Memoirs of General William T. Sherman

By: William T. Sherman

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

First published in 1875, General William T. Sherman's memoir was one of the first from the Civil War and was offered to the public because, as Sherman wrote in his dedication, "no satisfactory history" of the war was yet available.

Although Memoirs has been revised and corrected many times over the years, Sherman famously never changed the original text of his recollections. He was not a historian, he said, and said that "any witness who may disagree with me should publish his own version of [the] facts...."

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Narrator was almost there

With any audio book, you are at the mercy of the narrator, and this book is particularly lengthy. Fortunately Bronson Pinchot has a pleasant voice, and command of both Spanish and French pronunciation as a bonus. The Achilles heel is his rendering of all the Southern towns and rivers that Sherman marched past. If you can forgive that, it's well done otherwise.

Interesting

This was interesting. There were some letters in it that I liked. A lot of this (regarding the war) stands in complete contrast to other historical information. There are a number of things about his life that I was unaware of. I found this book interesting and charming in a myriad of ways.

thank you W T Sherman

liked the book. I had a hard time with the reader. easy voice to listen to but doesn't pass for the once crazed Ohio General. He seems more appropriate for PBS news hour.

A must read for the history buff – exceptional.

Incredibly well done and well written-I don’t normally listen to memoirs but this one was really something else. The performance was great as well-the pace of the voice and the softness of the voice was really well suited for the material.

Hear from Uncle Billy Himself

Great book, including correspondence from Sherman to Grant, Lincoln, Johnston and other key players. Very insightful.

history at its best

well written and documented with letters and written orders of prewar, war and post war. Well worth your listen.

My favorite civil war book evet

I am a twenty-year audio book junkie and a US Civil War nerd. I spend the equivalent of about thirty 24-hour days per year listening to books and the civil war probably accounts for 40-50% of my listening. I think this may be my favorite civil war book of all. Sherman’s first-person, straight forward, unpretentious style is very appealing. But the outstanding feature of this book is the frequent and substantive inclusion of source documents – the texts of actual letters, telegrams, military orders and instructions, battle and campaign reports, newspaper articles, etc. They bring history into the realm of real life. The book also abounds with Sherman’s insights (mostly generous) into many of the great personages of the war on both sides.

Personality Comes Through

Sherman's Memoirs, first published a decade after the war, provide some excellent insights both to Sherman's view of and participation in the the Civil War. This is the revised edition (ca. 1884) and features minor changes from the original. Though it lacks the narrative force and flow (and some of the charm) of Grant's Memoirs, the inclusion of much official correspondence is a welcome feature. Sherman's brilliant if brittle personality is on full display here, and he clearly is at pains to defend his record and views against all comers on key issues, sometimes letting other's accounts (directly included) do his work for him. While respectful of Grant and other commanders (notably George Thomas), there is less direct praise for them than Grant sometimes provided in his own memoirs. There is a good deal of information on his prewar service and postwar career but personal information about his wife and family is quite minimal. Those wishing to have a good understanding of Grant, Sherman, and the war would do well to read Grant's Memoirs, Porter's Campaigning with Grant, this work and some said biographies of these two men, notably Chernow's great recent bio of Grant. Some have criticized Pinchow's reading and while he occasionally mispronounces a location or name, his voice is clear and expressive and helps keep a work full of digressions mostly on an even keel.

Excellent narration.

I felt like I was hearing the voice of this extraordinary general. A great book.

Excellent

Fascinating life, fascinating time, and well done by Bronson Pinchot. I highly recommend this title.