Robert E. Lee

Archival Summary & Scope

A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR. From award-winning historian Allen Guelzo comes the definitive biography of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, an intimate and complex portrait hailed by the *New York Times Book Review* for "reconciling the myths with the facts." Guelzo navigates Lee's profound contradictions: a brilliant military leader admired even by enemies, yet a traitor to the nation he swore to serve; a man who claimed to oppose slavery but fought fiercely to defend the institution; and a figure of outward calm masking deep personal insecurities. Tracing Lee's life from his refined Virginia upbringing and U.S. Army career to his agonizing decision to side with the Confederacy and his pivotal Civil War leadership, this account captures his hypocrisy, courage, inner turmoil, and honor, revealing the full complexity of a confounding American figure.