Rating: 
Summary: Details for history buffs.
Review: I "fought" (and won :) the battle of Antietam in junior high as part of my American history class so this battle has always been particularly interesting to me. It is a shame that it is usually lost among some of the more famous battles of the Civil War (like nearby Gettysburg) in most histories becase it wasn't stratigically important. It was the bloodiest single day of the war and this book brings home the true horror of battle and the incredible heroism of the combatants in a very well researched, hour by hour account of the fighting. This book is put together from the individual accounts of the soldiers on the ground placed into the framework of the overall battle. In reading this book I was constantly amazed at the bravery and stamina exhibited by the farmboys and shop clerks on both sides throughout the course of the battle. This isn't a casual read. The author is long on detail and lets the accounts of the soldiers provide the drama. Oh, and if you are ever out in western Maryland go see the battlefield (and take this book). There is no development out there and the area isn't much changed from 150 years ago. If you see it after reading this book I can guarentee that you will get chills up your spine looking out over the cornfield and realizing that you could walk its length by only stepping on the bodies of the fallen.
Rating:
Summary: Details for history buffs.
Review: I "fought" (and won :) the battle of Antietam in junior high as part of my American history class so this battle has always been particularly interesting to me. It is a shame that it is usually lost among some of the more famous battles of the Civil War (like nearby Gettysburg) in most histories becase it wasn't stratigically important. It was the bloodiest single day of the war and this book brings home the true horror of battle and the incredible heroism of the combatants in a very well researched, hour by hour account of the fighting. This book is put together from the individual accounts of the soldiers on the ground placed into the framework of the overall battle. In reading this book I was constantly amazed at the bravery and stamina exhibited by the farmboys and shop clerks on both sides throughout the course of the battle. This isn't a casual read. The author is long on detail and lets the accounts of the soldiers provide the drama. Oh, and if you are ever out in western Maryland go see the battlefield (and take this book). There is no development out there and the area isn't much changed from 150 years ago. If you see it after reading this book I can guarentee that you will get chills up your spine looking out over the cornfield and realizing that you could walk its length by only stepping on the bodies of the fallen.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive work, the effort shows
Review: I agree with a previous reviewer that Priest's book works best with a general Antietam book like Sears's. My approach to understanding Antietam was to (1) read Sears's Landscape Turned Red; (2) visit the battlefield (this is key to understanding the numerous references in Priest's book to "Mumma's swale," "the high ground 600 yards south of the Dunker Church," etc.--with a mental picture everything fits together better); (3) buy a topographic battlefield map, such as the one by Trailhead Graphics (for sale at the Battlefield's Visitor Center); and (4) read this book. My only criticism of the maps is the lack of a small-scale "finder" map that shows the battlefield and the area around Sharpsburg. As for the author's large-scale "handdrawn" maps, I found them very useful, and they are placed well, usually never more than a page or two from the action they refer to (I read the original 1992 edition, so I'm not sure if the maps are placed as well in this 1994 edition from a different publisher). As for the text, it's wonderful: well edited and even well indexed. The emphasis on the more "minor" actions on September 17, 1862 that a more general book would breeze over or ignore because of space limitations is appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: A story of the fear, the blood and the muck of battle.
Review: I am not an expert on the Civil War much less on the battle of Antietam but as a read about the substance of battle for the muscat-holding soldier in any Civil War engagement, Priest's book is about as good as is available. The wealth of primary sources-letters, diaries,newspaper articles,anything that illuminates this battle from the viewpoint of the average soldier, is brought into his examination. The result is a compilation of incidents that gives essence to the terror and, in modern view, numbing bravery of the action's soldiers were ordered to undertake as a matter of course-not as something only asked under extraordinary circumstances. The reader must ponder the nature of the glue that bound men to do things that any sane person would find impossible-yet the impossible was normally asked and just as normally undertaken. Antietem: A Soldier's Battle should be read by any person unfamiliar with the Civil War as the first book they read because it will give the reader a grasp of the nature of the conflict from the receiving end of muscat volleys and cannonballs in full sight bouncing along the ground ready to shatter any living creature in its path. I had not encountered any book from any period of history that cast any light on the subject of animals in war-specifically the horses that pulled the artillery or provided transport for officers. Again, Priest's book was very illuminating in these dark corners of often forgotten history. Read this book-you will not regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, the more I read the less I enjoyed it. In the end, I cannot recommend it.The idea behind the book is to describe the battle from the perspective of the soldier. Thus the book dispenses with the usual discussion of strategy and situation and jumps into the soldiers' descriptions. While this is a noble concept, Priest does a poor job in tying all together. What you end up with is a kaleidoscope of images that convey an exaggerated feel for the battle with little real understanding. If you are not thoroughly familiar with the battle, you will have a hard time wading through this book. The first chapter dealing with the incidents prior to the battle was excellent. Priest did a great job of knitting together some well known first hand accounts (such as Private David Thompson's account published in Battles and Leaders) as well as some obscure sources to paint a palpable scene of fear and apprehension. However, like the battle, the subsequent chapters grind on, wearing the reader down, until by the end, the reader, like the poor soldiers in the book, has little energy to finish. Antietam was a confusing battle with many attacks and counterattacks. To understand the tactical ebb and flow requires good maps showing the situation over time. Priest attempts to do this with many maps interspersed through the book. Unfortunately the maps are terrible. In the text he will often refer to a particular map, and then proceed to describe a unit or location that is not on that map. Thus one has to flip back and forth through previous maps to try to find the location or unit cited. In many instances he uses geographical references such as Millers Cornfield, or the "cornfield near Mummas", or a "swale by Dunker Church." However, none of these features are marked on the maps. For example, none of the maps indicates where Miller's famous cornfield was. The maps show various symbols to represent fields, but there is no key. If I did not already know the locations of these features from previous study and visits to the battlefield, I would have been hopelessly lost. It seems that to maintain purity, Priest relied on the same the references the troops used to locate themselves as described in their memoirs. After all, most of them did not have maps and few knew exactly where they were. But it is the job of the historian to hunt down the clues and put together a cogent picture. Here is where Priest lets us down. Because he relies on soldier's accounts, Priest seems to adopt their hyperbolic terminology. According to Priest, every volley "caused men to fall like windrows." Every shell explosion created "great gaps." There are at least ten references to "bloated corpses". Such language may be acceptable in letters home and in personal memoirs, but does little to convey the actual events. For example, just how effective was a line of muskets fired in volley fire? To believe this book, the weapons of the civil war were so deadly, that soldiers had to be either stupid or suicidal to fight the way they did. Priest relied on many sources with copious footnotes, yet on the few occasions where I checked the source of a particular comment, I noticed that he had cited other secondary sources. There are a few errors in the book, particularly in the order of battle where he claims that one of the NC regiments had 700 men. That's the brigade total, not the regimental total. In conclusion, I can only recommend this book to the dedicated civil war historian that might extract a gem or two that lies within the broad rough. Casual readers or beginning students of the war must look elsewhere for a definitive treatment.
