[A] well-written, comprehensively researched biography."-- Publishers Weekly "Will both edify the scholar while captivating and entertaining the general reader...Cutrer's research is impeccable, his prose vigorous, and his life of McCulloch likely to remain the standard for many years."-- Civil War "A well-crafted work that makes an important contribution to understanding the frontier military tradition and the early stages of the Civil War in the West."-- Civil War History "A penetrating study of a man who was one of the last citizen soldiers to wear a general's stars."-- Blue and Gray "A brisk narrative filled with colorful quotations by and about the central figure...Will become the standard biography of Ben McCulloch."-- Journal of Southern History "A fast-paced, clearly written narrative that does full justice to its heroically oversized subject."-- American Historical Review