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Summary: The ultimate Civil War experience...............
Review: Anyone with the slightest interest in the War Between the States must read this book. I have read so many Civil War efforts and find Shelby Foote's the superior in every way. Detailed, yet highly readable, Mr. Foote takes you on a journey from beginning to end which provides the most intimate, enjoyable look at the conflict I have ever found. The Civil War is a historical masterpiece in every sense.
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Summary: The beauty of Foote's narrative is...
Review: ... that it doesn't just concentrate on the goings on between Washington and Richmond. Too many Civil War historians concentrate on the chess-match between the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia. Where Foote excels is in telling of the ENTIRE war. The main stage of Northern Virginia is given its due; however, the Western campaigns are shown in remarkable detail. Even some of the lesser-known parts of the war are given, such as the development of the H.L. Hunley and events in Florida and New Mexico. No detail seems to escape Foote's eye; as a result, a broader picture of the great conflict is shown. History is full of tragedies; Foote gives these their due as well. In a sense, the 'hero' of the work is Jefferson Davis; Foote lavishes attention on this misunderstood figure of the war, and shows him as a proud man trying to hold a disintegrating country afloat. Other little details give the story a human aspect; you will be horrified at the description of the Hunley's crew, and will be chilled at Hancock's orders for a counterattack at Gettysburg. It is a work that will turn a non-fan of history into a history addict - like it did to me years ago.
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Summary: News from the Front
Review: Shelby Foote takes the Civil War and dissects its every twist and turn in a writing style that feels as if your hearing news from the front in an ongoing war. That is a good thing since these three volumes are very hefty. This book is not for the mildly curious, you will get bored and overwhelmed by the dates, names and places. But to military history, history, or civil war buffs, it is as detailed and factual as you could want. This is truly a thesis of study on the war between the states. The book handles personalities of both individuals and cultures and their effects on the war. The reading can be slow going at times as armies march toward each other and the order of battle becomes established with the commanders names and stations, but the battle details seem incredibly well researched and the accounts of individual soldiers/officers bring home the reality of this conflict. This book is well worth the effort to read, it imparts a sense of what the United States has survived and clarifies many historical perceptions of the era and the people involved in this massive conflict. My only suggestion, keep a note pad at your elbow as you read this book, it is slow going and you'll need to take notes about commanders and places to keep it all straight in your head.
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Summary: A Definitive Work
Review: How can one man possibly know so much about such a large and complex historical event? The research required, the understanding of the political issues, and the insight into the motivations of the many key players involved boggles the mind. Foote somehow manages to get his hands completely around the enigmatic thing we know as the Civil War and deliver it to us in clear, complete and compelling fashion. This is the Ring Trilogy of historical military literature. Other worthy efforts such as The Killer Angels or, more recently, The Last Full Measure may delve deeper into one particular battle or limited campaign, but no other work provides such a comprehensive and detailed picture of the entire conflict. The scope is so impressive. Foote does not focus solely on the battles, but rather drills down to the core political and moral issues so that we see the whole chess match. And his rendering of the characters? Words fail me. We follow Stonewall Jackson, or Robert E. Lee, or McClellan, or U.S. Grant for a hundred pages, mesmerized, and then cry out as he swings the scene to another theatre. But two pages later we don't care; we're sucked in again. Foote captures the emotion of the time. His love of the subject is apparent. It is amazing to read the details of such a divisive and horrific event, to taste Lincoln's frustration over McClellan's waffling, to cheer the audacious achievements of Lee and Jackson, to wonder at Lee's tragic march toward Appomattox, and to empathize with both sides along the way. Shelby Foote has done justice to a defining moment in the history of our great union, leaving readers north and south proud to be Americans. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.
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Summary: Pure but excellent narrative
Review: I wouldn't argue with 5 stars for this. It is a purely narrative account, detailed, well-written, never dull. Who did what when, and some insight into character too. I preferred MacPherson's more analytical account, and some of the more specialized books, but this is the longest book I have ever read, and I enjoyed it all. That says something good about it! If you are only going to read one 3500 page book on the civil war ...
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Summary: A masterpiece of Civil War literature.
