Member Review Shelby Foote

[Marco 1975]

Joshism said:

"Not all opinions are worthy of respect."

I agree.
I also think that every person has the right of freedom of thought and belief (and opinion.)

But who gets to decide which opinions are worthy of respect?

Some people are convinced that anyone who has a different opinion is just wrong. These people somehow believe that they have a monopoly on the truth and the rest of the world is just wrong, and possibly ignorant.
Where did they get the idea that they are the center of the universe?

Personally I'm okay if someone disagrees with me. It takes all kind of people to make a world.

Any point of view that respects that there are other people with other views has to be respected. That's just my opinion

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

For anyone that may not be familiar with Mr. Foote, here's a quick clip of the man:

 

[Choatecav]

Just saw this thread and I absolutely love Shelby Foote.... His trilogy on the war should be mandatory reading for anyone studying the subject. I also seek out his videos and love to hear him speak. Truly like a man from another era.

One of his heroes was William Faulkner, the great southern author and the stories of them getting together and visiting battlefields are priceless. Both Foote and Faulkner were avid pipe smokers. I also enjoy my pipes and I have researched their favorite blends and styles of pipes. As you can imagine, I have several similar pipes of their reported favorites as well as the tobacco blends that each preferred.
A really good friend of mine, who lives in Memphis, got to meet him (Foote, that is) a few times and even Chauferred him to a speaking event. To say the least, I am envious of my friend.

 

[Bentonville]

I'm a fan of Shelby Foote and especially James I. Robertson too. One historian you might enjoy if you want a more Union perspective on the war who loves Civil War history and is entertaining is the late Edwin Bearss. His knowledge of the Vicksburg campaign is second to none and he also knows the battle of Gettysburg like the back of his hand.

Being a Southerner, I can say that most Southerners are natural born storytellers, whether what they say is true or not. If you ask a Southerner a simple question it can turn into a thirty minute story before you'll get an answer.

Foote and Bearss truly got me interested in the war.

 

[Rhea Cole]

Yes, and exactly why I include the term 'narrative' in my post.

Not all historians are built the same. That's been shown here several times.

You are absolutely correct, historians are remarkably diverse. My brother (who is fluent in Swedish) is working with a group of historians investigating the results of an autopsy of a Swedish. Queen who converted to Catholicism abdicated & moved to Rome.

Another group of friends have been going on yearly expeditions to Pacific Islands that were assaulted during WWII. Some of the places they go are closed to the public because of the hazards.

Another acquaintance is a historian who studies historical garments.

Making broad unsupported attacks on nameless historians speaks for itself.

 

[Bentonville]

You are absolutely correct, historians are remarkably diverse. My brother (who is fluent in Swedish) is working with a group of historians investigating the results of an autopsy of a Swedish. Queen who converted to Catholicism abdicated & moved to Rome.

Another group of friends have been going on yearly expeditions to Pacific Islands that were assaulted during WWII. Some of the places they go are closed to the public because of the hazards.

Another acquaintance is a historian who studies historical garments.

Making broad unsupported attacks on nameless historians speaks for itself.

I argued the narrative a few weeks ago. Probably a bit to strongly. I know Foote, just as a for instance was from Mississippi and he seemed auto didactic just from being around that area.

 

[Library Lady]

You are absolutely correct, historians are remarkably diverse. My brother (who is fluent in Swedish) is working with a group of historians investigating the results of an autopsy of a Swedish. Queen who converted to Catholicism abdicated & moved to Rome.

Queen Christina? That book/article should be very interesting. The Queen was an unusual person and not much like Greta Garbo's portrayal of her in the movie.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Foote and Bearss truly got me interested in the war.

Those two guys inspired untold numbers of people to develop an interested in the War.

But we have to give credit to Ken Burns.

Ultimately, Burns introduced both of these men to the mainstream American public.

 

[Rhea Cole]

Queen Christina? That book/article should be very interesting. The Queen was an unusual person and not much like Greta Garbo's portrayal of her in the movie.

Would you be more intrigued if you knew that her internal organs are… cue the drum roll… blue?

Nobody knows how or why.

Ole & Lina lived in her mother's house for over fifty years. Lima died & Ole called the funeral home to come get her.

"Ole what is the address?"

"619 North Sycamore Avenue."

"Say, Ole, how do you spell sycamore?"

After a long pause… "How about I carry her over to Elm Street & meet you there?"

If you find this joke funny, it will tell me a lot.

 

[JeffBrooks]

There are some writers who write in the " lost cause view " , I would'nt say that Foote is one of them. He is also fair to the union-side. James Robertson is so similar, one can feel his sympaty for the South and also for the union. I can't find the right words for what I want to say, I hope you know what I mean

Neither fits the mold of Lost Causers. Both are forthright that slavery was the cause of the war and, while Southerners themselves and in certain ways sympathetic to the South, neither seems to have wished that the South had won the war.

