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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Civil War Talk > General Civil War Talk > Who is Your Favorite Civil War Author? |
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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Civil War Talk > General Civil War Talk > Who is Your Favorite Civil War Author? |
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| Who is Your Favorite Civil War Author? | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 04:09 pm |
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1st Post |
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bschulte Siege of Petersburg Fan
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Note: What I mean by "Someone Else (Like Me)?" is that you like an author other than the ones I listed, NOT that I'm an "author", which I most certainly am not! This may have come up in the past but I cannot find a similar thread via the Search, so I'll start one here. So, Who is your favorite Civil War Author? Why? I'll start this one off. Though there are literally thousands of people to choose from, I'm going to go with Joseph Harsh, author of Confederate Tide Rising: Robert E. Lee and the Making of Southern Strategy, 1861-1862, Taken at the Flood: Robert E. Lee and Confederate Strategy in the Maryland Campaign of 1862, and Sounding the Shallows: A Confederate Companion for the Maryland Campaign of 1862. Harsh refuses to use hindsight in describing the operations of Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia from the seven Days through the end of the Maryland Campaign. Instead, he looks at what Robert E. Lee knew at a given moment and then presents alternatives Lee could have chosen. It makes for a very "you are there" feel. In addition, Harsh is EXTREMELY detailed. Sounding the Shallows is essentially a massive Confederate-focused appendix to Taken at the Flood. I hope he feels well enough to eventually complete a "Northern companion" to the campaign as well at some point. After Harsh, some of my other favorites are, in no particular order: -Peter Cozzens -Gordon Rhea -Shelby Foote -A. Wilson Greene -Eric Wittenberg Who are yours? Last edited on Fri Jun 12th, 2009 04:11 pm by bschulte |
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 04:33 pm |
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2nd Post |
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barrydancer Member 
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As a Longstreet man, I'm partial to William Garrett Piston. I also like, in no particular order: Tom Connelly, Porter Alexander (excellent memoirs), Eric Foner, Barbara Fields, though the latter two are more period authors than the CW specifically.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 05:03 pm |
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3rd Post |
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javal1 Grumpy Geezer 
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I'll throw two out that are rarely mentioned, not too prolific, but who I really enjoy: Tom Desjardin and Tim Smith
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 05:05 pm |
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4th Post |
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bschulte Siege of Petersburg Fan
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javal1 wrote: I'll throw two out that are rarely mentioned, not too prolific, but who I really enjoy: I definitely enjoy Tim Smith's work. His book on Champion Hill was excellent!
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 05:31 pm |
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5th Post |
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Mark Member
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Great topic! It is hard to pick just one author, so I cheated and picked a couple. First off, I enjoy reading Peter Cozzens’s battle histories immensely. His writing style is fantastic and he documents his sources very well, though I wish he would have better maps in his books. Noah Andre Tredeau is also an excellent military historian, but he branches out into some social aspects as well. He wrote a brilliant book on the USCT titled “Like Men of War,” which is (in my opinion) one of the most underrated American Civil War books of all time. That book tied together nice battle narratives with a pretty good analysis of the social aspects of the War. Drew G. Faust also makes my list. Her social histories of the war are some of the best academic history out there and her style is a nice blend between readability and academic prose. I look forward to hearing what others have to say about this topic! -Mark
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 05:47 pm |
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6th Post |
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bschulte Siege of Petersburg Fan
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Mark wrote: Great topic! It is hard to pick just one author, so I cheated and picked a couple. First off, I enjoy reading Peter Cozzens’s battle histories immensely. His writing style is fantastic and he documents his sources very well, though I wish he would have better maps in his books. Noah Andre Tredeau is also an excellent military historian, but he branches out into some social aspects as well. He wrote a brilliant book on the USCT titled “Like Men of War,” which is (in my opinion) one of the most underrated American Civil War books of all time. That book tied together nice battle narratives with a pretty good analysis of the social aspects of the War. Drew G. Faust also makes my list. Her social histories of the war are some of the best academic history out there and her style is a nice blend between readability and academic prose. I look forward to hearing what others have to say about this topic! Mark, I just finished Trudeau's Southern Storm, and though it was a bit of a slow read, I gave it positive marks overall. Have you read his book on the Petersburg Campaign? It think that is my favorite Trudeau book up to this point.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 06:10 pm |
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7th Post |
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Mark Member
