In The Extraordinary Life of Charles Pomeroy Stone: Soldier, Surveyor, Pasha, Engineer that ranges from the Halls of Montezuma to Gold Rush California, and from the pyramids of Egypt to the foot of the Statue of Liberty, historian Blaine Lamb brings to light the many facets of Stone’s remarkable life and career. He weaves into the narrative such characters as Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, Abraham Lincoln, Winfield Scott, Alexander von Humboldt, Thaddeus Lowe, Chinese Gordon, Khedive Ismail, and Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. But the center of this tale of nineteenth-century adventure, exploration, war, and intrigue remains Stone himself, a man of honor, steadfast loyalty, and tragic innocence.

Civil War Book Review

I was not familiar with General Stone other than at the Ball's Bluff fiasco. I found his story to be amazing. To travel to California, Mexico and Egypt in the mid 1800's was quit an adventure. His story was captivating as Stone mixed success and failure into many fazes of his life but after all his ups and downs continued to great triumphs. A story of the human twill to succeed not a Ciivil War's soldiers tale.

Amazon Review

The author did an outstanding job of introducing a true American patriot. General Stone lived an extraordinary life, but in many ways he was like most Americans. He failed. He succeeded. He failed and succeeded again. He found opportunities and accepted risks. He was the essence of resilience. Civil War buffs will enjoy this book because Stone's path crossed those of many well-known figures. However, Stone's tale also provides interesting glimpses of antebellum California, Egyptian modernization, and the Statue of Liberty. Political scientists will recognize the extreme measures taken by a
war-time President and Congress. Historians will increase their knowledge of Mexico. Evidence of the author's thorough research is apparent. The author did take the liberty to speculate on Stone's activities to fill the gaps, but this was clear to the reader. The narrative is easy to follow. Good work Mr. Lamb!

Amazon Review

...Despite the short length, Blaine Lamb does a great job of telling the story, almost always giving just as much detail as the reader could want, without getting bogged down in minutiae. (I wish he had dropped in more reminders of Stone’s age at various points, but this is a minor quibble.) His prose is clean, clear and easy to read, and I often found myself reading for longer than I meant to in a given sitting.

So, all and all, a fantastic work of history. Charles Pomery Stone may not be one of the great players of the 19th century, but his life is extraordinary and deserves to be remembered. Blaine Lamb has done an admirable job of bringing his story out of obscurity. Recommended!

The Renaissance Troll – Joe McCullough