The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 81, July 1977 - April, 1978 Page: 241

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Book Reviews

commander, Zachary Taylor, what type of ammunition he should use
against the oncharging Mexican lancers, "Old Rough and Ready"
supposedly replied, "a little more grape please, Captain Bragg." Bragg's
gunners and Jefferson Davis' Mississippi infantry were two of the
major reasons for the victory at Buena Vista.
Only about half (60 pages) of this interesting study of American
artillery in the Mexican War is devoted to the subject of the book.
Most of the balance of the study is devoted to biographical sketches
of artillerists of the war (most of whom distinguished themselves later
in the Civil War), a glossary of terms, and a rather extensive bibli-
ography. Well designed maps, and line drawings of artillery pieces
and types of ammunition add considerably to the volume.
Military historians and lay readers alike will find this well-researched
slim volume good reading as well as giving emphasis to a long neglected
phase of the Mexican War.
Hill County Junior College History Complex HAROLD B. SIMPSON
Nimitz. By Elmer B. Potter. (Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute
Press, 1976, Pp. xi+5o7. Preface, acknowledgments, illustrations,
maps, sources, index. $16.95.)
This biography is as close to a definitive study of Chester W. Nimitz,
Admiral of the Fleet, as one can expect. The biographer, a close friend
and colleague of Nimitz, faced a hard task in portraying a man who
carefully avoided publicity and insight. The work, therefore, lacks
reference notes, is heavily based on available sources and interviews,
and is festooned with anecdotes. While Nimitz sweeps across the back-
ground of his life, including flashbacks, it focuses on his main histori-
cal role, that of commander of the Pacific Fleet, 1941-1945. Through-
out, there is a good deal of human interest in highly readable form.
Texana abounds, including background sketches of Nimitz's family
origins in the Kerrville-Fredericksburg area, his frequent visits to the
state, and the Great Texas Picnic in Hawaii in 1943, a fete worthy of
the descriptive talents of a Dobie-or Jerry Jeff Walker-after which
empty longnecks littered the field. The strong point is the depiction
of the war from Nimitz's perspective, underlining how modern major
commanders often plan, wait, and pace, rather than "commanding."
Potter wrestles manfully with his treatment of MacArthur and King,
but reveals Navy partisanship nonetheless, including the Anglophobia
and apathy toward Russia and China that may partly explain, along

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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 81, July 1977 - April, 1978, periodical, 1977/1978; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101205/m1/269/ocr/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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