Lee

After trying out the first volume, I went on to listen to all three. The writing is detailed enough to be interesting but moves quickly enough that the reader never feels stuck at any one battle or on any one character. The author's tone is reasonably neutral and he gives all the different participants, both North and South, their due but over time it becomes increasingly obvious where the author's heart lies. If the preamble to the US Constitution states that all men were created equal, it becomes apparent in small ways over the course of the books that Southern soldiers and especially Southern officers were created more equal. The Confederate armies (they are never referred to as "Rebels")behave more bravely and nobly in every battle and win nearly every battle though they are sometimes required by circumstances, as at Gettysburg, to make strategic withdrawals. It therefore comes as something of a surprise at Appomattox when General Lee, much against his will, is prevailed upon to surrender his army to avoid further bloodshed. Some may also not know that President Lincoln was killed by "a Northern bullet." Reconstruction is given short shrift as is General Grant's life after the war, but the trilogy concludes with a full account of the long life of Jefferson Davis (who outlives most of the other principals)who never deigns to request a pardon and so can never re-enter political life but lives to become a symbol of Southern ideals. If you are from the South, this will probably appeal greatly to you and if your sympathies are more Northern (as mine are) then it will give you a greater appreciation for why the Civil War was fought in the first place and how the two points of view could not otherwise be reconciled. The writing is never dull and that is saying a lot for a work of this length. I can freely recommend it to those with some patience and a willingness to see both sides of a conflict.