©2007, Viking Penquin, 658 pp. in hardback

God made man a very complex being. This is true not only with the intricate working of the human body, it is also true of man’s thought processes and beliefs. Pryor brings this fact into the forefront as she examines the life of Robert E. Lee through the lens of letters authored by and received by him.

Lee’s father, Light Horse Harry Lee, was a famous fighter in the War for Independence. Yet his post-war financial missteps ultimately led him to leave his family for the Bahamas. His son, Robert, was only six when his father departed, never to return.

By God’s grace, Lee received an education and graduated from West Point, second in his class and perhaps of greater note, without a demerit. He soon married Mary Curtis.  Their marriage was one of opposite personalities, yet one of a joint commitment to unity and a working through of differences. Lee’s conversion to Christ was, humanly speaking, greatly influenced by his mother-in-law. Common religious beliefs provided a basis on which Lee and his wife could view life and make decisions even though they did not always agree.

Lee’s early military career focused on engineering projects on the Mississippi River and elsewhere and an assignment as superintendent at West Point. Many of his military assignments took him away from his family for long periods of time.

One of these absences, his participation in the Mexican War, was great preparation ground for a later decision which gained him continuous fame.  Here, I speak of his decision to leave the U.S. Military and serve in defense of Virginia, his native state. As in other parts of the book, the author does a fine job of bringing Lee’s struggle and reasons for his decision to the forefront of her account. Thus we essentially see Lee as a human caught up in the struggles in a fallen world and unable to foresee the consequences of decisions.

Through Pryor’s well-written, readable account, readers can easily follow the battlefield chronology for Lee’s troops as well as many of the pressures the embattled Lee confronted on many fronts other than the physical venues themselves.

Following his surrender at Appomattox, Lee desired to live a private life with his family. His need for income and the desire to aid the next generation led him to accept the offer of president of Washington College. Lee’s tireless work greatly aided the college financially and economically. Yet he continued to struggle with his action and decisions in the recent war. Within five years he died.

Pryor writes with admiration of Lee, but also with realism that he was a man that often wrestled with enormous pressures in his life. Many times his responses to these pressures were decisions that seem very contradictory. I will mention only a few of these. Lee devoted almost all of his adult life to the military. The author points out that he did not recommend, due to his own experience, that young men enter the military. He missed being with his wife and family, yet he chose to remain in the military. This often resulted in assignments that took him far from family. Lee opposed secession, but chose to fight with the South because of his deep loyalty to Virginia. The general was family-oriented but willfully separated slave families by placing some slaves on other farms. He did not believe slavery was a workable institution, but he did not free his own slaves. Lee certainly had his reasons for these and other conflicting decisions he made in his life. Pryor, as a result of much research, ably explores his thinking and provides the reader with a better understanding of the man.  Each chapter begins with letters written by Lee, many previously unpublished. These shed great light on the topic for that chapter.

This is an informative book that treats Lee with respect and great insight. Readers can profit from reading this work. One can gain a greater understanding of Lee and the pressures of his era. No doubt, it is easy to find conflicting decisions in our own lives. Lee was a man of his time, as we are of ours. This does not excuse his or our inconsistent decisions. It does remind us that we are fallible creatures.  Lee stood on biblical beliefs as he understood them. I believe his culture and times influenced his interpretation of truth. We must take note of this and seek to avoid this mistake in our lives.

Review ©2008 Byron Snapp, Hampton, Virginia