Member Review A Field Guide to Gettysburg by Carol Reardon & Tom Vossler

infomanpa

1st Lieutenant
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Location
Pennsylvania
The second edition of this book, released in 2017 is an excellent guide for those who wish to take a book with them while visiting the battlefield in real time. I have to admit that I find this awkward, but because I know the battlefield so well, I could visualize the descriptions in the book regarding the list of 37 stops. What surprised me was how the authors were able to effectively construct a tour in chronological order of the battle. I didn't think that was possible without a lot of doubling back, since different days of battle action overlap the same fields. Trying to instruct the learner about July 2 and July 3 without confusion can be a challenge for a tour guide. Admittedly, in this book you do have to retrace your routes occasionally, but it's done very smoothly. To contrast this, I found the earlier publication, Complete Gettysburg Guide by Petruzzi, to be confusing with its presentation order, which is often not chronological. However, to me Petruzzi's maps are superior because they show modern roads and features along with elevation contours. Reardon's maps show the battle field as it was in 1863, which I find difficult at times to orient myself.
 
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