Reading Light Car Patrols 1916-1919 in anticipation of the JJD releases. Chris
I have to say that I enjoyed the Guelzo book, but not any more than the Sears book. IMO, you can't do better than the Coddington history of the battle. That said, the Coddington book is enhanced if you read it with the excellent 2007 publication 'The Maps of Gettysburg: An Atlas of the Gettysburg Campaign, June 3-July 13, 1863' by Bradley Gottfried, and published by Savas Beatie. The map book allows you to follow the action almost minute by minute. All that said, the Coddington is not written in a manner that a non-ACW student/fan would appreciate. Both the Sears and the Guelzo 'move' better, more of a popular history than the dryer Coddington. -- AlAl or anyone else, I want your opinion. I know this has been discussed before, but I'm currently reading Gettysburg, The Last Invasion by Allen Guelzo. I've been to Gettysburg four times and have knowledge of the lay of the land and a basic understanding of the flow of the battle, but I found this book to be very confusing. The maps were too focused to the particular action and would be better if it showed a particular battle in relation to the Gettysburg area. I feel you have to be an expert of the battle to enjoy this book. I'm less than halfway through and am about to give up and read something else. Any thoughts?
I took advantage of the Military Book Club's Memorial Day sale to get several new books on several subjects. Number 1 on the list is an ACW book on a subject I know little about called 'Theater of a Separate War: The Civil War West of the Mississippi River, 1861-1865', written by Thomas Cutler. I have read some on this theater, but my knowledge gets slimmer the further west it goes. The book 588 pages and appears comprehensive. Book 2 is called 'Caesar's Greatest Victory: The Battle of Alesia, 52 BC' by John Sadler & Rosie Serdiville. I have only a passing knowledge of this subject so it is another book in 'new' territory for me. Book 3 is a subject I have read widely on, Midway. It's titled 'Never Call Me a Hero: A Legendary American Dive-bomber Pilot Remembers The Battle of Midway' by N. Jack 'Dusty' Kleiss, with Timothy and Laura Orr. Kleiss won the Navy Cross and I never tire of reading about our Navy pilots at Midway. Also got a book on Custer, another subject I have read quite a bit about, but who doesn't love another 'last stand' book? It is titled 'Death at the Little Big Horn: A New Look at Custer, His Tactics, and the Tragic Decisions Made at the Last Stand' by Philip Thomas Tucker. Tucker has written some interesting works so I look forward to this one just to see if his take is really 'new'. The last book I got is called 'Battle Royal: The War of the Roses, 1440-1462' by Hugh Bicheno. Took a chance on this as I am not familier with the author and know little about the subject but I had to have it as it dovetails with my collecting of the JJD War of the Roses figures. Might as well learn about the war if I'm going to collect the figures.:wink2: -- Al
Chris, I misspelled the author's name. The name is Cutrer, Thomas W. Cutrer, not Thomas J. Cutler, the author of a book about Leyte Gulf.:redface2: At any rate, Cutrer's book apparently (going by the index) makes only brief mention of the action at Glorieta. The book does seem to touch on the many actions that I have vaguely heard of like Sabine Pass, Pea Ridge, Wilson's Creek, Elkhorn Tavern, Port Hudson, Galveston, and so on. It is a book I look forward to reading, as soon as I can get to it. My reading pile is now somewhere in the 50-60 book range.{eek3} -- AlSounds interesting, does the Cutler book cover Glorieta Pass? I read an account of the Pacific air war thru Midway by a DB flight lead. Good insight by an airman. Chris
Al or anyone else, I want your opinion. I know this has been discussed before, but I'm currently reading Gettysburg, The Last Invasion by Allen Guelzo. I've been to Gettysburg four times and have knowledge of the lay of the land and a basic understanding of the flow of the battle, but I found this book to be very confusing. The maps were too focused to the particular action and would be better if it showed a particular battle in relation to the Gettysburg area. I feel you have to be an expert of the battle to enjoy this book. I'm less than halfway through and am about to give up and read something else. Any thoughts?
Al or anyone else, I want your opinion. I know this has been discussed before, but I'm currently reading Gettysburg, The Last Invasion by Allen Guelzo. I've been to Gettysburg four times and have knowledge of the lay of the land and a basic understanding of the flow of the battle, but I found this book to be very confusing. The maps were too focused to the particular action and would be better if it showed a particular battle in relation to the Gettysburg area. I feel you have to be an expert of the battle to enjoy this book. I'm less than halfway through and am about to give up and read something else. Any thoughts?