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Rating: 
Summary: Very well done and highly useful
Review: An excellent addition to Gettysburg scholarship. This volume is written in a highly readable style, but is also an invaluable reference tool.
The author's take on each brigade's service is in-depth, comprehensible, and studded with primary accounts. It is a welcome addition to my library.
There are a few typos, doubtless not the author's fault) and one or two conclusions reached which do not appear credible (such as the 55th Ohio taking fire from, and assaulting, the Bliss farm), but I challenge anyone to write such a work and not make a small error. It takes nothing away from the high quality of this volume.
If you are a serious student or just a passing buff, this book should be on your shelf
Rating:
Summary: Excellent though a bit misleading in terms of title
Review: Superb book, absolutely essential for a Gettysburg library. My only negative comment is it should be titled "INFANTRY brigades of Gettysburg" since no cavalry is covered. I knew this when I bought it, but others who buy on-line may not.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent though a bit misleading in terms of title
Review: Superb book, absolutely essential for a Gettysburg library. My only negative comment is it should be titled "INFANTRY brigades of Gettysburg" since no cavalry is covered. I knew this when I bought it, but others who buy on-line may not.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Contribution
Review: This is a fascinating book wrapped around a fresh presentation. The author has essentially presented the history of each division and brigade that served in the campaign, and does so with a smooth and fast-paced style. We learn about the commander(s), the units involved, actions, marches, significant events, and so forth. Division histories are presented in standard format, while each brigade entry is double-columned--a slick idea (it is an oversize book, so it works well). Each entry is followed with a useful series of end notes / bibliography that makes it easy to find more information about each unit. A complete bibliography is also included at the end of the book. The maps included in the front are standard George Skoch fare, but excellent. Although I did not see anything new or striking, that is not the purpose of this book. This book, coupled with Larry Tagg's The Generals of Gettysburg, which came out a few years ago, compliment eachother nicely. I highly recommend both. This current title is a must for all Gettysburg students.
Rating:
Summary: Most Detailed Coverage of this Most Important Battle
Review: This is the most detailed coverage on this most important battle of the Civil War. And, this includes Sears, Trudeau, Coddington, Pfanz - all of them. It covers in detail what happened to each brigade at Gettysburg. The write-ups on the Iron Brigade, Irish Brigade, Vincent's brigade (that included the 20th Maine), and others are here.
Some of the interesting excerpts that I have not seen in other books are: (1) how the Iron Brigade haulted the advance of the Confederates on July 1 holding off one Confederate brigade after another and saved Cemetery Hill, (2) how Cross' brigade and the Irish brigade charged into the Wheatfield to stop the Confederate attack on July 2, and (3) how Greene's brigade defended Culp's hill on July 2 and 3.
There are some issues with this book. Since it is a detailed coverage of each brigade, it doesn't cover the battle in chronological order. Also, this is not a book for a novice on the Gettysburg battle. Read Sears or Trudeau's book first.
Rating:
Summary: Perception from a brigade level.
Review: This well researched and nicely written book traces the combat activities of every single infantry brigade that fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. Each entree got a brief background of how the brigade developed prior to the battle and then go into considerable detail in what the brigade did during the Battle of Gettysburg. It also reflected on how much they lost and how they performed. The book was written to supplement Larry Tagg's Generals of Gettysburg and it does the job well. The book covers only infantry units, artillery and cavalry units were not included, maybe it might be for later volumes. The book, although written with certain level of clarity, was not really written for the casual reader. Anyone who read this book should have a very firm understanding of Battle of Gettysburg or else, they would have problem following the narrative. But for serious student, this book provides in-depth reviews of brigade level command which would be useful in understanding the battle.
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