Books about the American civil war

[mapuc]

In a thread made by me in GT, Steve was so nice to give me a link to a historical homepage, where the major events that caused the war. have read most of it.

Here is my own problem- I rather want to sit in my couch with a hot cup of coffee and read a historical book than sit in front of my computer and read on the screen.

Have you some good idea of a book or series of book you would recommend ?

If possible I really want to hear a book than read it, but I can if necessary read a book.

Markus

[u crank]

Hi Markus. I'm not an expert on this subject but I have read The American Civil War: A Military History by John Keegan. I thought it was pretty good.

[mapuc]

Thanks for the tip u crank

Have you a workable direct link-tried to press picture to see if a link came up and it did-white screen and words like maybe a misspell try to write the correct address again.

Even though the war itself is interesting to about, it is more the prologue to the war I'm interested in.

Markus

[u crank]

This is the Amazon link.

http://www.amazon.com/American-Civil...litary+History

[Torplexed]

Not for the faint of heart, but if you've up for a trilogy there is The Civil War, A Narrative by Shelby Foote. You're probably better off with starting something lighter though.

[Aktungbby]

Add to it the leather bound 30 volume Time-Life reproductions of original first person accounts of the Civil War which I'm fortunate to own since my CW re-enacting days of the '80'smy favorites; Campaigning with Grant by Horace Porter & Reminiscences of the Civil War by John B. Gordon...Nuthin like first-person accounts! out of print but still available: http://www.researchonline.net/catalog/time2.htm#.VqrW5pX2aM9 And still the show-case of my overburdened household library! @ u-crank: John Keegan is the best imjo! i've read everything from the Face of battle , Six armies in Normandy , The Price of Admiralty, A History of Warfare The First World War incl. The American Civil War and he simply is the best objective non-sugar-coated discourser of military history-bar none.

[TorpX]

+1 for the Shelby Foote recommendation.

Of course, there are innumerable CW books that are very good. It's a rich subject.

[Sailor Steve]

"Innumerable"? That's so true. Someone once said that there has been a book published on the ACW every day since the war ended.

If you want to read about the war from the viewpoint of the men who fought it, you can't do better than this:
http://www.amazon.com/Battles-Leader.../dp/0890095698

Originally published in the 1880s, and written by the generals and privates who fought the war, it gives hundreds of first-had accounts by people who were there. The price is great too. There are four volumes, and you can get all four for under $30. Ignore the listings for "Volumes 5 and 6" - those were compiled later by a historian. They may be good but they're not the original work.

The Time-Life series, as already mentioned, is phenomenal, but is also quite long. Of course anything worth reading is going to be detailed and possibly boring. The Shelby Foote series is a great overview, as is Ken Burns' 1990 documentary film:
http://www.amazon.com/Ken-Burns-Civi...+war+ken+burns

[mapuc]

A grateful thanks to you all for your advice on which books I should read to get a fully in-deep(sorry can't find the correct sentence) story of the American Civil War.
Are going to follow u crank advise and buy the book . Later I'm going to buy the series of books Steve gave me his advise on

Markus

[Aktungbby]

If nothing else, one of the must-reads is two-volume: Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant Except for Winston Churchill's volumes on WWII from the unique perspective of the commander-in-chief incl. Caesar's Commentaries, this is the straightforward word (both prose and content) of a dying man ( from throat cancer) without a need to cover up anything up or defend his actions in the Civil War after the fact: 'Despite his condition, he wrote at a furious pace, sometimes finishing 25 to 50 pages a day. In June 1885, as the cancer spread through his body, the family moved to Mount MacGregor, New York, to make Grant more comfortable. Propped up on chairs, and too weak to walk, Grant worked to finish the book. Friends, admirers and even a few former Confederate opponents made their way to Mount MacGregor to pay their respects. Grant finished the manuscript on July 18; he died five days later.' literally a deathbed account from the very top. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Memoirs_of_Ulysses_S._Grant