Reviews for The Passing Of The Prairie By A Fossil

The average rating for The Passing Of The Prairie By A Fossil based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-06-06 00:00:00 Francis Minville Normally, I don't like biographies that much because most people do not have such exciting lives throughout. General Nathan Bedford Forrest was an exception. He started out as a slave trader, enlisted as a private after Fort Sumter, but quickly rose to the rank of general commanding Confederate cavalry in Tennessee and Mississippi. He typically won battles in which his side was grossly outnumbered, never neglecting to "put the skeer" on his enemy. With no West Point or other significant schooling, Forrest was an original. When attacked from two sides, he would think nothing of dividing his forces and have each attack in opposite directions. His cavalry operated more as dragoons, who used horses for mobility but fought as infantry. At Brice's Crossroads, he did the unthinkable: He had an artillery charge that completely flummoxed the Union forces. (Even now, I cannot imagine what THAT looked like.) Unfortunately, Forrest was associated for the rest of his life with the massacre at Fort Pillow. He grew disgusted when his negotiations for a truce were running into what he considered bad faith. At this point, he ordered his men to "kill every God damned one of them." Most of the Union forces were black soldiers in uniform, and they were more likely to be killed than the whites. After Appomattox, Forest became the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, though he repudiated the organization and tried -- unsuccessfully -- to build a railroad between Memphis and Selma. But the Fort Pillow taint plus local envy from his fellow Memphis citizens led to the project being abandoned. In the end, Forrest wasted away and died of advanced diabetes twelve years after the war. Jack Hurst has done a creditable job in his Nathan Bedford Forrest: A Biography. There was no question but that Forrest was a bad ass. But, according to Civil War historian Shelby Foote, he is one of the two greatest geniuses the war produced, the other being Abraham Lincoln.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-07-08 00:00:00 Della Cooley This book is exactly the reason that I love Non Fiction - because this is a real story. It's true. And while the details might have to be fleshed out from letters and documents of a bygone era, it doesn't change the fact that Nathan Bedford Forrest was a remarkable man. If you are a student of the Civil War or a resident of the deep South, you have probably heard Forrest's name. Most notably it is connected with a massacre of Black troops at Fort Pillow and as First Grand Wizard of the KKK. But even those details cannot be taken at face value of what we understand them to be today. Forrest was one of the greatest American Cavalrymen to ever ride a horse. Although untrained in military methods, Forrest had an uncanny ability to make the most of any situation - even when vastly outnumbered. His name invoked fear in the hearts of the Union soldiers. There is so much more to Forrest's story than his Civil War service - and even a surprise and unexpected ending. Looking back on his life, the author fleshes out a Forrest that is unseen by many because the world is too busy trying to define him by atrocities which may or may not have been his fault. It's an eye opening account. I personally grew up in the Midwest, and had a very scant education on the details of the Civil War. In teaching my children about the history of this country, I have gained my own unexpected passion for this conflict, and have enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the many amazing men that have fought on both sides - some whose names I never even knew. Forrest is one of these. I have very much enjoyed learning about his life, and the war in the west. Recommend for: Students of the Civil War.