Generals South, Generals North: The Commanders of the Civil War Reconsidered by Alan Axelrod

Generals South, Generals North: The Commanders of the Civil War Reconsidered Reviews

• 
  Jessica

  An excellent series of essays on 24 generals (12 North and 12 South) who ranged from horrible and infamous to merely competent to outstanding generals key to winning. This book, though not without a few evaluations which I disagree with, would be of great use to both Civil War scholars and the armchair historian alike. I cannot wait to purchase a copy of it myself!
• 
  Anson Cassel Mills

  Prolific author Alan Axelrod (b. 1952) here presents 24 biographical sketches of Civil War generals, twelve each from South and North, organized by section and then in roughly the chronological sequence of their appearance in the Civil War. Axelrod writes well enough, and though the treatment is encyclopedic, there is much to be said for reading these mini-biographies together as a way to understand the military history of the War.
• 
  Saklani

  Interesting effort to look at the major generals on both sides of the war and give them a rating based off their record, abilities, personality and a variety of other factors. Some interesting tidbits, especially about the lives pre and post the war.
• 
  Randy

  A must read for civil wars buffs.
• 
  Jason Russell

  A somewhat "low frills" volume, this book nevertheless provides a good primer on most of the major personalities on both sides of the conflict. Each profile (roughly 15 pages each) includes a War-era photo of the given general, perhaps a map of a major engagement, and often a photo from much later in life.
  
  On the text side, the profiles follow each general from childhood to death, explaining how each landed in a military career. The profiles are concise and insightful. Axelrod also rates each judge using a star system (four is best). Although I'm no expert, his ratings seem appropriate.
• 
  Richard

  Good overview of 24 of the principle Generals of the Civil War. None of the chapters go into great depth (each being about 12 pages each), but give a decent personal history of each, with emphasis on the Civil War years.
  A great deal of repetition of stories, not always from different points of view, bring this book down a notch.
  This book is satisfactory for what it is, a quick reference to some of the main players on both sides of the conflict.
• 
  Jerry

  Concise Summaries of the Great and not so Great Civil War Generals
  
  This book is a lot like a baseball statistics book. It rates the generals along with short career vignettes. I found it a great update and I think a lot of civil war newbies will find it useful.
• 
  David

  A thumbnail sketch of 12 generals each from the South and the North. It was very informative, and especially helpful as I was reading Volume I of Shelby Foote's "The Civil War."
• 
  Jim Blessing

  Decent read on the most significant military leaders during the Civil War
• 
  Brian

  A very good book about the top commanders both North and South in the Civil AmericanWar.