James M. Perry (1927–2016)

Five US Presidents served in the Civil War, starting with Grant through McKinley. All five were Republicans, all ended service as officers, all were Gilded Age Presidents with strong ties to the business world, two were assassinated. Perry's idea in Touched with Fire is that their individual experiences in the war not only gave them the exposure to voters and connections to win elections, but also formed their approaches to later life and governing. Maybe, but Perry really didn't make his case. The writing's good, and Perry tells a nice anecdote, but Perry's snarkiness sometimes distracts.

Generally, I thought Perry wrote a decent high level history, but the nature of his story limits how deep he can go into the lives of these men. Their experiences were fascinating, the war was horrific, but so many details had to be glossed over. As an appetizer, though, leading to deeper reading, it works just fine.… (mere)