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richardiporter's review against another edition
3.0
Who should read it: people interested in Civil War History, but with a distaste for the dry nonfiction historical books. Who also know to take it with at least a grain of salt, as it is a work of fiction (albeit a well researched one.)
I enjoyed reading this, and came to a better understanding of the ark of the civil war and the connection of the battles and campaigns than I previously had (speaking as a History major and military history enthusiast, that's saying something.
Beware that the Shaaras and Jeff Shaara in particular (author of the bracketing books in this Trilogy, gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure) subscribe a bit to the Lost Cause narrative, that the war was about something other than slavery, that the southern generals really weren't all that bad, especially Lee.
Sure, a Slaver, but not THAT BAD of a Slaver.
Sure, a traitor to an oath of office as a military office, but not THAT BAD of a traitor.
Sure, a military blunderer in some cases but not THAT BAD of a military blunderer because.....reasons.
So I do recommend reading these books if the topics are interesting to you, do take them with a grain of salt. I will also review each book individually for its own specifics, but will borrow a bit from this one for the themes that carry through.
3 Star reviews mean this was a solid book. I probably won’t read it again but I could. I do recommend it to people interested in this sort of topic. No argument from me if you love this book.
I enjoyed reading this, and came to a better understanding of the ark of the civil war and the connection of the battles and campaigns than I previously had (speaking as a History major and military history enthusiast, that's saying something.
Beware that the Shaaras and Jeff Shaara in particular (author of the bracketing books in this Trilogy, gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure) subscribe a bit to the Lost Cause narrative, that the war was about something other than slavery, that the southern generals really weren't all that bad, especially Lee.
Sure, a Slaver, but not THAT BAD of a Slaver.
Sure, a traitor to an oath of office as a military office, but not THAT BAD of a traitor.
Sure, a military blunderer in some cases but not THAT BAD of a military blunderer because.....reasons.
So I do recommend reading these books if the topics are interesting to you, do take them with a grain of salt. I will also review each book individually for its own specifics, but will borrow a bit from this one for the themes that carry through.
3 Star reviews mean this was a solid book. I probably won’t read it again but I could. I do recommend it to people interested in this sort of topic. No argument from me if you love this book.
dragonflylee's review
2.0
I love historical fiction when the characters play a major part. This book is to heavy on the battles of the Civil War. I didn’t finish it.
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