Any help? I've tried God's & Generals, but honestly, I can't stomach Shaara.
Ideally, I would love a book of short excerpts (fiction or non), mainly of battle, but also something that will give a vivid taste for life during that era and "feel" of living during that war.
[This message has been edited by TheoPhileo (edited June 16, 2005).]
Posted by Exploding Monkey (Member # 2444) on :
The Civil War: A Narrative by SHELBY FOOTE is a three part seires of books that covers the entire war.
I have wanted to pick this series up because it gets so much praise but just have not had the time.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
I agree, the Shelby Foote books are good. Also, US Grant wrote an wutobiography that is full fo small details and reads well.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
The Shelby Foote series is really good.
Nothing can give the "feel" of living during that war along with a vivid taste for the life of the era. That war...it was to the Americans what WWI was to Europe. It changed everything. Naturally, we didn't make the mistake of including any Frenchmen in drawing up the peace, so things went pretty well...by comparison
There was the antebellum period and the reconstruction era, both North and South. What world you were living in at any time during the war was entirely a matter of...who knows what. Lee lived in the antebellum world, probably till the end of his life. It was a decision on his part, he could see the signs of the times, but felt too old to change. Sherman was in the reconstruction era even when he was living in the actual antebellum South. Grant...he was firmly part of the antebellum North, even when he was President. Forrest was old South, Longstreet was post-war from the time he was in school.
It's easier to identify the hard core of the antebellum Southerners. The change in the North wasn't as dramatic for the typical soldier, it affected the businessman far more. A lot of the Morth's soldiers ended going west, too.
Posted by Shendülféa (Member # 2408) on :
Did you ever read Killer Angels? I can't remember who wrote it off the top of my head, but it's a fiction novel based entirely off of the Battle of Gettysburg. Thus, much of the story spends time on the battle, describing what went on and how the leaders of each side stratigized.
Posted by cklabyrinth (Member # 2454) on :
Is Bernard Cornwell's Sharp series Civil War or before? For some reason I think it's Civil War..
Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :
My hubby is a Civil War buff. Although it's not short excerpts, he recommends Gentleman and Soldier, a biography of Wade Hampton III, by Edward G. Longacre, and Lincoln's Spymaster, by David Hepburn Milton, which is only 122 pages.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Killer Angels is biographical fiction, meaning that while the author is making up all the thoughts that run through everyone's head and some of the dialogue (unlike Foote, who used the actual words found in primary source documents like letters and such whenever he wanted to explore the feelings and words of the "characters"), the external facts are very accurate. Not perfectly accurate, historical accounts of exactly what happened at Gettysburg do differ somewhat amongst themselves, but as true to the known facts as possible.
