Clouds of Glory

The Life and Legend of Robert E. Lee

By: Michael Korda

Narrated by: Jack Garrett

In Clouds of Glory: The Life and Legend of Robert E. Lee, Michael Korda, the New York Times best-selling biographer of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ulysses S. Grant, and T. E. Lawrence, has written the first major biography of Lee in nearly 20 years, bringing to life America's greatest and most iconic hero. Korda paints a vivid and admiring portrait of Lee as a general and a devoted family man who, though he disliked slavery and was not in favor of secession, turned down command of the Union army in 1861 because he could not "draw his sword" against his own children, his neighbors, and his beloved Virginia. He was surely America's preeminent military leader, as calm, dignified, and commanding a presence in defeat as he was in victory. Lee's reputation has only grown in the 150 years since the Civil War, and Korda covers in groundbreaking detail all of Lee's battles and traces the making of a great man's undeniable reputation on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, positioning him finally as the symbolic martyr-hero of the Southern Cause.

©2014 Success Research Corporation (P)2014 HarperCollinsPublishers

GREAT… except for

No translation into English of any of the foreign language phrases that were scattered throughout the book

Nice to meet you Mr R.E. Lee

Very good well written and read great detail and it makes you feel you are there.

good book

wish it would have been more in depth about the war year's, great read all together.

excellent

I did not know much about Lee, the man, and is the reason I listened to this biography. I found it very enlightening and highly recommend it to anyone who has a desire to understand the Confederate Virginian's perspective on the Civil War.

Informative but repetitive

I found this reading to be excellent and the content very informative to the true character of Lee but lines and anecdotes were repeated frequently to the point of annoyance

Masterly written epic covering every emotion

I write this with tears still wetting my eyes. A beautiful story about a wonderful man told in a masterly manner. Michael Korda painstakingly writes a lively and entertaining story of this man and his life. Pre-civil war much of the history of warfare was French afterward the strategy of Lee, Grant and others became trusted doctrine. Jack Garrett reads this book with energy and nuance, a master at his art. The credit for writing belongs to Mr, Korda but this in no way diminishes the contribution of Mr. Garrett who reads this work magnificently. I loved every minute of it, pure pleasure.

History is Interesting - Author can get distracted

This is a great biography of Robert E. Lee. I do think that author is so enamored with Lee that some of his statements seem out of place like saying that he was the greatest general in the civil war because he was great on defense and offense while Grant was only tried at offense. Seems to forget that Grant never had to play defense - it is unclear how he would have done.

However, if you want the facts about Lee, this is a great book. Lee is an amazing character that held the charm of the entire country (North and South) even after the war. Although he was never given back his citizenship, the country honored him. And in the end, he gets lot of the credit for the war not becoming a really long guerrilla affair.

Well written and researched, Korda has done a great job with this biography.

great read for civil war enthusiasts

ive always enjoyed learning about the civil war, but being from Illinois all that was ever taught was Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln. I learned a lot not only about Robert E Lee but the southern military experience during the war as well. the book is a great introduction to this topic which I am eager to explore more of.

Another great story

good narration and subject kept my interest and enthusiasm high, though the ride seemed long.

Chancellorsvilledly good book.

The Seven Days campaign, given the enormity of its scale was a little hard to follow - had to consult a map of Virginia from time to time. But everything else was easy enough to grasped.

Please continue to write more great books like this one - if practicable.