 

[wausaubob]

I read and greatly enjoyed Shelby Foote's trilogy. I do wish he had used footnotes, or at least a bibliography for each chapter. Still, his books are a great way to 'experience' the Civil War because of his storytelling abilities. I still don't understand why people say that he wrote from a southern or 'lost cause' point of view, as I didn't see that reflected in the text of his books.
ARB

Its a southern point of view, but I don't think he is a Lost Cause advocate. His story telling attempts, with success, to capture the tragedy involved in the Confederates pursuing a cause which was so inconsistent with the material facts of the middle of the 19th century.

 

[wausaubob]

Foote's famous remark that the US fought the war with one hand behind its back captured an enormous truth. The US was getting stronger as the war progressed, especially in what was then the west, and also in the far west. Other historical references show that events like county and state fairs went on unchanged in the paid labor states that made up most of the US at that time.

 

[Sheltowee]

I like Shelby- but not to the point of having a Foote fetish……..sorry.

Seriously, anyone read another of his works, besides the trilogy? I haven't- but curious.

Wondering about his Shiloh novel.

 

[RedRover]

I like Shelby- but not to the point of having a Foote fetish……..sorry.

Seriously, anyone read another of his works, besides the trilogy? I haven't- but curious.

Wondering about his Shiloh novel.

From Atlanta Constitution, April 6, 1952:

Chicago Daily News, Nov. 19, 1958. Reviewing the first volume of his narrative... mentions the novel "Shiloh"...

 

[Choatecav]

I like Shelby- but not to the point of having a Foote fetish……..sorry.

Seriously, anyone read another of his works, besides the trilogy? I haven't- but curious.

Wondering about his Shiloh novel.

The novel on Shiloh is excellent.
Of course, since I admittedly do have said "Foote fetish".... take that for what it is worth.

 

[DixieRifles]

His personal WW II stories were always interesting ... and often hilarious.

Did he tell any stories about his time at Camp Shelby??

 

[121st PA Vols]

I like Shelby- but not to the point of having a Foote fetish……..sorry.

Seriously, anyone read another of his works, besides the trilogy? I haven't- but curious.

Wondering about his Shiloh novel.

Yes. I read his work Stars in Their Courses. Finding it a wonderful short presentation of the three-days at Gettysburg, essentially taken from (edited to say 'culled' being more accurate) Vol-2 of the trilogy. Although it is short it is concise, enough that I might not recommend it as an introduction to the war and battle. Having said that, the work is a testament to his storytelling and incredible talents that might just lead the reader too other more detailed and tedious reads such as Trudeau, Coddington and Sears.

 

[Marco 1975]

Geography and a common culture also help to explain Foote's affinity for Forrest.
Foote and Forrest also had the state of Mississippi and Memphis in common.
Shelby Foote was from Greenville, Ms. before he moved to Memphis.
Forrest lived in and was sheriff of Hernando, Ms., the seat of the northwestern most county in Mississippi. DeSoto county is adjacent to Shelby county (Memphis) Tn.
Greenville was a Mississippi river port town, Hernando, about 20 miles east of the river, had close connections with the river. The main East/West road, Commerce street/road, is named after the "port" community closest to, and directly West of the town.

Eric Foner

This was an great reference, I was listening to his " Civil War and Reconstruction " lectures for hours today, the war has'nt started until now, it's still the years before the war startet, very detailed lecture-series, thank you for that

 

[Library Lady]

I like Shelby- but not to the point of having a Foote fetish……..sorry.

Seriously, anyone read another of his works, besides the trilogy? I haven't- but curious.

Wondering about his Shiloh novel.

Another novel or, more accurately a series of related short stories, is Jordan County.

Jordan County

Before Shelby Foote under took his epic history of the Civil War, he wrote this fictional chronicle — "a landscape in narrative" — of Jordan County, Mississippi, a place where the traumas of slavery, war, and Reconstruction are as tangible as rock...

www.overdrive.com

The E-audiobook is available on Hoopla, so free to listen to with your library card if your library has that digital service.

One of the stories, Pillar of Fire, which is Civil War-related, was reproduced in the book Gone. This is a book of photographs of various previously grand houses in the South that have fallen into disrepair and is a plea for preservation. The photographer is a relative of Mr. Foote.

Gone: A Photographic Plea for Preservation|eBook

Photographer and architect Nell Dickerson began her exploration of antebellum homesteads with encouragement from her cousin-in-law renowned Civil War historian and novelist Shelby Foote. Her passion for forgotten and neglected buildings became a plea for preservation. Gone is a unique pairing of...

www.barnesandnoble.com

As for Shiloh, I love that novel! The below review describes it very well.

Review: Shiloh - A Novel by Shelby Foote

civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com

 

[Kurtlg]

Yes. I read his work Stars in Their Courses. Finding it a wonderful short presentation of the three-days at Gettysburg, essentially taken from (edited to say 'culled' being more accurate) Vol-2 of the trilogy. Although it is short it is concise, enough that I might not recommend it as an introduction to the war and battle. Having said that, the work is a testament to his storytelling and incredible talents that might just lead the reader too other more detailed and tedious reads such as Trudeau, Coddington and Sears.

I had that on cassette many years ago and played it on a trip to Gettysburg. He narrated it himself. As I recall his accent turned the Iron Brigade to the On Brigade.