Robert E. Lee

John Dwyer's "Robert E. Lee" is one of the best books I have ever read. It takes a close-up look at Lee himself, his family, and the circumstances and people of his time. I went through it in spurts, as it is over seven hundred pages long, but to me the length was worth it. (Prospective readers should understand, however, that the conservative Presbyterian author does include some blanked-out cuss words. I put Wite-out on these and kept the book.) There is so much historical fact in "Robert E. Lee" that, for the reader who is not a historian, the lines between fact and fiction will blur. We meet Robert E. Lee, the sincere Christian who does his best to encourage peace in the face of what he recognizes as evil Yankee oppression; Agnes, Lee's sorrowful daughter who has vowed, after the death of her beau, never to love again; Jeb Stuart, the gallant Episcopal cavalryman that dies without the thing he wants most--to see his wife Flora one last time; Wayne Marley, Union scout and later a U.S. congressman, whose morality eventually caves under the temptations of Washington; Ethan McDowell, a Confederate Christian who keeps his promise to fight for Marse Robert "till the Yankees grind me to dust"; Elijah Sledge, the one-time slave of Ethan's cruel father that is now trying to make his way in the Reconstruction-era South; and Cole Culpeper, a bitter Rebel who vows to kill Sledge in revenge for the death of Culpeper's little cousin Daniel. Through faults and failures and brutality, eventually even the unregenerate Sledge, fallen Marley, and angry Culpeper find grace. Dwyer's book is for anyone who wonders about the real story of what occured during the latter part of the War Between the States and Reconstruction. He shows us the often-hyped problems of the unreconstructed as well as the hypocrisy, corruption, and hate of the Radicals and Northerners. The facts come out without favoritism in this literary masterpiece.

This was an excellent novel based on historical facts about the great General Robert E. Lee, who was a great Christian man. It tells the story of his personal life and his war experiences from Stonewall Jackson's death through Lee's own death five years after the end of the War. I found out so many things about the War I never knew, such as the cruelty the Union imposed on the citizens of the Southern states, even years after the War ended. Most of all, it told about the character and integrity of one of the greatest men in history and how much his troops loved him - even in defeat. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I am so thankful we have good Christian authors like John Dwyer!

I am a young person that recently discovered there is more about the War between the States, than I was taught in school. History being a subject that I not only excelled in but also really enjoyed. My grandfather was a history professor and I always enjoyed talking with him about it. However I lost him before we actually studied the War between the states and took what I was taught for granted. Little did I know til 10 years after my graduation that there was alot more that was not forth coming until I took my nieces to Washington DC in June 2001. There I ran up against a contradiction in my education. It all started at Arlington National Cemetery. I never knew that it was the home of Robert E Lee and the government literally stole it from his family. Since then I have read over hundreds of books on Lee, Stonewall, the Confederacy, Lincoln, the war itself, by well known historians and authors such as Shelby Foote, Burke Davis, Douglas Southall Freeman, McPherson, and many many more. Lee has become a real hobby of mine, I can look past what people tried to make him, the marble man and there was so much more to him but people just can't believe there was every such a person to exist, but he did. He never wanted these honors bestowed upon him but they were giving to him anyway even well past his death. Mr Dwyer's book is a NOVEL and what he wrote was a Historic Novel. There is so much truth and actual events that DID take place and he used fictional characters as well as non-fictional characters to tell the story. That is what makes it a wonderful book to read. However,I strongly encourage those that would like to really appreciate his work go back and read up on the war and Robert E Lee himself before they read this book. The reason I say that is because too many people may dismiss alot of what was in this book and take it as Fiction. He also writes from both the North and South points of view. The way in which our history is being taught in school is very one-sided,(we all know that every story has two sides)and the only side really being told is the Victors. Don't take my word for it but take the journey and find out for yourself just like I did. I look forward to reading Stonewall. Thanks Mr Dwyer for such a moving account and characters to tell the story of Robert E Lee.