the random musings not worthy of new thread thread

[ice grillin you]

this spelling bee still going and the final two are just nuts...getting every word in like 45 seconds

[ice grillin you]

damn I jinxed that kid

[ice grillin you]

lol the girl won and had absolutely no reaction

[PhillyPhreak54]

http://abc13.com/2061122/

Most Houston shtein ever

Road rage fight at a stop light between two chicks
The lady who started it rear ended the car in front
While she's beating on the lady she hit some dude runs up and jacks her Audi

Lmaoooo

[ice grillin you]

this is so great....geo i think you would especially like it

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/the-myth-of-the-kindly-general-lee/529038/

[Geowhizzer]

this is so great....geo i think you would especially like it

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/the-myth-of-the-kindly-general-lee/529038/

Definitely interesting. 

I generally teach Lee as a brilliant tactician in a defensive battle, but I'd agree about his shortcomings as a strategist.  Both of his major offensive forays (Antietam and Gettysburg) ended in near-disasters, and if the North had a general with the guts to press the attack, his army may have been destroyed several years before Appomattox.

Also, there is no doubt about Lee's belief that whites were superior, or his general defense of the practice of slavery.   He was on the wrong side of history.

Working in a county named after Lee, the topic of changing the name of the county comes up from time to time.  Since the county is both largely white (about 75%) and largely Republican (about 65-70%), I don't anticipate that happening any time soon.

[PhillyPhreak54]

A good informative post there

Can you recommend a good civil war book to read?

[Rome]

The Hunger Games

[Geowhizzer]

A good informative post there

Can you recommend a good civil war book to read?

Depends on what you're looking for.  There is a book on every damn aspect of the war.

Probably the most popular is James MacPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom, which is a huge (900+ pages) one-volume depiction of the war in total (miltiary, political and social). 

Doris Kearns Godwin's Team of Rivals focuses on the interaction of Lincoln's Cabinet, and Lincoln's evolving control and management of those egos to win the war.  If you're looking for mainly the political aspects of the war, this one was well-written.  If you're looking for the military aspect, this isn't the one for you.

Eric Foner's The Fiery Trial focuses on Lincoln's evolving attitude about slavery (which he was mainly against his entire adult life) and African-American Rights (which Lincoln very slowly came to accept more and more as President).  Again, not about the war itself, but a good study into Lincoln's mindset as he balanced the desire to free the slaves and at the same time keep the border states in the union to maximize his chances on winning the war.

Allen Guelzo's Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction is another all-encompassing (but shorter) history of the entire war.  On a personal note, Dr. Guelzo was one of my professors when I was in college, and helped give me a love for American history, particularly the Civil War era. 

Shelby Foote's three-volume The Civil War:  A Narrative is considered one of the best military histories of the Civil War.  Though Foote was a Southerner, he took great pains to remain objective.  This one is light on the political and economic aspects of the war, and focuses primarily on the armies.

One last three-volume work from Bruce Catton is a little dated (mainly written in the 1950s and 1960s), but is still a good read as a full history of the Civil War as seen through the eyes of the Army of the Potomac.  Mainly a military narrative, but also does have the political maneuverings around the Army of the Potomac.

• Mr. Lincoln's Army (Volume 1) - The early part of the war, when the Army of the Potomac was under the leadership of George McClellan.
• Glory Road (Volume 2) - Covers the struggles of the Army under the imperfect leadership of Ambrose Burnside and Joseph Hooker.
• A Stillness at Appomattox (Volume 3) - Covers mainly later war when the command of the Army of the Potomac (and hte entire Union forces in the east) were placed under Ulysses S. Grant through Lee's surrender in Appomattox.

And one more by MacPherson:  Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief - Deals with Lincoln's role in running the Army during the war.   Well-written, but the spotlight is again primarily on Lincoln, though it does include his interactions with military leaders.

I know I wrote a lot here, but it's hardly an exhaustive list.  Here's another list from the New York Times, but I haven't read all of those.

[ice grillin you]

I texted McPhersons book to j earlier

amazing read

[PhillyPhreak54]

Wow thanks Geo! That is fantastic. I can't wait to dig into them.

Havas - I didn't get a text. You sent it to my 281 number?

[ice grillin you]

Facebook message not text

[hbionic]

Geo, "Team of Rivals" sounds fascinating.

Gonna order that on amazon.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Facebook message not text

Ah ok I don't have notifications turned on. I'll check it

[Sgt PSN]

I thought Havas ditched FB after some article was put out about Zuckerberg's political campaign contributions...or something like that.