Jefferson Davis, American

With so many reviews already, it is hard to add much so I'll keep this short and sweet. This is a great book and the seminal biography of Davis. Historians will be hard pressed to top Cooper's work. The book on the years preceding the Civil War were, at times, not overly inspiring, but the chapters on the war years and Davis' post-war life more than made up for it. Page turning reading and solid research to boot. This book is the best kind of history--readable, entertaining, yet solidly researched and educational as well. Having read other books that discussed Davis in varying capacities, I feel like I have a much better grasp on Davis the man than ever before. Highly recommended for any and all history buffs.

William J. Cooper has taken one of the most confused and often misjudged figures in American history and written a very detailed and entertaining portrayal of the first and only President of the Confederate States. Many people would be surprised to find out that in the antebellum south, Jefferson Davis was a staunch Unionist and adamantly opposed secession until he had no other choice and was literally thrown into the presidency of the Confederate States of America, whether he liked it or not. Cooper is careful not to glorify or demean Davis in any way. The Confederate president definitely had his flaws, the most prominent of which was his undying support of slavery. Between all the positives and negatives, Jefferson Davis was a man of his time. If you are a civil war buff or just someone who wants to read a very well written piece of work on American history, Jefferson Davis, American is highly recommended.

Superb, readable, and very exhaustive. Especially noteworthy is the well-developed context of time and ideas. An examplar biography, only drawback was lack of an epilogue that would tie-up the stories of relatives, important associates, and especialy properties after Davis's death.

For me this book dispelled a great deal of the myth and unknown surrounding the life and times of Jefferson Davis.A great deal of the books focus stretches across the life of Davis prior to 1861 and his life after 1865. His life and times are fascinatingly recreated by Mr. Cooper in a well written and researched book.This is a must for any Civil War buff and any reader of this period of American history.

Cooper, who has written a number of fine books about the Civil War and the South, has produced what is certainly far and away the best available biography of Davis, an intelligent, extremely hard-working military leader and very successful Mississippi politician who will always suffer by comparison to the far greater lights of R.E. Lee and Lincoln. The author pulls no punches about Davis' weakness for certain favorite generals, his inability to exercise his critical faculties when dealing with inadequate generals such as John Pemberton of Vicksburg fame who were, he felt, strongly devoted to the cause, as well as his calamitous command decisions relating to the war in Tennessee and Georgia, involving the trio of Bragg, Joe Johnston, and Hood, but he puts a human face on the man and his family life, including, at times, difficulties with his independent-thinking wife, Varina, who was happiest in the 1850s when Davis was Secretary of War and U.S. Senator, and with his older brother, Joseph. Davis' longstanding health problems are also fairly addressed. Like his fellow Southerner Jimmie Carter, Davis was a micromanager, both in the War Department in Washington and in leading the Confederate military machine, but it is hard to see how a more inspiring, out-going leader than Davis could have made a difference in the ultimate lost cause of the Confederacy. Cooper also does an excellent job describing Davis' theories of constitutional government. Perhaps the high point of the book, however, is Oscar Wilde's visit to Davis towards the end of Davis' life; surely, Wilde was mocking when he said Davis was the person he most wanted to meet during his American lecture tour, but the two actually did meet. Given Davis' stuffy puritanism and lack of humor, and Wilde's dandyism and wit, the two were the ultimate Odd Couple. (Varina naturally loved Wilde's cosmopolitan wit.)