Rating: 
Summary: A history of the history of Gettysburg
Review: This is actually a pretty unique book on Gettysburg in that it's not a study of the battle itself but of the history of the battle and how people's perceptions of Gettysburg have been shaped over time. Tom Desjardin does a wonderful job of looking at some of the more famous parts of the battle such as Little Round Top and The High Water Mark and explaining why and how they became focal points. Many myths are explored and how they came into being such as the myth that the Confederates were a ragged shoeless army (They were actually well equipped). Sickles' endless campaign after the battle to smear Meade's reputation also gets a close look as well as the evolution of the 20th Maine's role in the battle thanks to the book Killer Angels and the film Gettysburg. The book also has some interesting info about the monuments on the field. We learn why the Armistead marker is in the wrong place, why the statue on the statue on the 83rd Pennsylvania monument looks so much like Stong Vincent and why there is no statue to Sickles on the Battlefield (Sickles embezzled the money!). Lastly Tom Desjardin is just a plain good writer. To many books on history these days are written by people who while they do good research don't have great writing skills. Desjardin however is as good a writer as he is a scholor and the result is a very pleasant read.
| 
