The Civil War: A Narrative - 3 Volume Box Set

You know those hypothetical questions you get asked in adult board games (i.e. If you were stranded on a island what CD/book would you like to have)?No doubt about it, Shelby Foote's masterpiece trilogy would be resting beside my palm leaf makeshift bed as I sleep and I would turn those pages until they whithered away.The reason I used the above quote is the reading has been so "sweet" and has hooked me into the ACW. I will go on to read dozens of more books on people, places, battles, politics. The "sorrow" lies in the fact that the journey has come to an end.I'm an avid reader, so it took me about 2 months to finish the approximate 3000 pages. I look forward to reading it again in a few years, when I want a little refresher. I suspect that a work like this will probably take most people several months, if not years to finish. In any case, it's well worth it.The amount of detail is perfect. The major engagements get full treatment, down to brigade and in some cases regimental levels. But no stone is left unturned. Minor skirmishes and rear guard activity are also noted. The west, the east, the naval battles. The focus is primarily military, however, there is a nice dose of political, social, biographical and cultural topics. Tons of anecdotes and "I did not know that" type information. There is also a good balance of tactical vs. down in the ditch accounts.Very good maps. Just as the details of troop movements start to get a bit hazey, you turn the page to find a perfect map. I would have like to seen just a few more, but there are plenty and all well done.There are a few comments from other reviewers about Foote's allegiance to the South and leaving out atrocities and such. This is hogwash. I knew very little of the ACW before reading these volumes and I feel that his treatment was very fair to both sides. A poor leader is critized, whether he wore blue or gray/butternut. Just as a good leader is praised. Grierson's raid during Vicksburg gets as many high marks as any of Forrest's.Many others have noted all the highlights, much more articulated than I ever could, so I'll refer you to those reviews. Simply put, this book is a must read to begin or expand your knowledge of the ACW. It took 20 years for Foote to finish, and literally every word was well thought out. It ranks in many "top 100" lists for best nonfiction of the 1900's.

I read all three over 10 days. First and second book are very good, but the third is (in my opinion) the better. I couldn't put the third book down - read all 1100 pages in three nights.Very few minor irritants, not worth mentioning. If you've been to any of the large Nat'l Civil War parks then you will see those places in your minds eye when reading these. Lots of humor, some of it hidden. Not so much talk of the 'old men ailment' as in 'The Killer Angels.' Mr Foote has made the entire Civil War readable. Lots of action here near Vicksburg, nearby Texas, and north in Arkansas and Missouri, more than I've seen in many other books. Very much detailed narratives about the Naval war on both sides. There is a host of background written on the lesser known actors here, both in Richmond and in Washington, although Joshua Chamberlain merits only one sentence throughout the three volumes. Knowing this book has a huge number of reviews already, I'll add some on the quality of this set. Box and books are well put together and should last long enough for you to donate them to your grandkids. Many more maps than the ads suggest. The maps on the front and read end pieces are excellent and should be the first thing you read in each volume. A dictionary of military terms would be a good thing to have nearby. I'm still trying to find the meaning of several military terms used in all three books. Go ahead and get the set. Winter's coming and those long evenings in a cozy chair is where you want to read these.

I have yet to finish reading this marathon work, but I can honestly say that it is the greatest work of historical literature that I have yet read.Firstly, the author shows an encyclopaedic grasp of the facts of history together with an intuitive and almost uncanny sense of their significance in relation to the unfolding story.Secondly, his literary skills give even his vast factual knowledge a run for their money. This is no mere recitative of dry facts, but a perfectly paced and dramatically structured narrative, in which different literary genres such as biography and story-telling are seamlessly interwoven.Thirdly, he has a rare gift for being judgmental without being partisan. He is not afraid to find good and bad on either side of the conflict; in fact he is not even afraid to find a cocktail of good and bad in individuals whom history slotsentirely into one moral category or the other.Fourthly (and this is more subjective), this is so enjoyable as a read. The author's own exuberant fascination with the period, and the intensity of his admiration or scorn for the various personages involved on either side of the conflict, are communicated to the reader.The three volumes of this `magnum opus' are available separately, but this three-volume boxed edition is the way to own it. I don't know if the three books were published sequentially or simultaneously, but in a very real sense we are talking about a single coherent work in three volumes.If you know nothing at all about the Civil War, you could find this sheer size of this work a bit daunting; more seriously, you could lose the bigger picture in the sheer wealth of fascinating detail. In that case, James McPherson's extraordinarily brilliant overview ("The Battle Cry of Freedom") could be a better place to start. However, if you want something really substantial to keep you engrossed on that coast-to-coast wagon-train journey, this is unreservedly recommended for beginner or Civil War enthusiast alike.