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Summary: Grab your rifle and draw your rations!
Review: Although not a Civil War buff, I feel like a veteran. Catton's writing is magical - it transports. If all histories were like this, Miniver Cheevy never would have day-dreamed.BUT DON'T DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE PLEASURE!!! "Stillness" is the third and final volume of Catton's history of the Army of the Potomac. I promise that you will enjoy this volume much more if you read the other two first.
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Summary: They don't make 'em like Catton anymore
Review: Bruce Catton is arguably the most readable and accessible author who wrote about the civil war. Whether you are a military historian or a beginner, you will take something meaningful from his work. He writes in a beautiful, yet simple, manner and you really feel as if you are there. When he narrates Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox, it's as if you are sitting in the room during this pivotal moment in American history. Catton is certainly not without his biases. He is primarily a biographer of Grant and his focus is squarely on him during this book. Catton is arguably the greatest Grant biographer and is largely responsible for changing the negative views about Grant in the 1950's and 60's. He wrote several books about USG and this one weaves in and out of Grants life. Catton thoroughly understood Ulysses Grant and became his vocal proponent. He correctly grasped that Grant was the preeminent strategist of the civil war and was also the war's greatest, most innovative and most determined general. Those who errantly believe Grant won with brute force or superior numbers need to read this book. Others who espouse the line that Robert E. Lee was the real genius of the war also need to consult this volume. At its conclusion, you will change your mind and realize that Grant was not only a magnificent soldier, he was also a highly intelligent, humorous and marvelously humane man. He has been unfairly maligned and Catton sets the record straight. This is a "must have" book for anyone interested in U.S. Grant or the American civil war. The narrative flows smoothly from beginning to end. Highly recommended!
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Summary: Catton Candy, volume III.
Review: Bruce Catton is, in my opinion, the most readable author of American Civil War history. Whenever I've labored through some book I wanted to read but have struggled with, I reward myself with something he has written. This trilogy is, as all his work is, thoroughly researched and very balanced. It would be hard to detect any bias in this native Michiganer of the first half of the 20th century, though I vaguely suspect he had more sympathy for the South, if only for the "pluck" (he likes that word in fact) of their "David vs. Goliath" undertaking. This 3rd volume is the Pulitzer Prize winner, and with good reason. Essentially, Catton deals here with the classic struggle of Grant vs. Lee, but he does so in such a way that illuminates Grant in a light that is not only pleasing, but obviously genuine. This fine Army of the Potomac, so thoroughly identified with McClellan, was in fact a sharp instrument waiting for a leader like Grant to come along and put it to good use. Grant implicitly understood the assignment and the way to carry it out in the shortest time possible, which argues for his humanity, not his cruelty as other authors have intimated. Proof of his character is clear in the Instrument of Surrender, which was as far-sighted as any such document could have been (Sherman's, just a bit later, may have been a bit too generous for the politicians; it had to be revised in order to be accepted by Washington and to prevent the renewal of hostilities with Johnston). In any case, the real beauty of any of Catton's works is his insight not so much into the Grants and Lees, but into the common soldier of both sides; what made them fight so savagely one moment, but embrace one another so fully the next? The answer lay in the strange brotherhood that developed between the men of the Army of Northern Virginia and those of the Army of the Potomac. These men, after many years of hardship and privation and death, were a bit more likely to see their generals as the cause of their suffering and a lot more likely to see the tens and hundreds of thousands on both sides who stayed home while they fought as the real enemy. In this common bond, Catton intimates, lay the seed which made reunification at least palatable in the minds of so many men from so many distant places.
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Summary: Rereading A Stillness at Appomatox
Review: Bruce Catton's "A Stillness at Appomatox" was the first adult Civil War book I attempted after, many years ago, I was captivated by a series of Civil War stories geared to pre-teens. Since that time, I have continued to read about the Civil War and recently have recaptured something of my boyish fascination with the subject -- I hope at a more thoughtful level. I was reluctant to struggle with this particular book again because of the memory of my struggle with the book as a child. But I needed at last to go back to it to round out my reading of other works by Catton.
Catton's book tells the story of the Civil War in the East beginning in the winter of 1863 following the Battle of Gettysburg. The first thing to notice about the book is the clear, lyrical quality of the prose which somehow frustrated me as a child. Catton writes in a propulsive forward-moving style. He tends to like long sentences joined with series of "ands". This makes his account move quickly although sometimes a bit stringily. Also Catton has a gift for lyrical metaphors to drive home his points -- whether in describing the fields or in describing the emotions of the men. His writing at its best has a poetical, moving quality. Most importantly, Catton writes lucidly. His descriptions of the battles and of troop movements are relatively easy to follow. Many of the accounts I have read since I first tried this book are detailed and ponderous. This is never the case with Catton. He gives a good, basic picture of the battles he describes which will stand the reader looking for more detailed accounts in good stead.
