Lincoln's Lieutenants

The High Command of the Army of the Potomac

By: Stephen W. Sears

Narrated by: George Guidall

From the best-selling author of Gettysburg, a multilayered group biography of the commanders who led the Army of the Potomac.

The high command of the Army of the Potomac was a changeable, often dysfunctional band of brothers, going through the fires of war under seven commanding generals in three years, until Grant came east in 1864. The men in charge all too frequently appeared to be fighting against the administration in Washington instead of for it, increasingly cast as political pawns facing down a vindictive congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War. President Lincoln oversaw, argued with, and finally tamed his unruly team of generals as the eastern army was stabilized by an unsung supporting cast of corps, division, and brigade generals. With characteristic style and insight, Stephen Sears brings these courageous, determined officers, who rose through the ranks and led from the front, to life.

©2017 Stephen W. Sears (P)2017 Recorded Books

I learn some great stuff about Lincolns officers

Maybe for me the the best part of the book was about Joe Hooker and the effect he had on the Army of the Potomac how he strengthen the armies diet use of intelligence and drill . As a civil war buff it was very enjoyable!

Dictionary please

Please learn to properly pronounce the names of the people covered by the book before you produce or perform the narration.

Informative

Book was very informative if you are new to the army of the Potomac command structure.

Excellent text; performance not as much

This is an outstanding treatment of the Army of the Potomac's high command. It isn't a great starting point for learning about the Civil War in the East, but of you are already a student of the war I highly recommend it. The narrator has a good and pleasant voice but a very odd cadence that I found distracting.

Buy It!

I love Sears. He ranks one or two as a Civil War author in my mind. Guidhall does a great job with the emphasis and excitement in his voice, but he stumbles on some of the military vocabulary. It doesn't actually detract from my enjoyment of the novel and I think he does an excellent job in providing an animated voice to the subject.

it's all about the men

A wonderful account of the men that lead the union army in great detail. what you won't find here is any deep tactical understanding of the why's of each battle. what you will find is a stereo typical understanding of leaders yet poor leadership and the struggles Lincoln had in finding a leader and leadership leading up to general Grant's appointment and subsequent victory.

what can't escape the reader is how politics played as important a role during the war as it does today.

a great book if you really want to get in the heads of those that lead the union armies.

A great history

This is a long but beautiful rendering of the story of the army of the Potomac and well worth the listening

Great book on the Army of The Potomac

Be aware that this book is about the leaders in the Army of The Potomac. When I selected it from the iPhone app, that part of the subtitle was evident. I had assumed it was going to be about ALL of the Union Army leaders.
I’m not complaining though. The AOP had more than enough drama for a hundred armies. And while yeah I know that some people say Sears is unfair to McClellan and he deserves more credit- I don’t care. Sears’ dry and subtle digs are hilarious.

History is great

This is a spectacular book of history that does a great job focusing in on the High Command of the Army of the Potomac and it's various commanding personalities and dramas. The Confederates only feature as goes which is a good choice for this. My only real complaint is the lack of describing on the roles of Chief of Staff, Chief of Engineers, and Cavalry Generals within the story which seems like a shortfall as these roles were somewhat fluid but very critical

Excellent book but the narrator drove me crazy

It is an excellent book about t1he civil war through meticulous research of primary documents left by the northern soldiers as well as their leaders. The narrators voice was fine, but he read in very chopped phrases instead of thoughts or even sentences.