I was a little leery starting this book, but fortunately it never ventures into lost-cause territory.

What it does is present a compelling narrative of men at war through what appears to be extensively researched primary sources. Diaries and letters to home are cross referenced with military records to give the reader descriptions of the various actions, maneuvers and other trials that Arkansas soldiers in the Western Theater participated in. Among the other trials described, the book spends as much time describing the disease and hospital conditions faced as it does on any individual battle.

One thing that really stood out to bring the personal nature of the losses home is how whenever the death of one of the primary sources is known, it's brought up in the narrative. For example, if a soldier's letter home was used to describe one battle, then if he dies in a later battle he will be listed at the end of the description of that battle along with the other casualties, and it will be pointed out that he was the source of that earlier anecdote. This really increases the impact of the casualties in a way that simply listing names and numbers doesn't do.