Besides the quality of the writing, A Stillness at Appomattox is notable for the story it has to tell. Broadly speaking, Catton focuses on how the Civil War changed after its first two years, and he explains why. Although the carnage of the first two years of the war was immense, the scope of the war increased markedly following Gettysburg. The Civil War became the first total war, bringing trench warfare, sustained fighting, destruction of property, and hardship to noncombatants in its wake. Many later writers have also made this point, but Catton unforgettably drives it home.
Catton thus describes the final Union campaign in the East (There is little in the book on the Western theatre of the War.) of the Army of the Potomac from the Wilderness through Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Appomatox. He describes the desparate, harsh nature of these engagements under the leadership of U.S. Grant. Catton also pays a great deal of attention to Philip Sheridan, to the destruction he wrought in the Shenendoah Valley Campaign, and to his key roles in the Battle of Five Forks (Petersburg) and the final race to the Appomatox Court House. Catton's discussion of Sheridan brought home to me the cruel all-out nature of the final stages of the War.
Catton also integrates well the military aspects of the Civil War with the political aspects. There are good pictures of Lincoln and of the war-weariness of the North which threatened the military efforts of the Armies until the last phases of the conflict. Catton's work emphasizes, in line with recent scholarship, the critical role of African-American soldiers in the Union's war effort. But he also tends to support a reconciliationist approach following the end of the conflict rather than what might have been a more committed attempt to protect the rights of the Freedmen. Although Catton writes from the Union side of the line, he clearly is impressed with the military and personal character of Robert E. Lee and with the valor shown by the Army of Northern Virginia under the most trying of circumstances.
I was enthralled by the pace of the book, by Catton's writing, and by his love for and knowledge of his subject. This is a book to come to as an adult. It will encourage the thoughtful reader to reflect upon the Civil War as the watershed event in our Nation's history.
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Summary: Lyrical introduction to the Civil War
Review: I expected a book about the last year of the Civil War to be a little dry. Since it was written in the 50s, I also expected dated attitudes about civil rights and the legitimacy of war. "A Stillness at Appomattox" is completely contrary to my expectations; it is nothing if not humanistic, with attention paid to the plight of everyday civilians and soldiers engaged in or affected by the war. He doesn't spare criticism for the incompetence of politicians and officers and their role in prolonging the conflict at the cost of many lives. There is no oversimplification of the complex reasons leading up to the war, nor of the political wrangling involved in making slavery a central issue of the war. Catton's prose is elegant; he draws on official accounts, diaries, letters, and other sources to create vivid scenes. Life in camp, marches, battles, and other great and small moments are reconstructed in detail. This is the third book of a trilogy. Since it won the Pulitzer Prize, it's easier to find, but the other two ("Mr. Lincoln's Army" and "Glory Road") are just as good, and help provide a fuller picture of the war.
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Summary: History Comes to Life
Review: I have read many books about the Civil War. I first read A Stillness at Appomattox when I was a student some 20 years ago. What a revelation to read it again these years later. The action comes to so much life on these pages that there were many times that I felt like I was there and many times when I wish I had been there.
Absolutely spellbinding. I sat down to read the introduction and ended up reading the entire book in one long sitting. I could not put it down.
If all historical books were written this well with so much detail included in the flowing words, I would probably only read history books.
My many thanks to David McCullough whose wonderful works inspired me to re-explore this classic piece.
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Summary: A Masterpiece of Civil War History
Review: It would be an almost impossible task for anyone to figure out just how many books have been written dealing with the American Civil War. It would also be difficult to determine which Civil War historians are most often cited by their peers but there is no doubt that Bruce Catton would be near or more likely at the top of any such list. The reason for this is quite simply that Catton was one of the great historical writers of all time. Very few people can take their readers into the heart of an army, both those of it's soldiers and leaders like Catton and even fewer convey their story in the very clear and easy to read style that this author has mastered. To read this book of pure history is in many ways like reading a historical novel and even the reader who already has a firm grasp on the historical facts of this story will sometimes find themselves wondering what happens next.
