[A] well-written, comprehensively researched biography. Publishers WeeklyWill both edify the scholar while captivating and entertaining the general reader. . . . Cutrers research is impeccable, his prose vigorous, and his life of McCulloch likely to remain the standard for many years. Civil WarA 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 HistoryA penetrating study of a man who was one of the last citizen soldiers to wear a generals stars. Blue and GrayA brisk narrative filled with colorful quotations by and about the central figure. . . . Will become the standard biography of Ben McCulloch. Journal of Southern HistoryA fast-paced, clearly written narrative that does full justice to its heroically oversized subject. American Historical Review