VirgilKane
Private
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2019
I joined this site to expand my reading, with great success. Here are some thanks for recent recommendations:
Captain Sam Grant (Lloyd Lewis)--during the discussion of the PBS series on Grant, I made the off-handed comment that Grant had been a failure at everything prior to the ACW. A member of this forum called me out and recommended this book. I found the book to be a thorough history of Grant's early years, and it changed my opinion of him. The discussion of his childhood was spectacular. I also understand better his relationship to his father and his wife. The discussion of local politics in Galena at the outbreak of the war was illuminating. Currently I am working my way through volume 2 by Catton, but it is a much different book.
Plenty Of Blame To Go Around (Eric Wittenberg and J. David Peruzzi)--very detailed accounting of JEB Stuart's ride to Gettysburg. A particular surprise to me was how far east Stuart rode, into Rockville Md. and even into Prince George County near my childhood home.
Gray Ghost (James Ramage)--Mosby plays an important role in the post-war defense of JEB Stuart. Reading Wittenberg fueled my interest in Mosby, which led me to Ramage's book. I came away with deep admiration for Mosby, especially his life after the war.
An Uncommon Soldier (Lauren Cook Burgess, ed.)--letters written by a female soldier who passed as a male, and died during the war. Very moving.
This Republic of Suffering (Drew Gilpin Faust)--This book starts slowly, but the accounting of the massive exhumation and reburial of Union dead after the war is astounding. Faust is an unbelievably good writer.
Albert Sidney Johnston Soldier of Three Republics (Charles P. Roland)--This book I found on my own, but I am sneaking it on to this list. AS Johnston was previously just a name to me. All I knew is that he died at Shiloh, possibly changing the outcome of the battle. Roland does a fine job of recounting Johnston's life, and also attempts to judge his abilities as a general.
Captain Sam Grant (Lloyd Lewis)--during the discussion of the PBS series on Grant, I made the off-handed comment that Grant had been a failure at everything prior to the ACW. A member of this forum called me out and recommended this book. I found the book to be a thorough history of Grant's early years, and it changed my opinion of him. The discussion of his childhood was spectacular. I also understand better his relationship to his father and his wife. The discussion of local politics in Galena at the outbreak of the war was illuminating. Currently I am working my way through volume 2 by Catton, but it is a much different book.
Plenty Of Blame To Go Around (Eric Wittenberg and J. David Peruzzi)--very detailed accounting of JEB Stuart's ride to Gettysburg. A particular surprise to me was how far east Stuart rode, into Rockville Md. and even into Prince George County near my childhood home.
Gray Ghost (James Ramage)--Mosby plays an important role in the post-war defense of JEB Stuart. Reading Wittenberg fueled my interest in Mosby, which led me to Ramage's book. I came away with deep admiration for Mosby, especially his life after the war.
An Uncommon Soldier (Lauren Cook Burgess, ed.)--letters written by a female soldier who passed as a male, and died during the war. Very moving.
This Republic of Suffering (Drew Gilpin Faust)--This book starts slowly, but the accounting of the massive exhumation and reburial of Union dead after the war is astounding. Faust is an unbelievably good writer.
Albert Sidney Johnston Soldier of Three Republics (Charles P. Roland)--This book I found on my own, but I am sneaking it on to this list. AS Johnston was previously just a name to me. All I knew is that he died at Shiloh, possibly changing the outcome of the battle. Roland does a fine job of recounting Johnston's life, and also attempts to judge his abilities as a general.
Bringing the