Books on the Civil War?

[VaughanRSmith]

Hi everyone,
My wife and I are about halfway through the movie "Gods and Generals" which was recommended to me on this board.

So, could anybody recommend me some good books about the civil war? As an Aussie, I really know nothing at all, apart from the whole "It was about slavery" excuse.

 

[Blueridge Believer]

"In The Course Of Human Events" by Charles Adams is a MUST read. Also, "The Real Lincoln" by Thomas Dilorenzo is very good. If you have the time, a southern history of the the war, first published in 1866 by the editor of the Richmond examiner (his name escapes me now) is good but around 1400 pages and very detailed. Dabney's " A Defense of Virginia and the South" can help you understand the 19th century mindset in the south. Two others that come to mind are "Four Years with R.E. Lee" by Walter Taylor (Lee's Adj. gen.)and "I rode With Stonewall Jackson".

 

[Blueridge Believer]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/When-Course-Human-Events-Secession/dp/0847697223"]WHEN IN THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS.[/ame]

 

[LadyFlynt]

The South Was Right by James Ronald Kennedy and Walter Donald Kennedy

 

[pickwick]

James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom is an excellent one volume study of the War Between the States, as is Bruce Catton's Civil War (an abridgement of his series on the War). If you are interested a more expansive, but still reader-friendly treatment, I would suggest Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy. It comes to about a million words all together, but his style is very readable (perhaps because he was a novelist rather than a professional historian).

An excellent first-person account of the War is Sam Watkins Company Aitch, as is U.S. Grant's Personal Narrative.

Hope this helps.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

Killer Angels: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Killer-Angels-Michael-Shaara/dp/0345348109"]Amazon.com: The Killer Angels: Books: Michael Shaara[/ame]

Might not be an in-depth historical book but it captures some of the sentiment of the time.

I'd also watch the movie Gettysburg (based on the above book) which preceded Gods and Generals.

 

[non dignus]

Ripples of Battle

by Victor Davis Hanson


I cannot recommend this book enough. It features three key battles in history:

Okinawa, which led to the bomb;
Shiloh, which led to Sherman's march;
Delium. (which I haven't gotten to yet since I, too, am currently in a Civil War eddy)

Hanson scrutinizes the battle of Shiloh with some amazing facts and insights on how it affected the outcome of the war.
I couldn't put it down....