A long-time special-forces officer with a PhD in systems engineering presents a new perspective on one of the legendary campaigns of the American Civil War, General William T. Sherman's invasion of Georgia.

Unlike most Civil War books that either treat individual battles and campaigns in a historical sense and give short shrift to planning, or study campaign planning with snippets from various campaigns to document specific features, General John Scales's book takes advantage of modern planning techniques to fully examine the Georgia campaign.

He has limited the information in his book to what was possessed by General Sherman at the time, as documented in his correspondence during the campaign. Laid out in chapters that follow the format of an`estimate of the situation', this book doesn't simply recount the facts or attempt to provide a definitive history-other books do that-rather it offers a narrative of the campaign that illustrates a logical decision-making process as formulated in modern times.

Published in cooperation with the Associations of the United States Army, the book serves two audiences: military professionals can use it for training purposes and Civil War buffs and interested laymen can gain a sense of the uncertainty that real commanders sometimes face.

John R. Scales, a retired special-forces officer and combat veteran of both the Vietnam War and Operation Enduring Freedom, is currently working at SAIC in Huntsville, Alabama.