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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book.
Review: Great book. So is the Then and Now Companion book. Agree totally with the other reviews here.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book.
Review: Great book. So is the Then and Now Companion book. Agree totally with the other reviews here.
Rating:
Summary: Photo portfolio enriches your touring experience
Review: No doubt you will have seen a few reprints of Mr. Frassanito's photo collections in other Gettysburg books. This 8 1/2 X 11 inch paperback guide has 49 very clear old and modern comparison view photos of the battlefield and town area and one etching. A splendid skematic/map is included that follows the park's official Battlefield Auto Tour Stops and spots the location of where the photo was taken (aligned with the battlefield auto tour), it's number in the book, and the direction of the photo. 18 of the photos are dated 1863, 8 are 1867, 6 are from the 1870's and the remaining come from the 1880 to 1890 period. Highlights include an 1882 photo of the "copse of trees" (High Water Mark) and two other old photos of Union view of Pickets charge (although a bit angled/limited). A caution for those with kids: 7 photos containing dead bodies. There are about 10 photos of the Wheatfield/Devils Den/Rose Farm-Woods area, 3 of Little Round top area, 9 of the town & close vicinity of Gettysburg, and 8 of the East Cemetary/Culps Hill area. The COMPANION BOOK rates 4-stars, has the same great auto tour map location/direction of the photos but has both darker and less dated photos. 14 photos are dated 1863, 3 from 1866-69, and the rest are from the 1880's to late 1890's. There is a somewhat macabre photo of General John Reynold's family posing at the Slaughter Pen in November 1863 (outside Devils Den). Some good shots include Zieglers Grove and the Jenny Wade house. Kids caution: 5 photos showing dead bodies. The short write-ups contained with the photos are pretty well constructed. You could take these books out with you and easily glance at the photos and write-up quickly for some quick perspective. All in all I think both of these paperback books would make an excellent reference. If you have to choose only one choose the original Then & Now over the "Companion", but I'd advise that you get both.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Companion for Touring Battlefield
Review: Our family toured the Gettysburg Battlefield last summer for the first time. Although I'd been told that great effort has been made to preserve/return the battlefield to as close to its original appearance as possible, it was very hard to imagine what it looked like in 1863 because today it is so peppered with monuments, roads and tourists. I've seen a few pictures of Gettysburg from the 19th century with comparison modern photographs, but this book is by far the most comprehensive using this approach. I would have loved to have had this book along with us on our trip. It has a very clear map that shows not only the most popular sites on the standard driving tour but also the location of where each photograph in this book was taken and in which direction the camera was pointing. Six months later, it's been fun to reimagine our tour while looking at the photographs. Frassanito's book will definitely be in our backpack the next time we visit the battlefield. Without doubt, it will increase our imaginative powers as we try to envision what Gettysburg was like during those fateful days in July, 1863.
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