NF Newbies books?

[Pat Young]

The Civil War Trust also offers what it calls animated battle maps. These show you the movements of the armies during a specific battle or campaign. Here is a link to the complete set:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhqv_T1O1sdxRNm5SNc6cGSWr7xiWZs

I really like these.

 

[Pat Young]

Here is the animated map of the entire war showing the major campaigns.

 

[Pat Young]

Here is one of the Overland Campaign:

 

[Pat Young]

You get the idea. I won't embed them all, just know that you can access a dozen or so of them on that youtube channel.

 

[Drew]

Drew, can you name a few recommended books/authors that you feel are even-handed or even slant to the South?

I actually think it would be useful to try to put some of the major works on a spectrum (slant North, slant South, etc.).

Well, I'm not sure anyone is without bias. I offered McPherson and Foote as overview starting points. The OP has clarified his/her goal in terms of learning battle tactics. I'm not sure what to offer here.

@Pat Young has offered some good stuff and I suspect James N. may have some insight here, if we can scare him out.

 

[Pat Young]

The Civil War Trust also has a number of videos called War Department. These are on specialized topics and are of varying lengths:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhqv_T1O1tayKPCs9twUkXnwCRCDxDt

 

[Pat Young]

If you want a more sophisticated look at the war, here is my thread containing the Civil War lectures of Columbia University historian Eric Foner. They are a total of about 8 hours long.

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/er...civil-war-years-1861-1865.106685/#post-995261

 

[Pat Young]

You can also take David's Blight course on the Civil War and Reconstruction that he offers at Yale. Also free. This one takes about 20 hours to watch:

 

[Pat Young]

Here is the complete set of Blight's Yale lectures on the Civil War, including one where a student walks out on him!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5DD220D6A1282057

 

[Pat Young]

You will need maps. If you are not ready to invest in an atlas, here are free static maps from the Civil War Trust:

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps

Scroll to the bottom of the page for the static maps. You can also use the animated maps from this page.

 

[Pat Young]

Anyway, good luck with your exploration.

 

[Drew]

If you want a more sophisticated look at the war, here is my thread containing the Civil War lectures of Columbia University historian Eric Foner. They are a total of about 8 hours long.

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/er...civil-war-years-1861-1865.106685/#post-995261

You can also take David's Blight course on the Civil War and Reconstruction that he offers at Yale. Also free. This one takes about 20 hours to watch:

Here is the complete set of Blight's Yale lectures on the Civil War, including one where a student walks out on him!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5DD220D6A1282057

Pat, for Goodness' sake. You've done well here, but this stuff from Foner, Blight, et al, is really not going to be helpful to the OP, trying to learn basic things about the War.

Foner and Blight both have modern agendas that go well beyond what a beginner has to learn. Give it a rest?

Let's help a person out and leave the hatchets buried for the time being?

 

[cash]

Pat, for Goodness' sake. You've done well here, but this stuff from Foner, Blight, et al, is really not going to be helpful to the OP, trying to learn basic things about the War.

Foner and Blight both have modern agendas that go well beyond what a beginner has to learn. Give it a rest?

Let's help a person out and leave the hatchets buried for the time being?

Telling the truth about historians would be a good start.

 

[Pat Young]

Pat, for Goodness' sake. You've done well here, but this stuff from Foner, Blight, et al, is really not going to be helpful to the OP, trying to learn basic things about the War.

Foner and Blight both have modern agendas that go well beyond what a beginner has to learn. Give it a rest?

Let's help a person out and leave the hatchets buried for the time being?

They are courses from two of the most respected academic historians around today. The courses are free. You're welcome.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Great question @veritasbulldog82.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but a novice can't go wrong with the old 1980's Time/Life series The Civil War.
Although it's not an academic work, it's perfect for introducing the subject to those not familiar with the conflict.

Think a hard cover Cliffs Notes . . . with a lot of images.

 

[Deleted User CS]

This topic has been covered too death in this forum and it is rather easy to locate a plethora of good suggestions for books and authors to read in order to acquire a good working knowledge of the Civil War from this forum and its various lists of categories. David.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

This topic has been covered too death in this forum and it is rather easy to locate a plethora of good suggestions for books and authors to read in order to acquire a good working knowledge of the Civil War from this forum and its various lists of categories. David.

Yeah, you're right David.

But we have a new member that only asked a simple question.

Personally, I'm going to try to help any newbie with any questions they may have.

I see no point in being rude & telling a novice to use the CWT search feature.

Once a new member learns how to navigate this site, I'm quite sure they will use the search engine.

 

[Deleted User CS]

Yeah, you're right David.

But we have a new member that only asked a simple question.

Personally, I'm going to try to help any newbie with any questions they may have.

I see no point in being rude & telling a novice to use the CWT search feature.

Once a new member learns how to navigate this site, I'm quite sure they will use the search engine.

My response was not meant to be rude. My intentions were meant to be helpful. David.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

My response was not meant to be rude. My intentions were meant to be helpful. David.

 

[Bruce Vail]

Catton, Bruce and Richard M. Ketchum, ed. (1960). The American Heritage Picture History of The Civil War (American Heritage/Bonanza Books, New York).

I got this book about 45 years ago and still have my copy. A great overview for beginners.

And McPherson's Battle Cry is commonly used as a standard text for college courses in the Civil War. Universally admired.