Hennessy does the best job to date in detailing the 2nd Manassas or otherwise known Bull Run campaign then any writer to date. As a National Parks historian who served on these fields combined with guidance by the renowned Robert Krick, Hennessy provides a well-written, well-researched and organized detail of the entire campaign. From Pope's arrival with his "take the war to the civilian's" proclamations and his coming to grips with a dysfunctional army made of McClellanites, Hennessy gives a great description of this Union Army of Virginia. In contrast, Lee has organized his army into two wings, Jackson the maneuvering striking force and Longstreet the reliable front man and heavy counter puncher. Great description of Jackson's great flanking march behind Pope to Manassas and his attack at Groveton that started the battle and sets the stage for Pope's obsession to crush Jackson. Hennessy notes the frustrations that accompanied Pope in shuffling McClellan's former divisions forward after they just recently left the Peninsula. One of the most interesting segment deals with Pope focusing so much on Jackson that he leaves Thoroughfare Gap lightly defended allowing Longstreet to arrive on the scene in time to strike during Jackson's critical need for relief. The other part of this drama is the mistrust that Pope has for Union General Porter who is posted on Pope's far left. Porter reports Longstreet's arrival and implores Pope that he cannot attack Jackson as ordered. Pope's failure to believe that Longstreet is on the scene leads to Longstreet's famous mass attack that collapsed the Union army into another rout except for rear guard stands along Henry Hill. Pope later charges Porter, who was not completely innocent in attitude, of insubordination resulting in one of the most famous Conduct of the War trials, Porter is court-martialed and the ruling sends a chilling message to the military supporters of McClellan. Great detail on movements with very much appreciated maps and excellent descriptions of the commanders and their decisions. A facinating chapter deals with Union General Sigel's attempts to attack Jackson that are hampered by Kearney's reluctance to support him in battle based purely on personal reasons. As a great plus, Hennessy is a gifted writer making this book a joy to read.

John Hennessy has written the definitive account of the Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas. Regarding the Union commander, the text states "John Pope has come to us as a bumbling fool....But in the summer of 1862 he possessed many of the qualities the administration felt it needed in Virginia. His record was not so much impressive as solid." Chapter 1 notes that the government was partly responsible for the Second Manassas defeat writing "...the real problem lay not just with Lincoln's military inability's, but with the government's insistence on using the military as a refuge for political patrons." The book recalls an interesting fact noting that Pope's infamous orders No. 5, subsisting off the land; No. 7, guerrillas; and No. 11, disloyal citizens were approved in advance by Lincoln. Order No. 5, directing subsistence off the land, was especially onerous as the it was used as a license to loot.

This was Robert E. Lee's first full campaign as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia and the Federals gave Lee the strategic initiative in Virginia by abandoning the Peninsula. The book details Lee's campaign from the Rapidan to the battle at Manassas. Many interesting and critical events prior to the Manassas are described. While the two armies were stalemated on the Rappahannock, Stuart's raid striking Pope's rear is narrated followed by an account of Stonewall Jackson's August 25 flanking movement which resulted in the burning of Bristoe Station and the capture of Manassas Junction August 27th. The author notes that throughout these actions Pope's cavalry failed to produce intelligence about Lee's movements and intentions but rather "stood ragged and impotent"

John Hennessy details the bloody battles on August 28, 29 and 30. The author writes "Pope's decision to attack Jackson near Groveton was both momentous and fateful, for Pope was committing to fight a battle on Jackson's front and Jackson's terms. It was a battle that need not have been." The book describes how the Union commanders under Pope launched attacks against Jackson which often breached his lines but lacking coordination and support from other units, after much gallantry failed with heavy losses. For example, the text states "Grover's regiments had indeed performed admirably, but the more important point was that they fought alone, and were doomed to ultimate failure." The author provides an excellent analysis of each engagement plus

gives both the background and an evaluation of the commanders involved stating that Pope never provided the leadership for the required coordinated action and support for these attacks to succeed.

