NF Starting a Library

[Gus2015]

Good morning,

I scanned the thread around what books everyone was reading but I had a question as I'm just getting back into studying the war. The sum total of books I currently have is "In Pursuit of the General" and This Terrible Sound".

Can someone recommend good books to start with around a general overview of the war and then a good biography of Braxton Bragg and John Bell Hood?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Glen

 

[BrooksF]

For a one volume general overview, James McPherson's Pulitzer Prize winning Battle Cry of Freedom is one of the best, covering the period from the war with Mexico through the Civil War. If you want to get right into it without the Mexican War, Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott and John Brown, then either Shelby Foote's or Bruce Catton's 3 volume histories are well written, engaging narratives that will whet your appetite.

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Can someone recommend good books to start with around a general overview of the war and then a

I second the recommendation for McPherson as the best single volume overview of the war.

I strongly recommend The Impending Crisis for understanding the events leading to war.

The best Bragg biography is definitely the recent one by Earl Hess. It gives Bragg fair examination.

For Hood, all older biographies of him are obsolescent because of the Hood Papers turning up. John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General is, I think, the only post-papers study of the general and my understanding it is more of an apologia than a true biography. There are probably a lot of other lesser sources available now too. Hopefully someone in the near future will give Hood the clearheaded treatment that Hess gave Bragg.

If you enjoyed Cozzens' book about Chickamauga he's got a similiar one about Chattanooga, and one on Iuka & Corinth. If you want to move out of the Western Theater, iMO Cozzens best work is Shenandoah 1862. He takes a long look at Jackson in the valley from both Union and Confederate sides, including the preceding winter operations, without being blinded by the Stonewall legend.

 

[carptrash]

Have a good map book on hand. I can't do history without one.

 

[Col.Chamberlain63]

I would recommend Advance and Retreat written by General Hood himself. I recently bought it and haven't read it yet but would still recommend it.

 

[Pat Answer]

Have a good map book on hand. I can't do history without one.

Agreed. Last I checked there were still some copies available on Amazon: Echoes of Glory Illustrated Atlas of the Civil War and the West Point Atlas for the American Civil War. Both highly recommended. I haven't seen the more recent atlas by National Geographic to make a call on it.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Have a good map book on hand. I can't do history without one.

Think that's a good suggestion. Referring to a separate map on hand can better aid understanding while reading detailed accounts of events (rather than relying on any maps interspersed throughout the works read).

 

[Kurt G]

Beware of autobiographies by CW generals . Some , such as Grant's , are well regarded , but many are somewhat self promoting and play loose with the facts.

 

[nc native]

The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote is another I would add to my library. If you like stories and narratives from the men who fought The Blue and the Gray by Henry Steel Commager is one of my favorites. If you are looking for autobiographies, U.S. Grant's memoirs would probably be the first addition to my bookshelf. Lee's Lieutenants by Douglas S. Freeman is another book that I would recommend.

 

[nc native]

Beware of autobiographies by CW generals . Some , such as Grant's , are well regarded , but many are somewhat self promoting and play loose with the facts.

I'm reading Jubal Early's memoirs and although they are interesting and entertaining, his opinions rather than the facts insert themselves in his narrative rather frequently.