Commander of All Lincolns Armies : A Life of General Henry W. Halleck

Rating:
Summary: An interesting biography
Review: Marszalek has written an interesting biography about General Halleck and his failed leadership within the Union High Command. According to Marszalek, Halleck was severely handicapped by a hostile relationship with his father that later influenced his relations with subordinates. Marszalek believes that Halleck was unable to preasure McClellan,Buell, and Meade because they symbolized in Halleck's mind his own intimidating father. However, Halleck often acted like his father in relationships with Grant and Hooker by chatising them for their supposed sloppy behavior. The main weakness of the book is that Marszalek fails to account how institutional defects such as a lack of any post-graduate officer training that made Halleck, Buell, and McClellan share similar traits.Nevertheles this is an interesting account of how Halleck commanded the Union armies from 1862 to 1864.