Robert E. Lee

Fascinated by what made Lee such a charismatic, though reluctant, leader, Blount delves into the influences of Lee's illustrious but scandal-clouded ancestry: his hero-turned-scapegrace father, and his beloved, beautiful, husband-forsaken mother. In 1861, Lee was Lincoln's first choice to lead the Union troops, but his Virginia roots drew him, instead, to a Confederate command.