Thequillandthebayonet
Cadet
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2018
I would like to know what book about the American Civil War that you have read do you think is the best book you have ever read about the war and which book was the worst?
I am just curious to see what people like and dislike.On this site I think you're going to find that folks tend to be beyond the generalist stage and have particular interests, thus the many forums. Because of that it's hard to name a best book - it depends on what subject which is most recommended. The "best" book on the battle of Gettysburg is one thing, the "best" one about naval battles is something else.
You might want to look through this thread for some ideas (a number of members listed favorites):
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/standard-civil-war-reference-works.84521/
Are you looking for recommendations for beginning study or are you just curious about what folks liked/disliked ? Do you have some particular interest or is an overview more what you're looking for ? Narrowing your question might get you more responses.
Welcome to our little fold.
Well, I have to mention my own book, right? "That Bloody Hill: Hilliard's Legion at Chickamauga." It's the finest book on the Civil War that I have ever written. I would mention three others for being outstanding: "The Class of 1846: From West Point to Appomattox: Stonewall Jackson, George McClellan and their Brothers" by John C. Waugh; "Gettysburg: A test of Courage" by Noah Andre Trudeau and "Pickett's Charge in History and Memory" by Carol Reardon. Finally, you can't go wrong with anything written by Susannah Ural. My favorite, not including my own? Reardon's book mentioned above.I would like to know what book about the American Civil War that you have read do you think is the best book you have ever read about the war and which book was the worst?
I couldn't disagree more about Confederates in the Attic. I just finished reading it today and it is one of the few things I've read that falls into the "couldn't put it down" category. I was amazed when I saw that it's now almost twenty years old (!) because I think of it as a "new" book.Two favorites are GRANT by Jean Edward Smith and my other favorite is HIGH TIDE AT GETTYSBURG by Glenn Tucker. One gives the Northern perspective and one gives the Southern. Both outstanding!
Most books have something to offer but one that had nothing to offer was confederates in the attic by Tony Horowitz. It really denigrates the honor we give to our ancestors both North and South.
Maybe I’ll try to pick it up and read it again but I couldn’t get into the book at all. Maybe I’ll try again.I couldn't disagree more about Confederates in the Attic. I just finished reading it today and it is one of the few things I've read that falls into the "couldn't put it down" category. I was amazed when I saw that it's now almost twenty years old (!) because I think of it as a "new" book.
I meant to say more about it - I was fully expecting it to be just more Politically Correct South-bashing, but found the author really quite sympathetic with the many oddball characters he encountered in his travels. I couldn't help but wonder what he would think of the current fights over Confederate symbols, since that was going on twenty years ago too, though maybe not quite as virulent as now. About a third through he got bogged down in a racial incident involving a homicide and subsequent trial, but once through that sorry episode it picked up again in a week-long Civil Wargasm trip that reminded me in ways of one I made myself this April! That long chapter was like a tour guide to the then-current state of many principal Civil War sites. His involvements with "hardcore" Confederate reenactors also reminded me of several of my own experiences which I've posted about here in the Forums. I thought that overall Horwitz's book was a thoughtful look at some of the many and sometimes conflicting reasons we're continually fascinated with "our" war.Maybe I’ll try to pick it up and read it again but I couldn’t get into the book at all. Maybe I’ll try again.
I would like to know what book about the American Civil War that you have read do you think is the best book you have ever read about the war and which book was the worst?
Most books have something to offer but one that had nothing to offer was confederates in the attic by Tony Horowitz. It really denigrates the honor we give to our ancestors both North and South.
I read that book over 15 years ago as part of a Civil War in Popular Culture class. I should probably reread it because I'm sure I will see it very differently, for better or worse, than I did back then since my Civil War knowledge is vastly increased in the last decade.
I've done a good job avoiding the truly terrible Civil War books. There's lots of self-published trash out there in every genre. (Not every self-published work is bad though.)
Of things I have read, Jim Weeks' Gettysburg: Memory, Market, and Shrine was excruciatingly boring for me and I didn't finish it. I also find Clifford Dowdey's writing to be full of so many outdated ideas and pro-Confederate bias as to be worthless and unpalatable. I started to read one of his books without realizing what I was getting into; I didn't get far.