Touched With Fire: Five Presidents And The Civil War Battles That Made Them - Hardcover

James M. Perry began his journalism career at Leatherneck Magazine, and then worked for thirty-five years covering politics for the National Observer and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of five previous books, most recently A Bohemian Brigade, about the reporters who covered the Civil War, and in 1997 he was awarded the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award for a distinguished career in journalism.

"A vivid and readable style...[Perry] successfully weaves the separate biographical sketches into an understandable narrative." -- Civil War News

"Perry, a wry storyteller, delivers regimental-level detail that buffs crave while dusting events with skepticism that presidential electoral campaigning invites." -- Booklist, September 2003.

"The chronicles of the various battles are particularly good... worthwhile reading for those who enjoy accounts of the Civil War." -- Library Journal, August 15, 2003.

"a high-quality account of the soldiers who became leaders in the Gilded Age...rousing and vibrant." -- Akron Beacon Journal, October 5, 2003

"an extraordinarily lucid and richly researched history... provides letters, diaries,... other sources to bring military and political details to life." -- San Antonio Express-News, September 21, 2003.

"solid, informative . . .Perry knows his territory and his people and has a readable journalistic style" -- Publishers Weekly, July 28, 2003.

"well-crafted... [Perry] writes fluently and memorably... A solid overview, well suited to Civil War buffs." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review), July 1, 2003.

[an] elegantly written, educational, and entertaining study. -- Military Heritage April 2004