I was reading a thread probably a year ago and it had some Civil war books mentioned. I thought I had written them down. Of course I can not find them, or the topic. Please let me know what your top books would be. Thanks

Bruce Catton's trilogy and Shelby Foote's trilogy.

Happy reading.

Grant by Ron Chernow is excellent, although I didn’t continue to the sad end of his life.

The Scourge of War: The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman by Brian Holden Reid was highly recommended by a friend who reads many of the same histories that I do, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.

In historical fiction that provide insights that conventional histories often don’t, the classic is Killer Angles by Michael Shaara that I just finished rereading, and then the others by his son, Jeff Shaara.

You might find a few referrals here:

Sig Forum Link 2018
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Berry Benson's Civil War Book: Memoirs of a Confederate Scout and Sharpshooter

Shock Troops of the Confederacy: The Sharpshooter Battalions of the Army of Northern Virginia Paperback by Fred Ray

Cavalry Raids of the Civil War Robert W. Black

Ghost, Thunderbolt, and Wizard: Mosby, Morgan, and Forrest in the Civil War
(Also by Robert W. Black)

That Devil Forrest: Life of General Nathan Bedford Forrest John Wyeth

Gray Ghost: The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby james ramage

The Battle for the Crater

Southern Hero: Matthew Calbraith Butler: Confederate General, Hampton Red Shirt, and U.S. Senator


I read a lot about the Confederacy and small unit tactics.

This summer I am going to further my knowledge on John Hunt Morgan along with Quantrill's Raiders

Hymns of the Republic and Rebel Yell by S.C. Gwynne.

I never read a more enjoyable single book on any part of the American Civil War than The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. It is about Gettysburg. It really put a hook into me to learn more about that war. It was assigned reading for a history course I took. It is not only by far the best required reading I was ever assigned but also one of my favorite books of all time.

I’m putting in a lot of windshield time and listen to a lot of Audiobooks.

Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne was excellent and I highly recommend.

Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle that Changed History by Richard Snow is well written and very informative.

Bust Hell Wide Open: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest by Samuel Mitcham I’m currently listening too and I’m really enjoying. I read That Devil Forrest by John Wyeth and it’s a good book but I feel like the writing and story of Bust Hell Wide Open does a better job explaining the man of Forrest.

Those are my three most recent and enjoyed books dealing with the War of Northern Aggression.

I decided to try reading something about the Civil War (I usually only read WWII), so I bought a copy of 'Battle Cry of Freedom' by James McPherson. I've got to say - it's been a slog. The first 300 pages are nothing but politics, which I really have a hard time reading. I haven't even gotten to the war yet. So, my Civil War experiment may come to a premature end. In short, I don't recommend this book.

War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865 by James McPherson

Civil War - Shelby Foote

The audiobook versions of both of the above are great.

quote:

Originally posted by NavyAgShooter:
Bruce Catton... Shelby Foote...

^ these two.

Another author to check out - Dee Brown:

The Bold Cavaliers: Morgan's Second Kentucky Cavalry Raiders (2012)

Grierson's Raid (1996)

always wanted to check out Jeff Shaara's civil war series.

Carl Sandburg's biography of Lincoln, called The War Years.

quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
it's been a slog.

That’s why I recommend books like the Killer Angels to people who aren’t very familiar with the subject and are just dipping their toes into the subject. It is fiction, yes, but only enough to fill in the dry facts of what is known to be historically true. Do we know what Lee thought about not hearing from Stuart for several days before the battle of Gettysburg? In general, yes. Do we know what his exact words were to him when he finally showed up? No, but an author like Shaara who was as familiar with the subject and the individuals involved as he was could make some good guesses. Do we know exactly what Longstreet thought about the death of three of his children from disease within days of each other? No, but the author’s descriptions were reasonably likely to be pretty close.

Many histories, especially older ones, were written for other historians, and while perhaps get all the minutia correct, are unlikely to spark an interest in someone who is trying to decide if he’s really interested in the subject. Others are at the other end: they assume that the reader is familiar with things that have been reported countless times and therefore they don’t explain them. A book I slogged through was Lee’s Sharpshooters, and most of it was impossible to understand in the context of anything I knew already because the author assumed the readers knew who every person he mentioned was and where every obscure place name was located.

There were a couple of books on NBF mentioned above so I'll add one more:

Nathan Bedford Forrest — The First with the Most, by Robert Selph Henry. It's older but was an excellent read.

I spent several years reading biographies of Civil War generals. One of the best and most interesting books was on the life of General George H. Thomas but I can't remember the author. Thomas was a very interesting guy and, though he was originally from the South, he was one the North's best generals in the war.

“Battle Cry of Freedom” by James McPherson is the best single volummn history of the war I’ve ever read.

The Bold Cavaliers: Morgan's Second Kentucky Cavalry Raiders (2012)

Grierson's Raid (1996)

I have never even seen or read about these books but they are definitely on my must read list.

This is why I love this site.

I actually have a painting called Grierson's Butternut Guerrillas - Newton Station, Miss., April 24, 1863 waiting to be hung in my office.

I just finish a collection of nine essays about the closing months of the war: Petersburg to Appomattox edited by Caroline Janney of Purdue.

She authored one of the essays and I am tempted to get her book Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation which among other things examines the South's Lost Cause view of the war and its impact to this day.

quote:

Originally posted by NavyAgShooter:
Bruce Catton's trilogy and Shelby Foote's trilogy.

Excellent recommendations. Both are multi-volume works and will keep you busy reading for a while.

Ron Chernow's 'Grant' is excellent as well.

I would also add Doris Kearns Goodwin's 'Team of Rivals'.

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:
I would also add Doris Kearns Goodwin's 'Team of Rivals'.

Another book that was recommended to me by my friend, and which I will probably get to.

Wow, thanks for the suggestions. I’ll head over to the local library this weekend.