Robert E. Lee, Roy Blount, Jr.
Robert E. Lee, Roy Blount, Jr.
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Robert E. Lee

Author: Roy Blount, Jr.

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Unabridged: 5 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/27/2003

Synopsis

Robert E. Lee was a brilliant general, a complex soul, and a Southerner to the core. Tapped by Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army in the Civil War, his Virginian roots led him to command the Confederates instead. A charismatic though reluctant leader, his military audacity and tactical genius were combined with a genuine and sorrowful solicitude for his men, as ragged and outnumbered as they were by the end of the war.

Roy Blount, Jr., one of America's canniest writers, goes beyond the haunted contradictions of Lee's character and legendary strategic prowess to explore Lee's quirky sense of humor, his illustrious but scandal-clouded ancestry, and his paradoxical humility. Every reader curious about the makeup of a man born to be a myth will love this book.
 
"[Roy Blount]... is one of America's wittiest writers." (New York Times Book Review)

About The Author

Roy Blount, Jr. is the author of more than twenty books, covering subjects from the Pittsburgh Steelers to what dogs are thinking to the ins and outs of etymology. He is a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!, a member of the American Heritage Dictionary Usage Panel, and a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Born in Indianapolis and raised in Decatur, Georgia, he now divides his time between New Orleans and western Massachusetts with his wife, the painter Joan Griswold, and their cat, Jimmy.Michael Prichard has played several thousand characters during his career. While he has been seen performing over a hundred of them in theater and film, SmartMoney magazine named him one of the Top Ten Golden Voices.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Stephen

Blount's biography of Robert E Lee is short, general, and weird. It's ideal for a casual reader who doesn't know anything at all about Lee, aside from his leadership role in the Army of Northern Virginia. Having read quite a few histories of the eastern campaigns and gleaned the general details abou......more

Goodreads review by Jordan

Roy Blount Jr.’s short biography of Robert E. Lee is an idiosyncratic book. It’s broadly organized into two parts: a biography, running a brisk 160 pages, and a 45-page section of appendices. The biographical half of the book is good. Blount’s account is readable and nicely summarizes Lee’s life, beg......more

Goodreads review by Tony

Some amateur critics complain that this isn't a comprehensive treatment, but ultimately that's a complaint rooted in laziness. If you want a fuller coverage of Lee's life's events, most of the relevant materials are readily available. Blount focuses on the hardest and most speculative component, whi......more

Goodreads review by Jeff

An excellent short biography of Lee. Blount doesn't portray the general as either a hero or villian, but as someone who felt that he had no choice but to take the path he did. Lee had a somewhat negative view of slavery (albeit in a paternalistic kind of way) and thought that secession was a mistake......more

Goodreads review by Murphy

Read in 2008. I can't recall anything about the book now. At the time, I wrote, "Short and sweet, full of interesting info, some not so well known, about 'Marse Robert'. A good, entertaining read." My opinion could be different were I to read this book today.......more

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