Review: Shelby Foote's "The Civil War: A Narrative" has been described by critics and readers alike as "...a classic of its kind." It took Foote 16 years and over 2,800 pages to tell the story of America's bloodiest and most tragic war. "The Civil War: A Narrative" is a long journey, but one I found well worth taking. Foote is a master at weaving the personalities and events of the Civil War into a seamless and often captivating narrative. One of the great beauties of this trilogy is Foote's ability to hold the reader's interest (he held me spellbound through all three volumes) for the long haul with his sparkling, almost musical prose. Of course, all the major battles - from Fort Sumter to Appomattox, with stops at Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and others - fairly leap, in all their horror, from these volumes' pages at the hands of this gifted writer. But Foote goes one better. Less famous battles (i.e., Pea Ridge, Perryville, The Seven Days), minor skirmishes, and other events, which receive short shrift or a passing reference at best in most one-volume accounts of the Civil War, receive much fuller treatment here. (Two prime examples of this are General U.S. Grant's seven failures on the Mississippi River as he attempted to get his army below Vicksburg, and Colonel Benjamin Grierson's cavalry raid through Mississippi in 1863.) Despite the claims of some critics who accuse Foote of "Southern bias" in his writing, I found the author's account of the Civil War to be both fair and objective. The three volumes also appear to be well founded on solid historical research. However, I would have preferred to see footnote or endnote citations of the author's sources, a more comprehensive bibliography. "The Civil War: A Narrative" is a wonderful reading experience. Rich in detail, eloquently written, and imbued with first-rate scholarship, it gives readers an accurate understanding of the people and events which made up America's bloodiest conflict. For readers (like me) who want to understand the Civil War, how it was fought, won, and lost, "The Civil War: A Narrative" is indispensable. It is the central work in my Civil War library.
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Summary: The benchmark against which all others are measured.
Review: I've read many civil war books and still Shelby Foote's work ranks tops among them all. Written with the skill of an experienced novelist and researched with the eye for detail of a veteran historian Foote captures the sweeping grandeur of the war and the myriad of details about those who were caught up in it. I cannot recomment this book enough.
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Summary: Can drag, but is still good.
Review: Shelby Foote gives an epic account of a truly epic war, and does it fairly well. I will have to note to those thinking of reading this book, however, is that it can lag at times in the first book, but if you hang in there it will really pick up. You won't regret reading it.
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Summary: A Definitive Work on Civil War
Review: I became a "fan" of the Civil War, to the extent any person can become a fan of a war, after watching Ken Burns' excellent series on PBS. I then set out to learn more about the war, and read, over the course of a couple of years, the three volume masterpiece of Shelby Foote. I can state without reservation it was one of the most enriching reading experiences of my life. In Foote's talented hands, the characters of the conflict, North and South, come alive. He doesn't ignore the war out west, and treats battles such as Vicksburg, Shiloh, New Orleans and countless others with precision and attention. He has somewhat of a Southerner's slant, but he is not so opinionated as to ignore gallantry by the North, and he rightfully rips Confederates when it is called for. Lincoln comes off much more sympathetically then Jeff Davis in my opinion, and he recounts various blunders by Confederate generals including Ewell's failure to act at Gettysburg, the disappearance of JEB Stuart when Lee needed him most, Joe Johnston's hesitancy and Hood's uncontrolled aggression in Georgia, etc. Some reviewers here at Amazon criticized his lack of footnotes and a few missed details (ie who got in the last word in a series of letters between Grant and Lee, etc.) Come on, anyone reviewing the bibliography knows that Foote has done his research, I would expect anyone writing a 2800 page chronicle of a 4 year war to get a fact wrong here and there. 135 years after the war, details still pop up in archives and newly discovered letters which make people question prior assumptions. This is no historical novel as some have suggested - he doesn't invent dialogue and guess about the personal lives of characters like the Shaara books - this is history. And if anyone wants a fuller understanding of characters such as Grant, well than read Grant's Autobiography, as I did, and get the complete picture. Perhaps Foote's trilogy is not for everyone. He leaves out some statistical data favored by historians such as MacPherson, who spent much more time on the events leading up to the war and who attempted to put the conflict in more of a historical context, although quite frankly those are omissions I didn't miss at all. I think for most general readers, who are simply motivated by a desire to learn about the battles, the great personalities, and the heroic struggles of the North and the South fought on soil familiar to all of us, the Foote books are a striking success. I haven't found a better single source of the history of the war, including detailed battle plans, maps, personal histories, etc. Buy the books, and come back to them here and there while readling other material in between. This is not a reading assignment to tackle in a single season. You'll find Foote's writing to be polished, lively, informative but not overwhelming, like coming back to an old storyteller friend.
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Summary: The Most Realistic War Novel I've Ever Read!!
Review: This book is by far one of the best ive ever read. Foote's sympathy for the South, yet understanding that they were fighting for a lost cause, makes for a most interesting story. The novel shows war as it truly is and was. I look forward with great anticipation to the second book in the series.
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