"A Stillness At Appomattox" Topic

I was at a local Peddlers Mall store (flea market/consignment shop) last weekend and ran across a 1958 (I think that was it, I forgot to post this right away so I'm running off memory) soft cover copy for $4. USD If I remember right it was a second edition. It was in decent shape, and the only real issue was 2 or 3 pages in the middle had come loose.

I've been wanting to read it, but I couldn't decide if I wanted a nice new book to read, or if the antique copy was a good deal and I should buy it.
Thoughts?

Great book. Buy it, read it in what ever form you can. May not be the be-all and end-all, but worth the read. Rob.

Yep.

Is this the third in the trilogy on The Army of the Potomac by Bruce Catton? The other two are Mr. Lincoln's Army and Glory Road. They were written to be read and enjoyed.

Best Catton book and possibly the best US history/CW book ever.

I read all of Catton's books when I was in Junior High. I loved them.

Buy it now! It looks like a bargain price.

I've been trying to find a copy of Catton's "Grant Moves South" for a long time without much success.

A Stillness At Appomattox is not by Bruce Catton, and has no relation to his Army of the Potomac trilogy. I forget the author, it's been a while since I read ASAA, but as I recall it recounts in considerable detail the last couple weeks of the Army of Northern Virginia; the pursuit of the ANV from the evacuation of Petersburg until the surrender at Appomattox. I agree it's a great read for a Civil War fan. I doubt the early edition is of any particular value.

Wait a minute. I'm completely wrong. ASAA is the third volume of Catton's Army of the Potomac trilogy. Now what book was I thinking of?

There's a Grant trilogy: Captain Sam Grant by Lloyd Lewis with the last two books done by Bruce Catton (Grant Moves South and Grant Takes Command). Lewis must have died or wanted out of the project. Don't know.

zippyfusenet: Are you thinking of "Nine April Days" by Burke Davis?

"Lewis must have died or wanted out of the project."

If my memory is serves me correctly, Lloyd Lewis died and his widow contacted Catton. She asked him to finish her husband's work and turned over what reaserch he had done before he died.

avidgamer, that rings a bell. Thanks for reminding me. Richard

Lewis did die. Catton then finished the trilogy

Thanks for all the info! I'll probably pick it up.

A Stillness at Appomattox won Catton a Pulitzer Prize, didn't it?

Yes it did.

That AoP trilogy is one of my faves

This was a great series. I think I read it when I was in my teens. Is it just me or did anyone else have a feeling of emptiness and sorrow at the end of ASAA? I don't know if this is why I've never liked late-war impressions. To me, the early war was filled with youthful exuberance, the mid-war felt like "a proper war", and the late period showed the mathematical attrition and the pointlessness of continuing the war. I thought Catton did a great job of showing this emotion.