I was concerned when I initially posted this message that we might get a little "testy" regarding this subject.

My purpose in originally posting this message was to determine if anyone had read this book. None of us, really know what position Dr. Bailey has taken in this book and she is the author of the book NOT the book description which states "Bailey contends that the psychological horror rather than the actual physical damage–which was not as devastating as believed–led to the wilting of Southern morale."

The statement "not as devastating as believed" may be the problem. I'm sure each of us has a different mental picture, based on our reading, our culture and our location, as to just how bad it was. I would also imagine that different areas within the sixty-mile wide swath between Atlanta and Savannah have different area stories and experiences.

As I stated in my original posting, I've been a fan and admirer of Dr. Bailey's past work. She has been an even-handed and, in my opinion, a fair and thorough researcher in the past. However, I've also read, or tried to read several books over the last ten to fifteen years which are what I refer to as selective or unsubstantiated revisionism designed to accommodate modern thinking and culture versus true historical fact. It seems that some authors feel they can only be published, if they come up with something provocative or outlandish.

Maybe what one of us should do is "read the damn book!" I don't want to see our conversations here spin out of control without knowing factually what we are talking about.

Honestly, I'm glad someone has taken on this, probably overwhelming task of researching the truth of the destruction caused during Sherman's March to the Sea. I would suppose that this massive story is filled with fact and fiction and for those unacquainted with the legacy of this notorious campaign they might walk away from a reading of this book with a completely different attitude to my own.
Some may be appalled by the lessening of degree of the destruction and atrocity in this book, while others might be horrified at how terrible it was. I guess it's all dependent on your reading and understanding of this event.

If nothing else, perhaps we can hope that this book, provocative and inaccurate or absolutely factual, might stimulate a discussion and further scholarship on this subject. I'm sure, if Dr. Bailey's research is in error, that someone else will pick up the torch to "set the record straight".

Finally, though raised in Mississippi and Tennessee, and as a result of that upbringing being culturally Southern, I would like to maintain a neutral position on this subject. If Dr. Bailey had written a book, for which, the book description stated that she had taken a position that "the atrocities and destruction were MUCH worse than previously known", I would've posted a similar message asking if anyone had read the book and wished to comment.

Jim Martin