Gone For Soldiers
Jeff Shaara 
<span>With his acclaimed New<br>
York Times bestsellers Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, Jeff<br>
 Shaara expanded upon his father's Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War<br>
classic, The Killer Angels--ushering the reader through the poignant<br>
drama of this most bloody chapter in our history. Now, in Gone for<br>
Soldiers, Jeff Shaara carries us back fifteen years before that<br>
momentous conflict, when the Civil War's most familiar names are<br>
fighting for another cause, junior officers marching under the same flag<br>
 in an unfamiliar land, experiencing combat for the first time in the<br>
Mexican-American War.<br><br>In March 1847, the U.S. Navy delivers eight<br>
 thousand soldiers on the beaches of Vera Cruz. They are led by the<br>
army's commanding general, Winfield Scott, a heroic veteran of the War<br>
of 1812, short tempered, vain, and nostalgic for the glories of his<br>
youth. At his right hand is Robert E. Lee, a forty-year-old engineer, a<br>
dignified, serious man who has never seen combat.<br><br>Scott leads his<br>
 troops against the imperious Mexican dictator, General Antonio Lopez de<br>
 Santa Ana. Obsessed with glory and his place in history, Santa Ana<br>
arrogantly underestimates the will and the heart of Scott and his army.<br>
As the Americans fight their way inland, both sides understand that the<br>
inevitable final conflict will come at the gates and fortified walls of<br>
the ancient capital, Mexico City.<br><br>Cut off from communication and<br>
their only supply line, the Americans learn about their enemy and<br>
themselves, as young men witness for the first time the horror of war.<br>
While Scott must weigh his own place in history, fighting what many<br>
consider a bully's war, Lee the engineer becomes Lee the hero, the one<br>
man in Scott's command whose extraordinary destiny as a soldier is<br>
clear.<br><br>In vivid, brilliant prose that illuminates the dark<br>
psychology of soldiers and their commanders trapped behind enemy lines,<br>
Jeff Shaara brings to life the haunted personalities and magnificent<br>
backdrop, the familiar characters, the stunning triumphs and<br>
soul-crushing defeats of this fascinating, long-forgotten war. Gone for<br>
Soldiers is an extraordinary achievement that will remain with you long<br>
after the final page is turned.</span>