The arrival on August 29 of Longstreet's Corps in support of Jackson and the failure of McClellan to support John Pope dramatically changed the tactical and strategic situation. The author notes that by 5 PM on the 29th "Longstreet suggested that the major effort be postponed until morning" and Lee laid the groundwork for "what he hoped would be a decisive attack the next morning...." Most interestingly, Pope concluded "the enemy was retreating; indeed the battle might be won!. ... quickly decided to mount a pursuit." The text continues "History could hardly have conjured more disparate--and ironic--reasoning ....Pope thought the Confederates in wild retreat; Lee sought to lay the groundwork for the battle's climatic attack. No other incident of the campaign more succinctly demonstrates the diverging quality of command each side enjoyed, or, in the case of the Federals, suffered." Hennessy writes that after waffling all morning on the 30th and rejecting what information he received, Pope ordered General Porter to attack what Pope believed to be retreating Confederates. After a gallant and tenacious effort, Porter's troops had to retreat. An interesting story from this fight was the stone-throwing by some Confederates after their ammunition was gone. The text notes, amazingly Pope failed to recognize the danger to his left and continues "With Porter long since gone from his threatening position ....Longstreet recognized his opportunity to completely envelop the Union left.To accomplish this, Longstreet selected as the objective of his attack the old battleground of Henry Hill."

At 4 P.M. on the 30th, Longstreet attacked the Union left. The author notes that "Union defeat seemed a certainty. Only the magnitude of the defeat remained in doubt." and he continues "The position most important to the safety of the Union army was Henry Hill" The author provides an excellent account of the fighting for Chinn Ridge and Henry Hill; and states that the Confederates captured Chinn Ridge but due to Union General McLean's fierce defense, precious minutes were gained allowing the Federals time to organize the defense of Henry Hill. With only an hour of daylight remaining, the battle for Henry Hill ceased. The Confederates had not captured Henry Hill thereby allowing the Federals to retreat, but the Union left was turned and crushed; Pope had been outmaneuvered and out fought.

The book describes the Union retreat, the subsequent fighting with a final battle at Chintilly, and Pope's withdrew to Washington DC. The Epilogue gives an analysis of the campaign stating "The well-oiled performance of the Confederate army contrasted sharply with the disorganized toil of Pope's Army of Virginia. Few Yankee soldiers of any rank emerged from the disaster at Second Manassas with enhanced reputations...." except for General McLean on Chinn Ridge.

For the Confederates the text notes "Second Manassas represented James Longstreet's most important contribution to any of Lee's victories." Hennessy notes "The Second Manassas Campaign also marked the emergence of Robert E. Lee. it represented the happiest marriage of strategy and tactics he would ever attain...." In summary he states "The Confederate victory at Second Manassas was primarily a triumph of maneuver and timing abetted greatly by Yankee mismanagement."

The author concludes "That John Pope lost this campaign to R.E. Lee was the fault, primarily, of John Pope....He utterly failed in the basic responsibilities of commanding an army on the battlefield."

In the same league as Shelby Foote, Mr. Hennessy brings the battle of Second Manassas to the reader in a most entertaining and informative way. Unlike many millitary books which are dry and hard to follow, this book reads like a novel keeping the reader's interest from beginning to end. I am not a serious Civil War or millitary historian like many of the other reviewers, but I enjoy good, historically accurate books. This is one of the best books I have ever read either fiction or not. After receiving this book as a gift I consumed it in every spare minute finishing it within three days. Do yourself a favor and read this book!!!!!

One of the very few books about a very facinating breed, and also one of the best every written. Although some information are a bit out dated, but it is still very informative and detailed. This book begins with the history and development of the breed, and most improtant of them all what to expect from this breed. I Bought my first bullie after reading this book, and still referring back to it time after time. A must for new Bull Terrier owners or anyone interested in them!

Probably the best general book on this breed, including both the joys and challenges of owning this breed. Includes classic articles written by breeders instumental in development of the modern Bull Terrier.

A very knowledgeable treatment on the subject of buying, owning and showing a bull terrier by one of the finer breeders of this continent. If someone were planning on adding a bullie to their home, they should read this book first

I have really studied this book over the past 6 months and I believe that anyone who purchases it will find the information great for identification and for general knowledge. This book also has had me branch out into different areas of bottle openers and into Corkscrews ! , Great Job to the Authors, John Stanley and Donald Bull.

