Reviews

• Abraham Lincoln has been examined, and rightly so, from every concievable angle. From cradle to grave biographies, analysis of his mental problems, his decisions as Commander in Chief you name it. Jefferson Davis is a neglected figure in civil war history. More books have been written about Gen.R.E Lee and Stonewall Jackson than Davis.This work by William C.Cooper jr is one of the finest books I have ever read on an American political figure and goes someway to reducing that deficit. Davis is presented as a man of his time and just as importantly his class. Was fascinated by the light the author shone on Davis' dealings with his military commanders in particular. An outstanding biography of a man who needs to be studied in order to better understand the passions and hatreds as well as strengths and weaknesses of the Confederacy.

• Dr. Cooper's masterpiece. Amazing Biography.

• William J Cooper, jr. legte eine beeindruckende Biographie des Menschen, Militaers, Plantagenbesitzers, Politikers sowie Praesidenten der Konföderierten Staaten von Amerika, Jefferson Davis, vor. Das erlebnisreiche Leben wird dabei relativ eng an die Person Davis angeleht und klar im Erzaehlstil nachgezeichnet. Die gesellschaftspolitische Komplexitaet der USA im 19. Jahrhundert sowie des Bürgerkrieges werden ebenfalls anschaulich vermittelt. Jefferson Davis wird - in aller Sachlichkeit - als prinzipientreuen Charaktertyp dargestellt, der sich bis zm Schluss treu geblieben ist. Interessant fand ich die relative finanzielle Bedürftigkeit Davis nach dem Bürgerkrieg (und wie er damit umgegangen ist).

• This is a great historical novel. No one could be a fan of this guy, but the reality of the book in great detail shows the reasons why, and the attitudes of the south at that time. The problem with people today is they place TODAYS attitudes and assume everyone thought the same then. Not so. You cannot defend these attitudes of the past, but one needs to see and understand, and learn what it REALLY was. People today cannot understand that half to three quarters of the children died before age ten, people only lived to the forties and fifties if lucky, people died of yellow fever, smallpox, typhoid, and other diseases. The north was at times as bad as the south. Money was king. No, there is no issue of this guy, but you must understand him and his times. You cannot lump a Jefferson Davis, a Robert E. Lee, and a Longstreet together. I recommend this book. If you wish to understand the Civil War and this point in history, this is required readinbg. The Civil War really started after the Revolution.

• The book is well researched and well written, and the style is highly readable. Having said that, it's not an engrossing book that's hard to put down either. Nonetheless, I plodded through it over a month and I am glad I did. Jefferson Davis remains an enigma to most Americans; how could someone who had studied at West Point, served in our military, been a Senator and a Cabinet officer lead a rebellion against the very nation he professed to love for so long? The book reveals the answer and makes a convincing argument that Davis neither hated The United States of America nor loved the vile institution of slavery. In his view, and perhaps in the view of many if not most of his Southern contemporaries, the largest viable sovereign political entity was the State, not the Union. Put simply, Davis was a Mississippian, and as long as Mississippi chose to associate itself with the other states of the Union, so too would Davis. But he believed very deeply in the Jeffersonian principle of decentralized government, and Federal mandates were an affront to his interpretation of the Constitution. The book makes his case admirably and tells the story of that period from an interesting perspective. It will not disappoint the reader whose views may be different than those of Mr. Davis.

Purchase links