Nelson A. Miles and the Twilight of the Frontier Army - Hardcover

Wooster, Robert

4.05

19 ratings by Goodreads

9780803247598: Nelson A. Miles and the Twilight of the Frontier Army

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803247591 ISBN 13: 9780803247598

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 1993

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Based on a wide range of sources, including materials only recently made available to researchers, this first complete, carefully documented biography of Miles skillfully delineates the brilliant, abrasive, and controversial tactician whose career in many respects epitomized the story of the Old Army.

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About the Author:

Robert Wooster is a professor of history at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. His other books include The Military and United States Indian Policy (Nebraska 1995).

Review:

"Wooster's readable book gives us a full portrait of Miles, analyzing his defects as well as his virtues. . . . The definitive biography."—Journal of American History (Journal of American History )

"An exceptionally well-written, brilliantly paced biography that illustrates fifty years of American military history through the story of the Army’s last commanding general."—Washington Times (Washington Times )

"A meticulously researched and well-written work that breathes life into the man Theodore Roosevelt called a ‘brave peacock.’ The author vividly recreates the old army with its intense rivalries and frustrations."—Western Historical Quarterly (Western Historical Quarterly )

"A stimulating narrative of Miles’s life, cast against the backdrop of U.S. military history from the Civil War through the Spanish-American War. . . . The author’s enlightened views stem from the U.S. Military History Institute’s recently acquired collection of Miles’s papers, augmented by an impressive array of other source materials. With Wooster's entertaining style, the reader experiences a rollercoaster-like effect of alternately cheering and booing Miles, not unlike his contemporaries."—Journal of Arizona History (Journal of Arizona History )

"A superb biography."—International Bibliography of Military History (International Bibliography of Military History )

"The first competent biography of an extremely important figure in nineteenth-century military history—from the Civil War through the Indian Wars to the Spanish-American War and the reforms that ended the Old Army."—Robert M. Utley, author of Frontier Regulars: The United States Army and the Indian, 1866-1891 (Robert M. Utley )

"Nelson A. Miles was probably the best Indian fighter produced by the U. S. Army between 1865 and 1890, figuring prominently in some of the most famous and significant conflicts between whites and Native Americans: the Red River War, the Sioux campaign of 1876-77, the Nez Perce War, the Geronimo campaign, and the Ghost Dance uprising. As commanding general of the U. S. Army, he played an important role in the Spanish-American War. [Wooster's biography of Miles is] well researched, comprehensive, balanced, objective, analytical, and still entertaining. . . .an enlightened and enlightening book."—Gregory J. W. Urwin, author of Custer Victorious (Gregory J. W. Urwin )

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