It was OK. I am woefully ignorant on this whole terrain, so its relative breeziness was a plus in that regard.

In terms of Sherman, I like how O'Connell drew out his linchpin role in the territorial consolidation of the US, from the Seminole wars to California to the Civil War to Plains Indians and the transcontinental railroad. I might have liked to hear an awful lot more about Plains Indians, in particular, and even the railroad was covered pretty briskly. A lot to cover, the author is right to be selective, but the overall feeling is that this is a little light.