Sherman: The Ruthless Victor (Generals)

He was named after an enemy of the United States.

He was proslavery despite his loyalty to the Union. He burned and pillaged an already beaten foe on a march history will never forget.

If, as he famously said, "war is hell," William Tecumsah Sherman can be classified as a flamethrower of ruthless ferocity. Defined by his contradictions, Sherman achieved immortality in his role as Ulysses Grant's hammer in the Civil War. A failed banker and lawyer, Sherman found his calling with the outbreak of war in 1861. With indecision a common ailment among Union generals early the conflict, Sherman's temperment and unwavering focus on the mission at hand-preserving the Union-helped shift the fortunes of North and South.

Authors Agostino Von Hassell and Ed Breslin present Sherman at once man and phenomenon. From Bull Run to Shiloh, from Vicksburg to Chattanooga, and from Atlanta to Savannah, Sherman carved the Confederacy with a feral singularity of purpose. At times disheveled and informal to a fault, "Uncle Billy" became a hero whose legend only grew with allegations of villainy.

Agostino von Hassell spent his formative years in the United States, studying European History at Columbia University, graduating with a B.A. in 1974. He then attended Columbia Journalism School, graduating with awards in 1975. He is the president of The Repton Group LLC. Hassell has extensive expertise in national security matters, high-level investigations around the globe, terrorism and military issues and global trade problems.