American Scoundrel: The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles |
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American Scoundrel: The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles
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by Thomas Keneally
Sales Rank: 446776
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$0.01
At Amazon
on 6-21-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 416 pages
Published by: Anchor May 13, 2003
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0385722257
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0385722254
Book Dimensions:
8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
Weighs: 10.1 ounces
Product Review
Politician, man about town, war hero, and murderer: Dan Sickles led many lives, some of them improbable, turning disaster to advantage. Thomas Keneally, whose novels have been populated by heroes and outlaws alike, vividly captures Sickles's life and times. A Tammany politician, for good and ill, Sickles earned national notoriety for gunning down his friend Philip Barton Key, the son of Francis Scott Key, in what his peers in Congress took to be an excusable crime of passion. Sickles made a glorious comeback with the Civil War, when the regiment he raised distinguished itself time and again under fire at places such as Chancellorsville and Gettysburg--where, defying orders in a bold maneuver, Sickles helped secure the Union victory. "His tendency toward berserk and full- blooded risk was partly characteristic of the city he had grown up in, the age he lived in, and his own soul," writes Keneally. Admired by no less than Mark Twain, Sickles figures only as a footnote in many histories. Ably recounting his triumphs and defeats, Thomas Keneally brings him front and center in a tale that will delight Civil War buffs. --Gregory McNamee
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Obviously intrigued by a minor character in his previous nonfiction title, The Great Shame, Keneally has written a largely fascinating biography of Tammany politician and Civil War general Dan Sickles. Sickles was famous in his time both as the cold-blooded killer of his wife's lover, the son of Francis Scott Key, and as the insubordinate commander who defied orders at Cemetery Ridge, instigating a still-raging debate among military scholars about whether his regiment's actions "won or nearly lost the war." The book's apt title suggests its major drawback: Sickles's mercurial charm and courage in battle notwithstanding, his flaws as a flagrant adulterer and a mendacious and neglectful husband and father make him a difficult subject; evidence of his violent temper and ill-disguised egotism further alienate the reader's interest. By his own admission, Keneally's sympathies lie with Sickles's wife, Teresa, whose temptation into adultery with federal district attorney Philip Barton Key was a direct result of her congressman husband's neglect. Her life was ruined by the scandal, whereas Sickles was acquitted of murder and remains a lionized figure. With the Clinton sex scandals in recent memory, it's ironic to read of the marital morality of the mid-19th century, and how a relatively short time ago, the double standard regarding the position of women and the obsession with personal honor could condone murder. Once past the dramatic events of Sickles's revenge and court trial, the narrative loses its momentum. In order to describe Sickles's further career in the military, Keneally is forced to condense and summarize Civil War history. The bifurcated narrative retains its intrinsic interest, however, since Keneally's sure grasp of the political, social and historical details defines an era, and the panache of his prose, even if it sometimes veers into sentimental excess in describing Teresa's plight, remains as seductive as ever. Agent, Amanda Urban.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: American Scoundrel: The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles (Hardcover)
Dan Sickles, a Civil War-era New York politician, became notorious for shooting down the lover of his teenage wife in cold blood...and getting away with it (claiming it was justifiable). As a Union general, Sickles is famous for what is regarded by many as one of the most outrageous tactical errors of the Civil War: the advance down from Cemetary Ridge on the 2nd day of Gettysburg. Thomas Keneally's book is a lengthy--but not very invigorating or enlightening--biography of Sickles. The story of Dan Sickles is a puzzle to many Civil War buffs, but this book does not shed much light on the mystery of why a fellow who by all accounts was a murderer, a highly corrupt politician, an incompetent general, and in the whole a sociopath, rose to such positions of responsibility. So I read this book hoping to learn "how did such a maniac rise to so many positions of responsibility and power? Was he especially charming? intelligent? handsome? sneaky?" Although Thomas Keneally describes Sickles crises (especially his murder trial) in painful and fairly tedious detail, I never found my answer. Sickles appears to have had no redeeming features whatsoever. Perhaps we should not judge Keneally too harshly for being unable to find the good sides to a sociopath. But perhaps we needn't read the book about him, either.
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American Scoundrel: The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles
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Updated on 6-21-2008.
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