Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour

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Summary: The Ultimate Biography
Review: Before I was introduced to this book I knew nothing about the man in question outside of the fact that he was the first confederate President.

After spending a good month reading this biography of Jefferson Davis I feel like I know the man. William C. Davis does an excellent job portraying the life of Jefferson Davis. Here is a man who had his share of suffering, both physically, mentally, as well as numerous personal loses, but always seemed to bounce back and go on. The book moves along quite smooth, and William C. Davis has the gift of actually making you feel like your there when the many drama'a of Jefferson Davis unfold.

For anyone interested in learning about Jefferson Davis, this is the "meat" of books written about Jefferson Davis. When you finish reading this fine biography you will actually feel like you "know" Jefferson Davis and watched his life unfold right before you. I highly recommend this book to all beginners.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent analysis of the man and his time
Review: Davis presents casual readers and historians with an excellent bio of Davis and his tenure as president of the short-lived Confederate nation. His meticulous research is evident in this interesting account of the man AND his motivations. I had the privilege of hearing Mr. Davis address a Civil War Round Table shortly after the publication of this book. His other works, especially "The Deep Waters of the Proud" are also highly recommended

Rating:
Summary: best biography on Davis
Review: Once more, William C. Davis have provided us Civil War readers with another pure winner. Of all the biographies I have read on Jefferson Davis, this book definitely proves to be the best. It highly readable, interesting as well as entertaining and after you finished with the last page, you actually feel like you know something about Jefferson Davis, his talents which was outweighted by his weaknesses. The biography paint a rather tragic figure of man who was so devoted to his cause but yet, did so much to defeat it. The irony will proves to be unforgettable to anyone who read the book. I would considered this book to be one of these so called "must read" book by anyone who have a slightest interest in the Civil War.

Rating:
Summary: An inspiring account which encourages further research
Review: The author has mastered the challenging task of introducing the reader to the person of President Davis without capturing him in a net of preconceived ideas. In this well told account he presents the positive as well as the negative aspects of Jefferson Davis' character and actions concisely and in a straightforward manner, even bluntly at times. In most instances he does not comment more than absolutely necessary thus leaving a lot of room for the reader to develop his / her own opinion or just to encourage further research on certain points. However, the author's strictly chronological and factual approach is balanced here and there with suitable relaxing anectotes from the President's life such as the story of soldier Jeems, with vivid descriptions of the President's happy and sad moments as well a couple of awe-inspiring contemporary descriptions of his person (the latter being quotes from contemporary sources). The author has endeavoured throughout his work to present Jefferson Davis objectively, not praising nor criticising him more than seems appropriate to facilitate understanding. The book should be compared to a photograph of the President rather than a painting the details of which have been processed by the painter's mind. Speaking from personal experience I can only say that this book has become a lamp to me which lights up the path to further research into the life and times of a very special man indeed.

Rating:
Summary: An inspiring account which encourages further research
Review: The author has mastered the challenging task of introducing the reader to the person of President Davis without capturing him in a net of preconceived ideas. In this well told account he presents the positive as well as the negative aspects of Jefferson Davis' character and actions concisely and in a straightforward manner, even bluntly at times. In most instances he does not comment more than absolutely necessary thus leaving a lot of room for the reader to develop his / her own opinion or just to encourage further research on certain points. However, the author's strictly chronological and factual approach is balanced here and there with suitable relaxing anectotes from the President's life such as the story of soldier Jeems, with vivid descriptions of the President's happy and sad moments as well a couple of awe-inspiring contemporary descriptions of his person (the latter being quotes from contemporary sources). The author has endeavoured throughout his work to present Jefferson Davis objectively, not praising nor criticising him more than seems appropriate to facilitate understanding. The book should be compared to a photograph of the President rather than a painting the details of which have been processed by the painter's mind. Speaking from personal experience I can only say that this book has become a lamp to me which lights up the path to further research into the life and times of a very special man indeed.

