A Battle from the Start : The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest

New York:: Harper Collins, 1992. A clean, square, tight copy. Sharp corners. Inner hinges are perfect. The Dust Jacket is bright and shiny, with just a touch of rubbing. No chips. No tears. No owner's name or bookplate. No remainder mark. Pages are fresh and crisp -- probably never read. No underlining. No highlighting. No margin notes. Illustrated with 18 maps in the text, and 24 pages of photos and engravings on glossy paper. Endpapers feature double-page map of the war's Western Theater. List of chapter notes/sources. Bibliography. Index. "First Edition" is so stated, with complete number row (10 987654321) on the copyright page. However, there is no price on the Dust Jacket, so likely a book club edition. From the Dust Jacket: "Sherman called him 'That Devil, Forest' and 'the most remarkable man our Civil War produced on either side.' Bruce Catton rated him 'one of the authentic military geniuses of the whole war.' And Grant said, 'For the particular kind of warfare which Forrest had carried on neither army could present a more effective officer.' The remarkable life and Civil War exploits of Nathan Bedford Forrest have attracted six earlier biographers, but the last work, 'FIRST WITH THE MOST' FORREST, appeared nearly fifty years ago, and none of them had access to the materials Brian Steel Wills used in A BATTLE FROM THE START or covered in similar detail Forrest's life before and after the war. The result is a book that is thorough and objective as well as immensely readable. Not only does A BATTLE FROM THE START describe Forrests incredible and dramatic feats on the battlefield, it covers his childhood and youth as the oldest son of a poor farmer on the Mississippi frontier, who took over responsibility for the family's survival as a young boy when his father died, and his later move to Memphis, where he became a millionaire in the slave trade. It describes Forrest's life after the war: his acceptance of the defeat of the Southern cause rather than defiant flight to foreign shores, his declining business fortunes, his deteriorating health from a body worn down by the war's rigors, and his premature death. And it also explores Forrest's flaws: his quick temper and impulsive violence, his culpability in the massacre of black Union soldiers after the capture of Fort Pillow, and his role as a founder and Grand Wizard of the first Ku Klux Klan. Imperfect as Forrest was, he was a product of his time and region, a remarkable fighter, military leader, and a fascinating man. In A BATTLE FROM THE START, Brian Steel Wills has drawn him as he was.". Book Club Edition assumed (no price). Hard Cover. Fine condition./Near Fine dust jacket.. Illus. by Phillips, Gordon D. (jacket art). 8vo. xix, 457pp.. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.