[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