Telling the story of the Civil War's Mississippi River Campaign through the experiences of leading officers; ordinary soldiers; and civilians; this book explains how the river campaign came to be one of the key tenets of the Union's strategy and a fundamental contributor to the war's ultimate outcome. It describes the Union's drive down the Mississippi River from Cairo; Illinois; the drive up the river from the Gulf of Mexico; and the capturing of key cities and rebel fortifications along the way; including New Orleans; Baton Rouge; Memphis; Vicksburg; and finally; Port Hudson; Louisiana. The text is supplemented with 24 historical photographs from the Library of Congress and the National Archives.
#4623223 in Books 2005-06-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.04 x .76 x 6.12l; .99 #File Name: 078642088X328 pages
Review
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Concise Overview of the Korean War and the early days of the Cold WarBy Dave SchranckMr Levine has written a terrific primer on the post WWII period that shows the machinations of Stalin in his attempt to defeat the West on his drive for World domination. Korea was just one small move on Stalin's worldwide chess board for he wanted to complete taking control of Eastern Europe; Greece; Turkey and Iran as well as Southeast Asia. He would use China and the other Communist satellite countries in his attempt to sow discord and intimidation among the Western Allies and diffuse the US standing and power around the world.By 1950; Stalin had the Bomb and figured he could intimidate and test Truman into not intervening in Korea. And if the US did intervene; it would disperse their attention and resources away from Europe; allowing Stalin to take over Europe. If Truman allowed South Korea to be annexed then that would be the signal for Stalin to speed up his agenda.In addition to the post WWII political events; the book covers the Korean War and it does so in a military sense as well as how the country fits in with Stalin's other worldly plans. Besides Stalin; the major players in the book are: Mao; MacArthur; Truman; Ridgeway plus a host of smaller personalities.The overview of the Korean War is quite good and briefly covers all the key engagements and events. It covers the unexpected assault of the NKPA and their quick surge through the south; the Pusan perimeter; Inchon landings; the drive to the Yalu; the CCF's unexpected counterattack that drove the UN forces back below 38th parallel and the tortuous negotiations and so much more.Mao has the second largest part in this story for he had his own aggressive plans and knew the US would be a deterrent. He wanted to defeat the Americans in his own back yard where he had most of the advantages. With the US defeated in Korea; Mao could be free to take over Taiwan and Indochina and maybe even Japan.After WWII; Truman was completely involved in domestic policy and was slow to respond to the Communist threat but did react with the invasion of South Korea. The Truman administration and especially MacArthur believed China would just sit back and allow the UN forces to overrun North Korea and unite Korea into a democratic state. This clearly shows our inexperience in foreign affairs as well as underestimating Communist China.Throughout post WWII era; the Korean War and until his death in 1953; Stalin was obsessed in defeating the US in order to conquer much of the world. Mr Levine writes an informative; insightful story on all the moves and countermoves these superpowers made as their rivalry escalated. (Its too bad FDR had not survived to see the relationship his good friend "Uncle Joe" nurtured with the US).There are no maps or pictures but there is a scholarly Notes section and Bibliography. The Bibliography alone is worth the cover price; if further reading is desired you'll have an ample choice from this impresive list. If an overview of the Korean War or coverage of the early days of the Cold War is desired; this is an ideal choice to read.
