Wade Hampton: Confederate Warrior, Conservative Statesman Book

Incredibly disappointed. I was eager to learn about one of the Confederacy's lesser-known figures, but the author's bias and disregard for basic facts led me to stop reading after a few chapters. There's always a risk of bias with any topic, but biographies seem to be more susceptible. This is particularly true with Southern Civil War figures, especially those less-famous ones. I'm usually successful in choosing books and authors that present the facts for the reader without trying to lead them in a certain direction, allowing for a reasonably small amount of bias that exists in many works. However, this author showed himself to be an apologist for both the Southern cause and slavery as well as an obvious fan of Hampton in general. For example, someone with little or no knowledge of First Manassas would think Hampton singlehandedly decided the outcome based on the author's hyperbolic praise. My breaking point was his At one point, I dug a little deeper for other reviews and found some that confirmed my thoughts. In general, it seemed his intent was to write a glowing account of the subject rather than present the facts and let the reader decide how to interpret those facts. At best, the author was not able to present his thoughts in a manner and context that gave an objective view of Hampton and the Confederacy. At worst, he intentionally tried to glorify the subject and the Confederacy while vilifying the North. The truth is somewhere in the middle, but it was too close to the latter for my taste. Even though there are limited works on this particular figure, particularly unbiased ones, I don't recommend this to anyone looking for an objective view. To paraphrase one reviewer, a history professor at a Southern university, this effort did nothing to advance our understanding of Hampton or the planter class, which I think is being kind. I was generous with two stars simply because I learned a little about this figure from my home state that I didn't otherwise know.