William Tecumseh Sherman is one of the most important and controversial generals in American history. Just about the only thing everyone would agree on is his effectiveness. While he’s lauded as a Union war hero during the Civil War and a forerunner of modern warfare, the South despised him for his heavy-handed tactics, particularly the burning of Columbia and his March to the Sea.

The hard-hitting Sherman was just as tough in his memoirs, a candid look at his experiences in the war and his analysis of the generalship of others in every theater. His memoirs are considered one of the most important post-war works by a general on either side of the Civil War.