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Title: Blount Does Well with the Material
Review: Roy Blount, Jr. is an interesting choice to write the short biography of Robert E. Lee for the Penguin Lives series. Historians have had their chance and now it is Blount's and he makes good use of many of their interpretations, in addition to his selective, yet effective, use of primary sources. All the facts are in evidence and the details feel right. The narrative is straight forward and moves at a brisk pace appropriate to the small format of this impressive series of biographies. The usual witty style of the author breaks through on occasion and he lets his best self come out in the appendices, including one on the humour of Lee and Lee's attitude to slavery. A biography of Lee still suffers a little as Lee never seems to come across as colourfully as most of the Civil War leaders but the author does his best to provide his own colour commentary. A quick, interesting read.
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