Civil War book recommendations

[il Padrino Ute]

"The Civil War: An Illustrated History" by Geoffrey C. Ward is outstanding. It's the book companion to Ken Burns PBS documentary from several years ago. It isn't a page turner, but it is an incredibly comprehensive text with some amazing drawings and photos.

[creekster]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

In addition to being a novel, the Killer Angels focuses on ony one battle--Gettysburgh. If you want to get a factual account of the big picture, again, I recommend McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom.

Macherson's book is very good but I didn't recommend it becasue he asked for soimething light and easy to getr into, and IMO it doesn't really qualify. I think Foote's stuff is easier to get into. You are correct, however, that MacPherson's book is historical.

I read a lot of Catton's stuff years ago and my recollection is that it is somewhat uneven; do you ahve any specifric books you recommend?

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by creekster

Macherson's book is very good but I didn't recommend it becasue he asked for soimething light and easy to getr into, and IMO it doesn't really qualify. I think Foote's stuff is easier to get into. You are correct, however, that MacPherson's book is historical.

I read a lot of Catton's stuff years ago and my recollection is that it is somewhat uneven; do you ahve any specifric books you recommend?

Most recently I read Grant Moves South, when I visited Vicksburg. I thought the account of Grant's coming of age, how he discovered himself as a great commander to the surprise of perhaps himelf but certainly virtually all of his colleagues, was very interesting and well written. Also, the rendition of Grant's friendship and mentoring of Sherman was as well a nice character study. Finally, the description of Grant's war behind the lines, living off the land, culminating in the Vicksburg campaign, and finally breaking southern control of the Mississippi River's shipping lanes was very gripping. It was very exciting not the least of which becasue Grant did it on his own initiative without anyone's order or approval. Some of the imagery Catton created in describing this action was very memorable. This really was a turning point in the war. Catton's books are classics too.

[Archaea]

thanks for the recommendations.

I'm reading Killer Angels. Seeing Little and Big Roundtops is more meaningful.

[fusnik11]

Originally Posted by Archaea

thanks for the recommendations.

I'm reading Killer Angels. Seeing Little and Big Roundtops is more meaningful.

Read Shelby Foote's stuff....

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by fusnik11

Read Shelby Foote's stuff....

Shelby Foote is very popular partly because he was a star of Ken Burns' documentary, and he was lovely, very prfessorial with his grizzled beard, pipe, and watery eyes, as with his gravelly voice he eloquently described the momentous events. And although long, his account is very readable, very accessible, as Creekster notes. It is also very a well written narrative that tells a good story. My only problem with Shelby Foote is that he is a southerner and so can't help giving the southern perspective, and being a bit too Romantic about the southern cause for my taste. The fact is, the Confederacy was evil. In terms of its moral content, it was closer to Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union than the United States by a long shot. McPherson makes this very clear. His book is also shorter, about 800 pages, rather than three one thousand page books.

[bluegoose]

Thats good stuff guys.

Thanks for the recommendations.