Product Description

Gray Fox is the vivid chronicle of Lee's command, a book that humanizes this gentleman-soldier of tradition and makes him all the more awe-inspiring.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #372141 in Books
• Published on: 1998-08-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 488 pages

Ingram
An exciting biography of one of the monumental figures of the Civil War, told in a dramatic narrative that will sweep readers into the flow of history. Maps and 21 photos.

About the Author
Burke Davis

Customer Reviews

Gray Fox is superb. This book brings the past to life.
Davis is one of those rare authors who has the magical ability to to breathe life into the past through his writings. In addition to being a truly gifted writer, he is also an insightful and even-handed historian. Davis depicts Lee as a great, but not perfect general, as a complex figure who was willing to fight invading Northern armies, but who also hoped for an eventual end to slavery, as a man who while being vulnerable to pride sought the ideal of Christian humility, as kind and humane, but also willing to see men die in their thousands for the cause which he and they fought for. Moreover, while the book is written from the perspective of Lee and his army, the Northern side is still treated with respect and the same depth of understanding. Since many books on the Civil War are filled with hatred, blame, and arteficial and foolish one dimensional standards of morality, this is refreshing. I do not at all regret buying this book. I only regret that the author did not write more books. In addition to Gray Fox, I also highly recommend Davis's biography of Stonewall Jackson.

Gray Fox
An excellent read on the life of Robert E. Lee. Davis does an good job in portraying the general's life, not overloading the reader with details. Those who have read more detailed books on Lee might find this one lacking, but I believe it to be worth your time and would make an excellent addition to ones Civil War library.

Good chronology, but little more
I wouldn't say I disliked this book, but I did find it pretty short on both style and substance. It presents a good chronology of Lee's ACW campaigns, and might make a good prelude to a more detailed account if one wanted to get that chronology straight. However the prose is limp at best and details lacking. In his descriptions of the battles (especially) Burke Davis brings very little to life. For example, in the description of Chancellorsville, one never gets a sense that the battle is slipping out of Lee's control before his and Jackson's daring and innovative masterstroke changes the outcome completely.

Credit should be given for good use of excerpts from Lee's correspondance which paint a picture of a gentle and humane man doing his duty bravely despite a mounting sense of the long-term hoelessness of the situation. But, more interesting material can be found than this historical overview for anyone who wants something serious on the subject.