"This section of Stanley's complete autobiography contains his exuberant, vivid recollections - an entertaining mix of fact and occasional fabrication - of commerce, manners, individuals, and attitudes in the late antebellum South, as well as his graphic, sobering descriptions of combat and captivity.".

"Stanley recounts some of the details of his childhood torments to contrast them with the freedom he finds in America and his sonlike relationship to his mentor. He eventually moves to the Arkansas frontier, living on two plantations, and from there is swept up by the excitement of the war, enlisting with the "Dixie Grays," 6th Arkansas Infantry.".

"Stanley's narrative then resembles the writing of a young Stephen Crane - gripping accounts of the battles of Belmont and Shiloh, his capture by the Union army, the deplorable prison conditions at Camp Douglas, and his ultimate defection to the northern side. His autobiography abruptly breaks off in August 1862, but through notes, an introduction, and an epilogue, Civil War historian Nathaniel Hughes achieves a rounded picture of this phase in Stanley's life, relating it to his career as a whole.

Hughes interprets and clarifies Stanley's writing as needed, explaining edits imposed by his widow and verifying its authenticity of detail."--BOOK JACKET.