The First Great Confederate General

The Life and Career of Albert Sidney Johnston

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: David Alda

"The turning point of our fate." - Jefferson Davis on the death of Albert Sidney Johnston

Today Albert Sidney Johnston (1803- 1862) is one of the most overlooked generals of the Civil War, but in April 1862 he was widely considered the Confederacy's best general. After graduating from West Point, where he befriended classmates Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, Johnston had a distinguished military career that ensured he would play a principal role in the Civil War. The fact that he was friends with Davis didn't hurt either, and near the beginning of the war Johnston was given command of the Western Department, which basically comprised the entire Western theater at the time.

The Confederates were served poorly in that theater by incompetent officers who Johnston and the South had been saddled with, and from the beginning of the Civil War the Confederates struggled to gain traction in the battlegrounds of Kentucky and Missouri. After critical Confederate setbacks at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in early 1862, Johnston concentrated his forces in northern Georgia and prepared for a major offensive that culminated with the biggest battle of the war to that point, the Battle of Shiloh.

On the morning of April 6, Johnston directed an all-out attack on Grant's army around Shiloh Church, and though Grant's men had been encamped there, they had failed to create defensive fortifications or earthworks. They were also badly caught by surprise. With nearly 45,000 Confederates attacking, Johnston's army began to steadily push Grant's men back toward the river.

©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors

David Alda's distracting narration was difficult to follow

Liked the information presented and scholarly presentation
Narration was so herky-jerky that it totally distracted this listener. Emphasis placed in the oddest places left one wondering if David Alda reviewed the book before he narrated it!
Recommend the book but NOT the Audible version.

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It appears that few have read and reviewed this book....only three members even acknowledge it. The book chronicles one of the best generals that the Confederate states had on the rolls. This short 3+ hour listen can only go into such depth as to outline his military career in Texas, with the US Army in Mexico (1848) and the confederate states. It's largely based on a book by his son, who wrote a biography. A.S. Johnson died at the battle of Shiloh and the battle was taken up by PGT Beauregard. That's likely one of the reasons that US Grant won this crucial battle. One wonders what would have happened if Johnson had lived and beaten Grant back into the Tennessee River?

It is narrated by a robot.

It is a very shallow version of a biography. No depth. No new info. Literally, this is little more than a reading of A.S. Johnston's wikipedia page.

Not worth 15 or even 7 dollars - way too short

Clearly a monetary venture. Got me! If audible states the duration somewhere I missed it.