Robert E. Lee in War and Peace: The Photographic History of a Confederate and American Icon Hardcover – October 19, 2013

This is a wonderful book to own if you are a Lee admirer. Every known photo taken of the general is identified, and explained, inside this beautiful edition. And anyone interested in photography will appreciate the research the author put into the evolution of the art of picture taking in the Civil War era. I enjoyed studying this book very much. I commend the author on its publication. And I highly recommend it!

Exhaustive coverage but at least two well known photos are missing from the book and several photos are obviously duplicates in the book. The number of photos number is 68 photos not 61 according to my count. Hopefully there will be a revised edition as was required by Ostendorf and Katz on their books. All in all a great book covering in fantastic detail the photos of this extraordinary man.

Excellent reference book but not for a little light reading. Very detailed and hugely researched. Nicely done!

Unique subject never consolidated before.

Great!

For the first time, a book on Robert E. Lee photographs discusses in detail the photographic techniques used in recording the Confederate general and as an educator later in life. You read about and view, his adult life paralleling the development of photography in America; therefore you see photographs of him using the different techniques available in the 19th century. Much more information on his photographers, both northern and southern, is presented than in other books on this topic as well. Interested enthusiasts will follow Lee in photos from Matthew Brady's 1845 daguerreotype to 1870 pictures for his sculpture. Each photo is discussed, where taken, the probable date, photographer attribution and variations done after the fact. With photos on every page, you never are in doubt as to which image is being analyzed. Some of these pictures have their own history that involves family, friends and photographers in disputes. Dr. Hopkins accounts of all the known photographs of Lee including information about their sources, is comprehensive.Robert E. Lee in War and Peace: The Photographic History of Confederate and American Icon by Donald A. Hopkins presents an important study of this famous Virginian in photographs. This author has maintained a lifelong fascination with Southern and military history. He has written several Civil War articles and three books including The Little Jeff: A History of the Jeff Davis Legion, Cavalry, Army of Northern Virginia for which he received the United Daughters of the Confederacy's Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal. His extensive Civil War collection contains several original photographs of General Lee.Savas-Beatie has published this new work on the Confederate hero, Robert E. Lee. This biography was published in 2013 and is the first comprehensive volume since the original of this style made available in 1947 by Roy Meredith's "The Face of Robert E. Lee in Life and Legend". The quality achieved by the publisher in putting together this book is fitting for a work that is a permanent contribution to Civil War scholarship. This book of 200 pages contains beautiful images that serious students interested in the Civil War, Southern history and one of the most idolized men in United States history will be most interested in. The detailed and well researched narrative accompanying all 61 known "from life" photographs of General Lee as well as numerous relevant illustrations result in meeting the authors stated goals of writing an updated reference and study. Hopkins uses a chronological approach and uses many quotations from private and public communications between this iconic figure, his family and contemporaries. Collectors and dealers of Lee's pictures are provided with accurate and up to date information including mistakes made in earlier works by different authors such as Francis Trevelyan Miller, Roy Meredith, Philip Van Doren Stern, Emory Thomas and David Eicher. There is a helpful 12 page appendix which includes an interesting interview with Dr. Hopkins. This author has drawn from and utilized relevant details from primary sources and secondary sources such as books, periodicals, archived materials, pamphlets, circulars, catalogs, auction catalogs and internet sites.An interesting book that is much more than a history of Lee's photos. Yes, all of the photographs of Robert E. Lee are catalogued, written about, provided with valuable context as well as new information. The author manages to balance the technical, business and social showing how advancements in photography interacted with society. The result is a book that covers the business life of photographers and societies wish to be photographed. Hopkins has produced an evident labor of love similar in scope to Lloyd Ostendorf's Lincoln's Photographs: A Complete Album (1998) and D. Mark Katz's Custer in Photographs (1985).People who want accurate and up-to-date information about their Lee photographs as well as Civil War photographic history will enjoy this title. The book uncovers numerous surprising details about the photographic iconography of General Robert E. Lee. Anyone reading this book with a degree of knowledge of the subject will find much more to learn within these pages. Dr. Hopkins book belongs on the bookshelf of students of Civil War generals. This collection of the likenesses of one of the most recognizable historic American faces is a fascinating read and highly recommended for Lee's admirers as well as Civil War buffs.

Few will argue with the idea that George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee are the most recognizable historic American faces.I have read that Lee is the most common image in Civil War art.He is truly an icon, instantly recognized and respected.This book accepts this being subtitled "The Photographic History of a Confederate and American Icon".For many people the question will be, "Am I a big enough Lee fan to buy this book?"Many will quickly answer "No" and look at something else.You will miss an interesting varied book that is much more than a history of Lee's photos.Yes, all of the photographs of Robert E. Lee are catalogued and written about just as promised.What is not mentioned is an understandable somewhat technical discussion of photography from the 1830s to 1870s.This is coupled with a peek at how the business worked.Additionally, this says nothing about the social aspects of how a well to do family recorded their images.The author manages to balance the technical, business and social showing how advancements in photography interacted with society.The result is a book that covers the business life of a photographer and societies wish to be photographed.Donald Hopkins could easily have written a cure for insomnia.He avoids that with a lively style that includes the right amount of information for the reader, as they need it.This careful pace keeps our interest ensuring we never bog down.We follow Lee in photos from Matthew Brady's 1845 daguerreotype to 1870 pictures for his sculpture. Each photo is discussed, where taken, the probable date, photographer and variations done after the fact.With photos on every page, you never are in doubt as to which photo we are talking about.Some of these pictures have a real "history" that involves family, friends and photographers in disputes.

This is a very interesting book that needs to be edited. The main problem is that there needs to be a list of original photographs. It not entirely clear how many photographs are actual original, and different, photographs and what are just modifications. Perhaps each unique sitting could be done with a Roman numeral and the different photos in each sitting designated by numbers. Chapter 10 is confusing and shows why a numbering system is needed. Why is chapter 7 a separate chapter? There is likely a typo on the bottom photograph on page126 which a post-war photograph, but the label says "circa 1858". Some stuff seems to be included for no reason. What does the bazar at Liverpool (appendix C) have to do with Lee photographs? In addendix B Lee's brother is mentioned and the fact that some people feel that the photograph on page 3 is actually Sidney and his son. However, no photograph or painting is provided of Sidney Smith Lee.