Description
Book SynopsisKilled in action at the bloody Battle of Shiloh, Confederate general Albert Sidney Johnston stands as the highest-ranking American military officer to die in combat. In The Iron Dice of Battle, noted Civil War historian Timothy Smith reexamines Johnston's life and death, offering remarkable insights into this often-contradictory figure.
Trade ReviewEvery Civil War figure should be fortunate enough to have such an important book written about his life and career by such an outstanding scholar." - John F. Marszalek, author of
Commander of All Lincoln's Armies: A Life of General Henry W. Halleck"Timothy B. Smith explores a man both flawed and formidable, a chess player by choice yet unafraid to 'roll the iron dice.' This is a much-needed modern view of a man of many contradictions." - Larry J. Daniel, author of
Engineering in the Confederate Heartland"Smith undertakes a painstaking analysis of Albert Sidney Johnston as a man and a soldier, illuminating his dual nature as a careful chess player and an impulsive gambler, and how it led him to the disasters of 1862. A truly fresh and perceptive study of perhaps the greatest might-have-been of the western Confederacy." - Sam Davis Elliott, author of
Isham G. Harris of Tennessee: Confederate Governor and United States Senator
