Synopses & Reviews
Fighting for Defeat argues that the Union armys lack of success in the eastern theater early in the Civil War was due largely to its fear that the Confederate army was invincible. Certain to arouse discussion, this study by Michael C. C. Adams combines probing social and psychological analysis, blood-rushing description of events, and candid pictures of President Lincoln, and Generals George McClellan and Ulysses Grant, among many others. It was first published in 1978 with the main title Our Masters the Rebels.
Review
"Sound scholarship and balanced judgment make [Adams's book] one that must be taken seriously. Historians should read it not only as a major revision in Civil War history but as an example of how cultural and military history can be fruitfully combined. Civil War buffs will find a delightful new source for controversy."—Choice Choice
Review
"This excellent and provocative work concludes with a chapter suggesting how the image of Southern military superiority endured in spite of defeat."—Archer Jones, Civil War History Archer Jones
Review
"[An] able, stimulating, and provocative interpretation."—American Historical Review American Historical Review
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-242) and index.
About the Author
Michael C. C. Adams, a professor of history at Northern Kentucky University, is the author of The Great Adventure: Male Desire and the Coming of World War I (1990).