Do You Have A Book Like This?

[Scribe]

Conversing with Ole about Bruce Catton brought this to mind.

My copy of Catton's Never Call Retreat (the paperback Pocket Books edition which back in the day cost me 50 cents new) is now missing its front cover and spine, falls apart into a half dozen sections and dozens of individual pages, and is only kept in any semblance order with a rubber band.

Somehow I can't bring myself to replace it because it and the companion volumes... The Coming Fury and Terrible Swift Sword... of Catton's Centennial History of the Civil War were the books that brought me from an interest in the Civil War to becoming a serious student, albeit an amateur student, of the rebellion.

[Jules362]

I have the set, still in pretty good shape. What I don't have is "A Stillness at Appomattox," and "Glory Road," and there was another book that came out about that same time...it may have been titled "Mr. Lincoln's Army?" I don't have any of those three but they're on my list of "must haves." If and when I get them, they'll probably be bumped ahead of the growing stack of books I haven't read yet.

[Blockaderunner]

Cattons 'Mr Lincolns army' was actually the first Civil War book I read. The descriptions of 2nd Manassas and Antietam were largely responsible for my interest in the Civil War.

[ole]

Somehow I can't bring myself to replace it because it and the companion volumes... The Coming Fury and Terrible Swift Sword... of Catton's Centennial History of the Civil War were the books that brought me from an interest in the Civil War to becoming a serious student, albeit an amateur student, of the rebellion.

I've assembled all six in first editions, but my first book was Carl Sandburg's "Lincoln, the War years and the Prairie Years." Then, the accursed BOMC enticed me to join with a free set of Catton's series "The Army of the Potomac." It's been downhill since and I've enjoyed every second of it.

My Sandburg is hardback, but barely so. The spine is loose and the next time I pick it up, some pages are going to come loose. It qualifies, in book-selling parlance as "poor." Below that is "reading copy" which means only that there are no missing pages.

Just for the sake of extending what is already an inane conversation, the heirarchy of book condition goes roughly as follows: New, As New, Very Fine, Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Near Good, Fair, Poor and Reading Copy.

Do not take that to the bank.

ole

[unionblue]

I have a hardback copy of The American Heritage Picture History of The American Civil War, published in 1960, 630 pages long and chocked full of black and white picutres and beautiful color paintings.

I hope to pass it onto my grandson.

Unionblue

[ole]

Your granson is indeed fortunate.But do you take the kid on bicycle tours of battlefields? Maybe that was another board. Nemmine.

ole

[gary]

I still have almost all of my Civil War books. Bruce Catton was the first twentieth century scholar that I read. I bought the Army of the Potomac triology used for $20 and enjoyed them very much.

[unionblue]

Originally Posted by ole

Your granson is indeed fortunate.But do you take the kid on bicycle tours of battlefields? Maybe that was another board. Nemmine.

ole

Hell, NO!

Way too old and I hope too smart to do anything so foolish.

Air conditioned car, with short stops and easy walk-arounds, thankyou very much.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

[Borderruffian]

A 1955 Copy of "The Red Badge of Courage" paperback. Bought it at garage sale when I was about 10. First Civil War book I owned even though it was a novel.