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Rating: 
Summary: Good analysis of the Shenandoah Campaign
Review: An excellent narrative of the campaign. It's as if the thoughts of Philip H. Sheridan and Jubal A. Early were downloaded into print. The details of battle are refreshing and go far into showing how these commanders handled themselves and their men in battle. Not only has the military aspect of the campaign been supported and thoughly researched, but the civilian population as well. Also, the statistics on both sides have been balanced to give proper respect to the men without playing favorites to one cause or another. Old Abe owed much to Sheridan for his victories over Early. The President road into the Whitehouse on the coat-tails of these victories, and this book describes them in excellent detail. This book comes highly recommended and a must for your Civil War collection!
Rating: 
Summary: Very good study with a few omissions
Review: This is a very good, useful close study of the Valley campaign in the fall and winter of 1864. Wert primarily focuses on studies of the major battles, giving enough first-person quotes to keep the narrative interesting. Occasionally his descriptions of the battlefield action are confusing, but that's probably a characteristic of the available sources. His discussion of the controversy over plundering at Cedar Creek is good, although I'm not entirely convinced. I find it a little surprising that, in discussing Early's failure to use his cavalry effectively, he does not mention the general's refusal of Mosby's offer of help, something which he brings up in his bio of Mosby. Also, in analyzing Early as a general, it might have been appropriate to mention the absolutely scathing and, in my view, entirely inappropriate speech which Early made to his troops after Cedar Creek blaming them for the defeat. Overall, this book has to be considered the canonical work on the campaign.
Rating:
Summary: Very good study with a few omissions
Review: This is the best book on the Valley Campaign of 1864 and features lots of research on the 4 battles that occured during the campaign. The book is well-written, but I found that it could be dry at times. However, this is still a very good book. One of the best points about this book is Wert's analysis of Sheridan's and Early's generalship. Wert gives well-reasoned and sound conclusions on the analysis of the two generals. The book also features a terrific chapter on John Mosby and his Rangers role in the campaign and features a pretty good look at the role the campaign played in Lincoln's 1864 reelection campaign. All in all a very good book, but due to the amount of detail and research perhaps only Civil War and history buffs will enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on 1864 Valley Campaign
Review: This is the best book on the Valley Campaign of 1864 and features lots of research on the 4 battles that occured during the campaign. The book is well-written, but I found that it could be dry at times. However, this is still a very good book. One of the best points about this book is Wert's analysis of Sheridan's and Early's generalship. Wert gives well-reasoned and sound conclusions on the analysis of the two generals. The book also features a terrific chapter on John Mosby and his Rangers role in the campaign and features a pretty good look at the role the campaign played in Lincoln's 1864 reelection campaign. All in all a very good book, but due to the amount of detail and research perhaps only Civil War and history buffs will enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: A good, detailed read for civil war buffs
Review: Wert writes a better book here than he did with his biography of Gen. Longstreet. A fine, well researched story of what has been relegated to the status of sideshow to the campaigns of General Grant in 1864. Wert balances detail (unit citations down to regimental level) with discussions of strategies and the big picture pressures under which both commanders operated. My greatest criticism is that the maps are simplistic and would have been more useful if they had been drawn to the same level of detail (regimental with better terrain markings) as the author uses in the text. Overall, a good read for civil war buffs.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated Study
Review: Wert's books are generally overrated by Civil War readers. He is not a great researcher, but rather plays to the popular reader. If you want to read underresearchered, popular history Wert is your boy; if you want in-depth perceptive analysis then look elsewhere. If you hold him up to the stardard of Richard Summers, John Hennessey or Harry Pfantz then reading Wert is like eating candy: fun but easily forgotten. A list of the sources he did not consult when writing this book might be as long as his text.
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