# recommend a good general book about the American Civil War **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729 "2004-02-17T23:54:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/1 "2004-02-17T23:54:44Z")
My husband wants to read about the American Civil War but doesn’t know where to start. Can someone recommend a good book for getting a thorough introduction to the war? Something well-written would be especially nice! 🙂 Julie ---
**Author:** ![Aitara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aitara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aitara)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/2 "2004-02-18T00:10:57Z")
I highly recommend Shelby Foote’s trilogy, The Civil War. He presents both sides of the war in a very balanced light. Three volumes may seem like a lot, but they are quite enjoyable. (At least in my opinion) ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/3 "2004-02-18T00:11:47Z")
Shelby Foote is generally recognized as the authority on the Civil War. His trilogy is the classic work on the war. It’s a long trip though. -Lil [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394749138/qid=1077062765//ref=pd\_ka\_1/002-0159029-6334475?v=glance&s=books&n=507846](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394749138/qid=1077062765//ref=pd_ka_1/002-0159029-6334475?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/4 "2004-02-18T00:13:22Z")
[Battle Cry of Freedom](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345359429/ref=pd_sim_books_1/102-0786198-7237710?v=glance&s=books) by James McPherson is regarded by many as the best one-volume treatment of the subject. Shelby Foote’s three-volume [Civil War](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0394749138/qid=1077063059/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-0786198-7237710) is a more thorough treatment, and is written in entertaining style. ---
**Author:** ![Lao\_Tsu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lao\_Tsu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lao_Tsu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/5 "2004-02-18T00:33:33Z")
I would recommend Bruce Catton’s The Coming Fury. You should be able to pick it up used very easily. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/6 "2004-02-18T00:34:49Z")
[The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807104752/qid=1077064302/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-4249966-9721444?v=glance&s=books) [Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807104760/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/103-4249966-9721444?v=glance&s=books&st=*) These two books, taken together, describe the life of an ordinary soldier better than anything else. Indispensible, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/7 "2004-02-18T07:25:13Z")
Tell him to forget the book and go straight to the movie. Ken Burns’ _The Civil War_ has been out on DVD for a while now. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/8 "2004-02-20T03:15:26Z")
For some very good civil war based historical fiction I would go with a series by Bernard Cornwell: Rebel Copperhead Battle Flag The Bloody Ground The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is also very good. While these selections may be fiction, they spin stories that are historically accurate. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/9 "2004-02-20T12:38:33Z")
If he can get his hands on it, the Time-Life series on the civil war is excellent. It looks extremely long and intimidating, but for al that it’s surprisingly easy to read, accompanied by many photographs, maps, and paintings, and is broken up into many numerous small sections covering specific campaigns or aspects of the war. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/10 "2004-02-20T14:20:05Z")
All great ideas. Please note if you haven’t checked already that Shelby Foote’s three volume set is HUGE. Basically the Encyclopaedia Britannica of the U.S. Civil War. For me, getting started, I really appreciated The Killer Angels, as mentioned by flickster. Sure, it is a novelization and only covers Gettysburg, but it is widely considered to be the best novel about the Civil War and one of the greatest war novels ever written. It is THE work that inspired Ken Burn’s documentary - upon read KA, he then turned to Shelby Foote’s volumes. I would recommend KA, the Burns documentary, then Foote. There are tons of directions to head in after that… ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/11 "2004-02-20T14:51:44Z")
Let me jump in and invite anyone who has an interest in the subject to come to Virginia and follow the “Virginia Civil War Trail.” It is a self-guided auto tour through the Commonwealth that takes you to several hundred sites. At each site there’s a marker describing the events that took place. The markers include photographs of the site at the time of the event whenever possible and it can be very moving to stand at a site, look out over the expanse, and then see a photo of the place ravaged by the war. While some of the sites are now in urban or suburban areas, most are still in fairly rural places and the trip makes for a very relaxing way to see some beautiful country - and the folks are mighty nice, too. On several threads about sets the South apart as such a distinct region of the US, I’ve pointed out that no other portion of the country has experienced such incredible devastation and such misery. I can drive about 5 minutes from my house to the Cold Harbor battle field and stand in the place where 150,000 men fought and more than 17,000 were killed or wounded. All of that carnage really has left an impression here and it is hard not to be moved by it. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/12 "2004-02-20T15:17:48Z")
Another vote for The Killer Angels and the two other books in the series, Gone for Soldiers and Gods and Generals. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/13 "2004-02-20T19:11:15Z")
How long is Shelby Foote’s trilogy? So long that when they excerpted just the section on the battle of Gettysburg, it was published as a 250-page book. So McPherson’s _Battle Cry of Freedom_ is the better bet. But here’s something not mentioned yet: _The Civil War: An Illustrated History_ by Geoffrey C. Ward with Ric Burns and Ken Burns. Yes, it’s the companion to Burns’ Civil War documentary but without all that blasted fiddle music. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/14 "2004-02-20T19:27:29Z")
[Campaigning with Grant](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0306802775/102-0922306-6468157?v=glance), by Horace Porter, is informative and entertaining…Porter was Grant’s aide-de-camp from 1864 to the end of the war. You learn a lot about the last few pushes of the war, Grant’s way of handling strategy/tactics/politics/logistics/personalities, life in an army on the move, and you get tons of fascinating personal information about not just Grant but a lot of the major players of the Union. Grant emerges from the pages as just a fascinating guy, very unusual in style compared to the other generals. Hell, I’d recommend this book to someone _not_ interested in the Civil War. It’s just a very entertaining and educational read. ---
**Author:** ![grisham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@grisham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grisham)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/15 "2004-02-21T04:07:47Z")
Red Badge of Courage is a great one. Less focus on history though. History of the Civil War 1861-1865 by James Ford Rhodes is a great reference. And for some interesting facts on this and all events in history- Lies my Teacher Told Me by James Loewen. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/16 "2004-02-21T05:41:21Z")
Like **spoke-** and **Exapno Mapcase** (where do you people get these names?), for a modern one volume treatment I don’t think you can do any better than James M. McPherson’s _Battle Cry of Freedom_, soft covers by Ballantine Books , some 900 pages including footnotes, bibliography and index, for about $15.00. Any decent library will have it. If he catches the bug you can turn him lose on Bruce Catton (a little dated but first class writing and research) and the republication of the monumental _Battles and Leaders_. For a quality historical and literary experience it is hard to beat Catton’s _Stillness at Appomattox_. Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-general-book-about-the-american-civil-war/229729/17 "2004-02-21T17:55:27Z")
I’m a fan of Bruce Catton’s myself, but in addition to being outdated - Civil War history has itself gone through revolutions in the last 50 years - the charge against him is that he wrote from too much of a northern perspective and is not as balanced as later writers. But he is in the group of American Heritage magazine writers who have produced the most readable and enjoyable writing about America, and especially American wars, of the century. Pick up the American Heritage History of the {anything} and you’re in for a good read. Remember that Catton actually wrote two trilogies. The first was the Army of the Republic trilogy from the 1950s, comprising _Mr. Lincoln’s Army_, _Glory Road_, and _A Stillness at Appomattox_. Obviously this is majorly biased toward the north. His American Civil War Centennial trilogy, written in the early 1960s, comprises _The Coming Fury_, _Terrible Swift Sword_, and _Never Call Retreat_ and is more even-handed. But you can still read all of his many books with pleasure, as long as you make sure to read something newer for a deeper understanding of the subject.