Rating:
Summary: The best account of the Battle of Antietam
Review: I've read Mr Priest's book twice and I think it's the best account on the Battle of Antietam that I've read. Mr Priest drawing from quite a bit of untapped sources presents this battle from the soldier's perspective. It's as close to being there if you weren't. I've read Sear's book Landscape Turned Red and I don't think it was quite as good. His book deals with more of the General's and political ramifications as well as the broad outline of the battle. In the end, if you like Francis O'Reilly, Gordan Rhea, and Peter Cozzens, then this book's for you. Hats off to Mr Priest.
Rating:
Summary: Capturing the action!
Review: Micheal Priest has taken a new look at covering the battle of Antietam. Priest likes to chronologically present the fighting from each army from their perspective as the action unfolds. Priest may present the Confederate views and manuvers from the West Woods while the next paragraph may contain Union movements from the East Woods. Priest takes the entire battle beginning to end and presents it in a unique way often not seen in books on the subject. The details of the fighting and graphic accounts of the battle is excellent and at times very descriptive. This book is not an ordinary account of the battle. It simply captures the immediate action without covering the politics or reasons as to why Lee invaded Maryland or why McClellan refused to follow Lee after the conflict. I was impressed with the quick, "jump into the middle of the action" style Priest presented in this rare format. Priest used many maps to help explain the regimental movements throughout the book although I found them ill drawn and confusing at times. Priest style of jumping from one event to another during a phase of the battle could be a bit twisting upon the reader and one should know that this book may not be for those who never read about the battle before. I recommend this book for the more experienced person of knowledge concering this battle as a beginner or novice may be a bit overwhelmed or distracted by a different presentation.
Rating:
Summary: Gritty. You Can Feel the Fear
Review: Priest has written a meticulous journal of America's bloodiest day of war from as seen from the eyes of those who earned that title for the Battle of Anteitam. This book portrays the Civil War in all of its horror. Glory is left on the parade ground as those who witnessed and received the anonymous carnage of the cannon, grape and cannister, as well as the more intimate destruction of the infantry ball, tell of their experiences in minute by minute accounts from around the battlefield. The compellation and writing is so good that the fear and horror of those waiting in the ranks to charge or receive the attention of their enemies dominates the book. For anyone looking to read of what it was "like" in Civil War battle, this book is about the best. I would recommend that the reader first take a standard account of the battle, such as Sears' "Landscape Turned Red." Priest does not attempt to portray strategy, the situation that led both armies to Anteitam or the macinations of much of anyone above the rank of Colonel. Not a criticism, since he is not attempting to cover the whole battle, but it may leave the uninitiated at a loss to understand why men are engaged in places like the East Woods, Bloody Lane or Lower Bridge.
Rating:
Summary: Antietam, a study in people
Review: This book focuses on the experiences of individuals and regimental sized units, and describes them in great detail. Generally, the various battlefield locations (East Woods, Middle Bridge, etc.) are described in a well organized manner, geographically and in time line. It is an excellent example of war history from the individual point of view. One small detraction is the maps. Unlike many books there are plenty of them, but they are somewhat hard to follow, and too frequently adjacent text refers to units that are not to be found on the maps. Overall, however, this book gives an excellent feel for the horror of this most terrible one day battle in the War.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Book!
Review: This book is a "must read" for the serious Civil War buff interested in Antietam. Priest gives you the battle from the perspective of those who fought it, in the actual chronology of the battle. The many maps are some of the most detailed I have ever seen of the battlefield - you can locate within a few feet where a particular company stood at a particular time. In addition, Priest simply tells what happened - again, in great detail. He thankfully does not editorialize or moralize (unlike Sears in "Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam"). This book ranks up there with "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War" by Johnson and Buel as one of the truly great, unbiased works about Antietam. ... Priest has also written a book on the few days preceeding Antietam, called, "Before Antietam: The Battle for South Mountain" - another gem!
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