As I collect bottle openers in general, this book was an exciting way to find out what the openers I had were worth,and to see what other varieties of my openers there is available, it is very well set out and has clear and all coloured pictures, I would have liked to see more on cast iron bottle openers, but that is just me I suppose.

An excellent book detailing the perils and possibilities of Blackness in America. While there are references to African American/New York-centric institutions (such as the I-Be-Damn News) that may escape some readers, it provides a viciously funny, historically accurate and insightful look at a community in transition.

This book captures some of the best things about TAMU and the Corps - camaraderie, teamwork, loyalty. It is a wonderful picture of pre-PC Corps life. This book is a pointer to the things the 12th Man stands for, and why we stand for the 12th Man.

This has been an excited experience by reading such great book. I concider there should be more books like that which inform and let people know about the truth involved in these events such as Gotti and Gravano connections.

In this two-book audio pack, you can listen to two more adventures from Hank, that hilarious cowdog. In the first story, Hank book #5: Faded Love, Hank goes to visit his One True Love, Beulah the collie. In the second, book #6: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, Hank must find out who's been murdering chickens before he gets blamed. I wouldn;t miss them!

Although the title suggests an assassination, it actually refers to Clarence Sinclair Bull, who was MGM's chief portrait and glamour photographer from the studio's inception in 1924 to his retirement in 1961. He began photographing Garbo with her last silent film The Kiss in 1929, and after that she wanted no one else to photograph her. Bull would take over 4,000 individual studies of Garbo, devoting 2 days in his gallery for each of her films. She would pose in the character she was playing, since she saw the stills as part of the film-making process. The stills from The Kiss are particularly striking, "suffused with an elegaic softness and allure" writes Terence Pepper in the text. Bull enclosed Garbo's face in a black shadowy background, and, in contrast to her previous demure studies where she averted her eyes, he had her look directly into the camera and communicate directly with the viewer, "preserving her inner mood". A beret photograph is so potent that the studio used it for the film poster, and it prefigures her think-of-nothing final close-up from her later Queen Christina. Bull also transposed a vignette study of Garbo's face onto a photograph of the Cairo Sphinx, to create "The Swedish Sphinx". When he timorously showed her the result, he was surprised that instead of being offended, she howled with laughter, and approved it's release. It may have become the most widely distributed of her images, but it remains camp at best. Bull would say that she had no bad side and no bad angle, which made her the easiest of all the stars to photograph. Plus he thought she enjoyed their sessions, never tiring of posing for him. The images confirm MGM's agenda of creating flawless beauty, held up before the admiring throng as "nothing less than the Hope diamond in the flesh". Garbo's skin has a statue-esque perfection, her hair lit to be look soft and pliable. She never smiles but emotion is still evident. The one study in colour is for Two Faced Woman, which is less flattering than the black and white stills. Her hair has been pulled back slightly with a hidden ribbon, exposing her large forehead, and the hardness of her later Cecil Beaton studies emerges, her mouth almost in a sneer of disdain. Perhaps she knew making the film would be a mistake and an end to her film career. We also have a study of Chris, Garbo's stand-in, who apparently was even more mysterious than the one she doubled for. After Garbo retired, perhaps it is only the studies of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn that can match the iconoclastic grandness of Bull's work with Garbo, which proves that no matter how talented the photographer, the subject is everything. This kind of portraiture would decline with the collapse of the studios, and when you see the later studies of less arresting faces, perhaps this was for the best. Garbo flourished in a period where the ideals of beauty she radiated were desperately needed, but she always a reluctant star. When the world became indifferent, so did she.

I only read an exerpt from this book. I've been searching for it ever since. The publisher would be wise to restock it. It will sell out again.

This is an extremely well-researched and well-written account of the gay movement over the last ten years. In thoughtful and accessible prose, the authors chronicle the major battles, players, and shifts in strategy and fortune. Looking at political and legal fights at the local, state, and national level, they examine why some were won and others lost as the gay movement confronted an increasingly sophisticated and well-financed religious right. As a teacher of American history and the history of sexuality, I've used excerpts from the hardcover edition in my classes. I'm excited that it is finally out in paperback.