This compelling biography presents the colorful life of "Hancock the Superb," one of the most important battlefield commanders of the Union forces in the American Civil War. A major figure on the fields of Gettysburg and the Wilderness, Hancock also served in the wars against the Plains Indians, was a controversial commander of New Orleans during Reconstruction, and just missed ascending to the White House in 1880. David M. Jordan recounts his tale with sympathy and verve, and brings Hancock superbly to life for our times.