num_pages: 352
description: This thought-provoking military history considers the influence of General Shermans Civil War tactics on American conflicts through the twentieth century ( The New York Times ). To know what war is one should follow our tracks Gen. William T. Sherman once wrote to his wife describing the devastation left by his armies in Georgia. Shermans Ghosts is an investigation of those tracks as well as those left across the globe by the American military in the 150 years since Shermans infamous March to the Sea. Shermans Ghosts opens with an epic retelling of General Shermans fateful decision to terrorize the Souths civilian population in order to break the back of the Confederacy. Acclaimed journalist and historian Matthew Carr exposes how this strategy which Sherman called indirect warfare became the central preoccupation of war planners in the twentieth century and beyond. He offers a lucid assessment of the impact Shermans slash-and-burn policies have had on subsequent wars and military conflicts including World War II and in the Philippines Korea Vietnam and even Iraq and Afghanistan. In riveting accounts of military campaigns and in the words of American soldiers and strategists Carr finds ample evidence of Shermans long shadow. Shermans Ghosts is a rare reframing of how we understand our violent history and a call to action for those who hope to change it.
language: English
title: Sherman's Ghosts: Soldiers, Civilians, and the American Way of War
publisher: The New Press