"Recommendations wanted for good books on the Civil War" Topic

Looking for good books on the subject.
Any recommendations?

Stephen Sears' books are great.

Depends what you want. For a good one-volume history of the entire war you can't beat "A Short History of the Civil War" by Fletcher Pratt, a medium-sized paperback that's probably still in print -- if not, many used copies should be available. It's original, hard-back title was "Ordeal By Fire." It's written in a rather dramatic style, and highly readable.

For more depth, Shelby Foote's 3-volume history is also very good.

Bruce Catton's 3-volume history of the Army of the Potomac (Mr. Lincoln's Army, Glory Road, and A Stillness at Appomattox) is great history and great literature. The third volume won a Pulitzer Prize, IIRC.

And there are numerous 1-volume accounts of various battles and campaigns.

Battle Cry of Freedom,another one volume work.

There are tons. Fiction or Non-Fiction. Can you narrow down what your looking for?

Looking for books covering the whole war.

Battle Cry of Freedom

Which Civil War please? There has been more than just one you realise?

RC – JD did post this to the American Civil War board…must be safe to assume he meant that one!

Battle Cry of Freedom is the best one-volume work I've read.

"How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War" by Hattaway.

Another vote for Battle Cry of Freedom. A great one volume work that will give anyone a grasp of the War. When it first came out I bought it for my wife so she could finally understand what the I was talking about when I insist we stop at every battlefield we pass.

For novels try Mackinley Kantor's Andersonvlle, also a Pulitzer winner.

How about some on specific engagements like Gettysburg, Bull Run, Shiloh, Antietam ect. I am just looking for some good reads. Thanks for all the advise.

For Gettysburg, I recommend Killer Angels
link

It's a novel but it gives an excellent feel for the battle

Anything by Scot Mingus or Eric wittenberg… Pfanz's are classics…. Currently reading Powells work on the chattanooga campaign…

Great stuff!

Madcam.

You might want to focus on historians. There are tons of great Civil War "stylists." Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote, Henry Pfanz, Noah Andre Trudeau, Burke Davis, Stephen Sears, Peter Cozzens, and many more. Everybody has their favorites.

There are more books about the American Civil War than likely any other conflict-at least in English. It's really hard to just choose one. For example, if you search Battle of Gettysburg on Amazon, you get over 3,100 responses.

Best novel about Gettysburg is "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaaha. An exceptionally enjoyable read.

His son Jeff wrote the equally excellent "Gone For Soldiers" which featured a young Robert E. Lee in the Mexican American War.

'This Hallowed Ground' by Bruce Catton is a single volume history of the war seen from the Northern perspective. Catton is one of the finest writers in the English language so it is a pleasure to read.

For books on specific battles, Stephen W. Sears' 'Landscape Turned Red', about the Battle of Antietam, is excellent.

Tullahoma: The 1863 Campaign for the Control of Middle Tennessee by Michael Bradley

Winston Groom, author of "Forrest Gump" also writes nonfiction about Civil War battles, all I have read are very good.

If you're into historical fiction, I can't recommend Ralph Peters' books about the civil war enough. He's working on book #4 of a series right now that starts with "Cain at Gettysburg" (about, you guessed it, Gettysburg) and then continues with the 1864 Overland Campaign in "Hell or Richmond." These are both great reads that give you a picture of the "real" civil war in terms of the brutality of combat, the personalities involved on both sides and what it was like to be standing shoulder to shoulder in line of battle.

I know some people will want to burn me at the stake for this, but after reading both books three times through, I really do believe that "Cain" surpasses "The Killer Angels," although I do recommend reading both because together they will give you a great narrative of the battle itself.

I just started the third book in the series which follows Sheridan's Valley Campaign of '64 so I can't give a full review yet, but I'm really enjoying it so far.

I also second (third, fourth?) the suggestion for Foote's trilogy. He is definitely a novelist first and a historian second but that literary style is what appeals to me. I've been making my way through the trilogy and when I find a topic or battle that interests me, I'll go and read a book or two about it before returning to Foote.

That is high praise indeed for the "Cain" book.

I thought "Cain at Gettysburg" was as good as or better than "The Killer Angels". "Hell or Richmond" I didn't like as much.

As a wee lad, I cut my teeth on Bruce Catton and Shelby Foote.

"Seen the GLory" by Hough

Noah Trudeau from NPR wrote a battle narrative of Gettysburg that's is awesome . "A Testing of Courage"

Ordeal of the Union – Eight volumes of very good writing. Wiley Sword is a very good read for his battles. I've been reading about the ACW since the middle 50s. There are a lot of good books, as noted above. My favorites for the entire war are Ordeal of the Union and The Civil War a Narrative.

I second donlowery's post recommending Fletcher Pratt's Ordeal by Fire. It is the most readable and fun one volume history. Bruce Catton's This Hallowed Ground is also a very well written one volume, albeit totally from the Union side.Mc Pherson is probably the most recognized book in the field, however.

Tactical studies abound. The very best, IMHO, is Pfanz's Gettysburg, The Second Day. Start with this one and see if tactical studies at the brigade/regimental level are your cup of tea. Other outstanding works include Sears' Landscape Turned Red (Antietam); Steere's The Wilderness Campaign; Sword's Bloody April, (Shiloh); and Cozzen's This Terrible Sound.
Shiloh has also recently been well covered by Tim Smith. His book is much more detailed about the fighting on day 2, but Sword is just as good on the key first day and is better written. I'd really recommend reading Sword first and following up with Smith.
Krick's Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain is also really good, but he really only looks at the Confederate side. Martin's study of the first day of Gettysburg (second edition) is very detailed and quite well worth the effort if you are into tactical works.

Powell's study of Chickamauga will be completed this fall I believe, but the first 2 volumes cover the campaign and the battle proper and are already in print.

Hartwig's 2 volume study on Antietam promises to be the definitive work on that battle. Volume 2 is to appear in 2017.

He said he wanted books on the whole war, not particular battles or campaigns.

Personally, I found McPherson's book rather dull, but then it covers material I was already familiar with before reading it. Catton's work it very well written, but, as you say, strictly from the Union viewpoint. So I stand by my recommendation of Fletcher Pratt. (He was a wargamer, by the way. His rules are still the starting place for most 20th Century naval rules.)

donlowery- please see the 14th post down where JD Lee does indeed request information about specific campaigns and battles.

Ah, ok. I missed that. In that case, I might as well steer him to my own works:
link

I have another volume about ready for publication: Gettysburg and Lee's Escape to Virginia. Should be out soon. Writing now about Chickamauga; probably be out next year.

Read Catton. Two books on Grant is great. Army of the Potomac three vols is excellent narrative about the soldiers and battles. Lee's Lieutenants is a good command study of the Confederates. For me Stephen Sears writes clear, stimulating visuals in the mind of the actions on the field. Also Hennesey on 2nd Manassas and Michael Priest on Antietam. Earl Hess on Pea Ridge. Also like Wiley Sword, Peter Cozzens, and Shelby Foote. A lot of the unit histories are good reads as well as memoirs. Don't forget Battles and Leaders.