John Bell Hood, a native of Kentucky bred on romantic notions of the Old South and determined to model himself on Robert E. Lee, had a tragic military career, no less interesting for being calamitous. After conspicuous bravery in leading a Texas brigade, he rose in the ranks to become the youngest of the full generals of the Confederacy. The misfortune in store for Hood, a far better fighter than a strategist, illustrates the strain and risks of high command. One of the lasting images to come out of the Civil War is that of the one-legged General Hood strapped in his saddle, leading his men in a hopeless counter-offensive against Sherman's march on Atlanta. In this prize-winning book Richard M. McMurry spares no details of Hood's ultimate "complete and disastrous failure," but he is concerned to do justice to one of the most maligned and misunderstood figures in Civil War history.

Richard M. McMurry is also the author of Two Great Rebel Armies: An Essay in Confederate Military History (l989).

"McMurry presents a terse, sharply focused portrait of the controversial [Hood] that never wanders from his subject or smothers him with superfluous battlefront details. . . . His treatment of key turning points in the Texan's career is reasoned and thorough in its analysis."—Journal of Southern History

"McMurry is a fine campaign historian and excellent researcher. He chronicles the events of Hood's life well."—American Historical Review