This is the story of the last campaign of the Army of the Potomac, that Ill-fated army that had so often been humiliated by Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. This campaign was to be different however because there was a new man calling the shots and having a man like U. S. Grant at the helm made all of the difference in the world. It took Grant a while though to convince this often badly led army that he was any different than his predecessors. Different he was however and once he locked horns with Lee he wasn't going to let up until one army or the other was destroyed. In other words Grant understood what had to be done and he was determined to do it.
Catton's main field of study was this man Grant but one of the author's most endearing qualities is that he makes no effort to whitewash or hide his subject's faults. Catton also does not attempt to build Grant up by tearing away at Lee like many of the more recent Grant biographers have done. He simply makes Grant's greatness apparent by telling the story the way it happened and it doesn't take long for the reader to figure out what an outstanding general Grant was.
The author has done a lot of searching through soldier's letters and memoirs as well as regimental histories and this leads to a very personal perspective of the last year of the war. The stories he has gleaned from these sources are poignant, somber, gleeful and funny. For example, one entire brigade falls out of the final advance upon Lee's army to chase down and cook some chickens that have been scattered by artillery fire. I think it was Napoleon who said something about an army traveling on it's stomach.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Civil War. The hard core Civil War reader will find new information here and the casual reader will find that this book is fun to read and no one should have a problem following the story. If Amazon allowed six stars this is one of the few books that would qualify.
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Summary: The best Civil War book I've ever read
Review: Not are not too many nonfiction books out there which are successful in humanizing the soldiers of the Union army. Oh, we've seen it done with the Confederates - countless times - but with the so-called "Yankees" it's a different matter. They're the real "forgotten soldiers." Whereas most authors seem to concentrate on the South's viewpoint of the war, Bruce Catton sympethized more with the Union men - and it shows. He mentions events which are not commonly brought into the limelight - at Petersburg, Rebel riflemen amused themselves by firing at the dead bodies strewn out between the lines. Oh, I'm not saying Catton is biased. Not hardly. In this magnificent work his respect for all the common soldiers - and all Americans - shines through. And we are left with a powerful and moving reading experience. I highly recommend "A Stillness at Appomattox."
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Summary: A Classic, and for Good Reason...
Review: The Civil War will never lack for authors, both fiction and historical. Only a handful will leave a reader with an indellible impression. Among these few: Douglas Southall Freeman, Shelby Foote and James M. McPherson. Each has written outstanding works on the war: Freeman; R.E. Lee and Lee's Lieutenants, Foote; Shiloh and his magisterial three volume narrative and McPherson, his brilliant Battle Cry of Freedom.
Magnificent works all, but in a class by himself is Bruce Catton.
I recall my father raving about Catton; "When you read him, it's like you're there," he said. Unfortunately, I wasn't so quick to take his advice. Then, in 2000, I saw David McCullough on C-Span 2 and he raved about "A Stillness at Appomattox." Then, I decided to give it a try.
Lucky for me. I've read many accounts regarding the last agonizing year of the war, but none has matched Catton for sheer storytelling power. One marches with the Army of the Potomac as it seeks out Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. You witness and somehow, almost take part as these, the war's two military giants, Grant and Lee collide. You see the mistakes and agonize with the men yet, you always stand in awe of the everyday valor these heroes of the Blue and the Gray make. But despite battlefield blunders and poor leadership, draftees who are more likely to desert than face the enemy, the men of the Army of the Potomac never lose their faith in themselves and it is this spirit that drives the Army to ultimate victory.
Words fail me to describe how awesome this book is. I thought it would have aged badly, but it hasn't. It's truly a timeless work. This book, along with Mr. Lincoln's Army and Glory Road constitute the greatest tribute to the men of the Army of the Potomac and in a way, the Army of Northern Virginia as well. Enjoy.
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Summary: Outstanding!
Review: This book completes Catton's trilogy on the Army Of The Potomac. Catton covers the army from late 1863 to Lee's final surrender in April of 1865. Like his other two books, Catton is full of information and the book it quite entertaining to read as Catton's style is descriptive, but gets to the point. Catton covers the introduction of Grant and how the army changes command structure and the pursuit of Lee is pressed. Battle coverage of the Wilderness Campaign, Spottsylvania, and Petersburg was very interesting. Catton's political coverage of the Lincoln administration helped bolster the book to add further insight. I had wished Catton had covered more of the Cold Harbor battle although his coverage of Sheridan's Cavalry operations was fantastic. Anyone looking to understand the Army Of The Potomac owes itself to read this book! 5 STARS!
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