Shaara's New Book Due Tuesday
Jeff Shaara's Civil War Battlefields : Discovering America's Hallowed GroundShaara is the author of two "nonfiction novels" that completed the Civil War trilogy begun by his late father, Michael, with the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Killer Angels (2001). Here Shaara provides a guide to 10 of the most significant Civil War battlefields. He begins with the first great bloodletting at Shiloh, and he concludes with Petersburg, a sustained seige with World War I-style trench warfare. Shaara superbly provides context for the actual battles by describing the physical settings as well as the military environment that precipitated the battles. Shaara is at his best, however, in describing the ebb and flow of the fighting. He describes in vivid--and often necessarily gruesome--detail episodes like the death of Albert Johnston at Shiloh, the famed charge of the 20th Maine at Gettysburg, and the machinelike mowing down of Union troops at Cold Harbor. The text is amply supported by maps and photos. This is an informative and moving examination of "hallowed ground" that will appeal to both scholars and Civil War buffs, especially those planning to visit these sites. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedOther upcoming or recently released books: Manhunt : The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's KillerLincoln's Melancholy : How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His GreatnessThe Southern Journey of a Civil War Marine : The Illustrated Note-Book of Henry O. GusleyWith Lincoln in the White House: Letters, Memoranda And Other Writings Of John G. Nicolay, 1860-1865 Lincoln Mailbag: America Writes to the President, 1861-1865An Oral History of Abraham Lincoln: John G. Nicolay's Interviews And EssaysDear Mr. Lincoln: Letters to the PresidentFor Cause & For Country