Major General Josiah Bunting III, Superintendent of the Virginia 
                      Military Institute  
                      A masterpiece.... Crocker's Lee is a Lee for all leaders to study; and to 
                      work, quite deliberately, to emulate.  

                      Dinesh D'Souza  
                      A moving and illuminating look at Lee the man, so that thoughtful people 
                      can learn from him how to succeed in the business of life.  

                      Marvin Olasky  
                      Harry Crocker has provided a great service by reminding us through this 
                      moving and tightly-written biography that winning isn't the only thing: 
                      faithfulness and honor live in our memories after the guns are silent.

                      From Booklist , April 1, 1995 
                      Thomas positions this life of the Marble Man as a corrective to critical 
                      appraisals such as Alan Nolan's Lee Reconsidered (1991). Both authors 
                      must contend with Douglas Southall Freeman's enduring R. E. Lee (1934), 
                      so what a revealing delight are Thomas' newly mined nuggets that 
                      humanize the image of the imperturbable, heroic, saintly, and suffering 
                      Lee. Thomas extracts them from Lee's pre^-Civil War career, when he 
                      was mastering battlements (as an engineer) before mastering battles. 
                      Family life predominates, especially the legacy of Lee's famed father, 
                      "Light Horse" Harry Lee, Washington's cavalry chief, who landed in 
                      debtors prison. Thomas makes the case that that disgrace impelled the son 
                      on a lifelong, if subconscious, quest to repair by personal example the 
                      family name; hence Lee's legendary devotion to honor, duty, and courtesy. 
                      Perhaps his unspoken embarrassment was compounded by dependence 
                      on others for a living (his wealthy wife, the militaries, a college). The war 
                      narratives are professionally rendered (Thomas is many times an 
                      acclaimed Civil War author), but always in focus is the shy, 
                      conflict-avoiding Lee personality, excepting conflicts at the Seven Days 
                      and elsewhere, of course. Be Lee traitor or patriot, he is a compelling 
                      American figure. This fine work is an obligatory acquisition. Gilbert 
                      Taylor  
                      Copyright© 1995, American Library Association. All rights reserved