan’s New York Times bestselling Brothers Rivals Victors explores this friendship that waxed and waned over three decades and two world wars, a union complicated by rank, ambition, jealousy, backbiting and the enormous stresses of command. In a story that unfolds across the deserts of North Africa to the beaches of Sicily, from D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge and beyond, readers are offered revealing new portraits of these iconic generals.

Colin MacInnes was a sergeant in a Field Security detachment in the Second World War. In this imaginative record of actual experiences he describes the progress of his detachment through Holland, Germany and Belgium in a rapid succession of incidents, full of humanity, light-heartedness and wit. But it is a great deal more than just a fascinating account of the war; written in the 1950s, it was a sufficient distance away for the war experience to have been digested, yet close enough for it to be fresh. Running through the seemingly gentle stories he tells are undercurrents of emotion which are moving, disturbing and deeply poignant.