Steve Cottrell

This is a concise, friendly accounting of an undertold subject. The author does not fall into the usual, tiresome pit of telling the Oklahoma story solely from the CSA point of view, and he writes clearly, particularly when he's off the battlefield; the prose becomes more than a little purple when the men are in combat. What the book could use is more sense of is what, if anything, the high commands elsewhere viewed this theater as accomplishing and what their plans imposed on the local show more commanders. The book is very nicely illustrated and has several useful campaign maps; battlefield maps and a true index would have been a plus. show less

Being a clearly written, straightforward narrative of the major battles fought in the Volunteer State during the War of the Rebellion. The accounts are easy to follow, or would be had maps been included, a grievous error. The book is liberally illustrated, but those are irrelevant to narrative flow. The book is decently edited and proofed by today's sloppy standards, but is far from perfect. The book contains little of the state's political history, and nothing whatsoever about the life of show more the common man. It's a competent but limited account. show less

This work gives an overview of the Civil War in the Ozark area including Missouri and Arkansas and some for Oklahoma or the Indian Territory. It does cover information that is not mentioned in other studies which are going to focus more on the larger theaters that took place in the Southeast. This book offers a little more in regards to Stand Waite's troops, the only Native American to obtain the rank of Brigadier General, and Ozark legend. The writing was a little dry, but it was still a show more decent book overall. show less