It is an intimate biography of Robert E. Lee not only covering the last 5 years of his life, but also giving some details of earlier, pre-Civil War episodes that shaped his thinking and outlook on life.
Lee was the personality behind jump-starting Washington College (later Washington and Lee University) after the Civil War which during his tenure as president became a benchmark for higher education recognized in both the North and the South.
The author goes in to detail about the political climate and battles that took shape in the immediate years after the war, including Reconstruction, voting rights for newly freed slaves, and Andrew Johnson's impeachment (and Grant's part in it). I found this to be the most interesting part of the book because these things just are not covered well in school history classes.
This is a great book that I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in the Civil War and its aftermath.