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Brett, yes I have read "The Last Citidel," and I think it is one of his best ones. Have Southern Storm on my shelf now, but haven't gotten a chance to read it yet. It might be slow just because the march through GA was not terribly exciting (in a strictly military sense). Regards! -Mark
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 06:30 pm |
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8th Post |
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bschulte Siege of Petersburg Fan
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Mark wrote: Brett, yes I have read "The Last Citidel," and I think it is one of his best ones. Have Southern Storm on my shelf now, but haven't gotten a chance to read it yet. It might be slow just because the march through GA was not terribly exciting (in a strictly military sense). Regards! Mark, I think you nailed it. There were only a few minor actions during the March, so the daily descriptions of destroying railroads, burning government buildings, taking food, etc. get a bit repetitive after awhile.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 06:52 pm |
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9th Post |
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ashbel Member
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Bruce Catton and Shelby Foote top my list. For pure writing style and clarity there is none better than Jack Waugh.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 07:33 pm |
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10th Post |
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fedreb Member 
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Stephen Sears, Shelby Foote, Wiley Sword, Bruce Catton, for me, all great authors. John J Hennessy, I can only find the one by him ( Return to Bull Run) but it is a cracking read. Does anyone know if he has written any more Civil War books?
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 08:12 pm |
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11th Post |
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bschulte Siege of Petersburg Fan
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fedreb wrote: Stephen Sears, Shelby Foote, Wiley Sword, Bruce Catton, for me, all great authors. fedreb, He also wrote the Second Manassas Battlefield Map Study in the Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders series. HIGHLY recommended, but if you're buying used make sure you get the roll of maps too!
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 08:57 pm |
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12th Post |
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Albert Sailhorst Member 
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I like: Larry J. Daniels "Cannoneers In Grey" and "Shiloh" Shelby Foote, anything he writes. I love hearing him speak, and think it a loss that he is no longer with us. I thought he did his research very well and presented it very well.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 09:20 pm |
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13th Post |
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fedreb Member
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bschulte, Thanks for that, I'll have a search for it fedreb
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 10:12 pm |
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14th Post |
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TimK Member
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Does Michael Shaara count? If I had never read "The Killer Angels", I'm not sure how many other CW books I would have read.
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13th, 2009 02:07 am |
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15th Post |
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CleburneFan Member 
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In no particular order: Steven Sears, Eric J. Wittenberg and John Petruzzi, Wiley Sword, Steven E. Woodworth, O. Edward Cunningham, Noah Andre Trudeau, Jeffrey D Wert, Russell S Bonds, Kent Masterson Brown, Kenneth W Noe. There are others I am forgetting for certain. Maybe I'll come back later and add to this.
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13th, 2009 03:44 am |
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16th Post |
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susansweet3 Member 
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Russell Bond Jeffrey Wert, Craig Symonds O. Edward Cunningham and Eric Jacobson, Catherine Clinton . Like CleburneFa no particular order. I have enjoyed reading these authors as they all tell a good story as well as present the facts.
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13th, 2009 03:08 pm |
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17th Post |
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Old North State Member
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Bruce Catton. But I'll add James McDonough -- especially his "Shiloh" and "Nashville."
____________________ "While we live we will cherish, protect and defend her." |
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13th, 2009 11:58 pm |
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18th Post |
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CleburneFan Member
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One way I define a favorite Civil War writer is one whose work is so compelling that I would instantly read any book of theirs that I come across. For example, I currently have two books on pre-order at Amazon.com. One is Eric J Wittenberg's new book on Dahlgren and the other is Russell Bonds's book on the Battle of Atlanta. Neither book is available yet, but I wanted to be sure to get them as soon as they come out.
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| Posted: Sun Jun 14th, 2009 12:53 am |
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19th Post |
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ole Member 
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Aware of only that one fedreb, although he did put together a small book on 1st Bull Run for the Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders Series. Ole
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