Rating:
Summary: Best Book on Jefferson Davis: A Much Challenged Man
Review: WC Davis writes a thorough bio on one of the most unique icons in our history. Jeff Davis is shown from his youth, painful first marriage, through his political and military rise, to the senate and to the Chief Executive position in the Confederacy. WC's bio helps explain why Davis was so unwilling to give up to the point of unrealistic dreams during the final month of the war particularly when Lee's army collapsed. WC notes the sad loss of Jeff Davis' first wife that left him a social cripple for several years to his slow rebirth. His success in the Mexican war seemed to lead him to conclude that he was a superior military man and his role as the Secretary of Defense perhaps encouraged his perspective. More a man of criticism than bright ideas in the senate, he seemed to hold his perception of honor above all else. WC does a great job describing Jeff's relations with his generals particularly Lee who seems to placate Davis' need for detail unlike Johnson and Beauregard. At the end, Jeff Davis seems to hold the Confederacy by himself and his only last political hurrah may have been allowing Alexander Stephens to make his futile effort at peace in March 65. In the end, WC notes that Jeff Davis seems to rebound with the southern public aided by his cruel treatment at Fort Monroe by his captors; however, his two-volume book seems a disaster of disorganization. One has to respect Davis for holding the Confederacy together in spite of his true desire to be a general and particularly because of his ill health and fractured political support. The book answers the question of how Davis could ever imagine that the Confederacy could survive as he was riding with a small protective band through Georgia in his last hours acting more like a fugitive than the President of a country that could still rally.

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Summary: Davis on Davis.
Review: William Davis has written many has written many wonderful books about the Civil War and quite frankly he has come a long way as a writer since he wrote this book. In this book all too often his sentence structure is poor and I had to read some sentences two or three times to see what he meant. There are also a few typos in this edition but that is hardly Davis' fault. On the other hand there is a reference in the book about Bedford Forrest being from Alabama which is hard to explain. Overall though this book is well written and will certainly hold the reader's attention.

All in all, this is an excellent biography of Jefferson Davis. I would suggest that anyone who reads this book also read William Cooper's biography of Davis because the two authors take different approaches to their subject and together they offer a great insight into the life of President Davis.

This biography tends to delve more into the personality quirks that made Davis who he was and is sometimes very critical of these quirks. In fact, this book is sometimes much more critical of Davis than is Cooper but on the other hand there is plenty of praise for the subject also. The author tends to focus on Davis as commander in chief and generally on his relationship with his generals, especially Joe Johnston, Beauregard and Bragg. These three relationships Davis argues were devastating to the Confederacy and were examples of Jefferson Davis at his worst. Full credit is given to Davis however for realizing what he had in Robert E. Lee and for doing all he could to support his best general through good times and bad.

After all is said and done the author reaches what seems like a sound conclusion. Jefferson Davis probably did as well or better than any of the other possible choices the South could have picked as their leader. He made mistakes but it was he who set up the structure that kept the armies in the field for four years. Davis was the one who persuaded Congress to pass the laws that sent the armies men and food, Davis chose Lee for command when "Granny Lee" was not at all popular, and Davis dealt with the obstinate Governors who tried to keep men and arms to themselves when they were desperately needed elsewhere. In short, Davis held the new nation together longer than most any other Southern leader could have.

Finally, the author deals quite well with the process that brought Davis to near sainthood in the South after the war. It was a process that started with his imprisonment in Fort Monroe and ended with one of the largest funerals in Southern history. Together, Cooper and Davis cover most every aspect of the life of Jefferson Davis and the two books compliment each other quite well. What Davis misses, Cooper takes care of and what Cooper only touches upon, Davis completes. These two books will serve as the most complete biographies of Jefferson Davis for years to come, and they may never be surpassed.

Rating:
Summary: First rate biography of an important American figure
Review: Wlliam Davis has written a well researched and skillful biography of a major player in American history. He was not only the first and last President of the ill-fated Confederate States of America but, as well detailed in the book, he was the south's leading defender in Congress in the mid-1800s' of "states-rights" and the rightfulness of slavery (He was a major slave "owner" himself). His was not a minor role in the events that that resulted in secession nor in the terrible bloodbath that followed. An excellent book.