I second Kevin Hardwick's recommendation of Emory Thomas's biography of
R. E. Lee for one-volume treatments. Margaret Sanborn's two-volume
treatment (1966-1967) is worth looking at for the prewar years and Lee's
career at Washington College. No biographer has yet captured Lee's
playfulness and sense of humor, both of which come across clearly in his
private prewar letters to family and close friends. Elizabeth Pryor has
a new book coming out with Viking in April entitled "Reading the Man: A
Portrait of Robert E. Lee through His Private Letters," which is likely
to provide a new perspective.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Sara B. Bearss
[log in to unmask]
Senior Editor, Dictionary of Virginia Biography
The Library of Virginia
800 E. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23221-8000
 
Friends don't let friends split infinitives.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-