Hi everyone,
I’m down to three books to go in my “Project: Civil War” reading program for 2010. I don’t really have any unread books at home on this subject now, so am contemplating a few purchases. A couple candidates are: Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (my book club read his book, Thirteen Moons a while back and I thoroughly enjoyed that one, plus Cold Mountain has achieved a lot of critical acclaim, plus it’s fiction. Another interesting possibility is a book I’ve heard about from a couple sources. It’s called The Class of 1846: From West Point to Appomatox by John Waugh and it follows the progress of many West Point graduates of that year who later became Civil War generals.
Does anyone have any recommendations for me? (What I’ve read so far: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Company Aytch, The Red Badge of Courage, Gone With the Wind, There I Grew Up: Remembering Abraham Lincoln’s Indiana Youth, Stonewall Jackson: Portrait of a Soldier, Killer Angels, The House Divides, and a Carl Sandburg non-fiction book that I can’t think of the title of…)
-Jay
Bibliophilopolis 
Dale Barthauer said,
October 1, 2010 at 11:03 am
Highly recommend Cold Mountain. There is also a kids book I read a while ago called Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt that is rather good. And then there is North and South by John Jakes. This one is not considered “high brow” by any means and it’s the only one of his books I’ve read. But it’s entertaining in a soap opera kind of way and really does paint a picture of all the various ideas and points of view that caused the Civil War.
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stentorpub said,
October 1, 2010 at 11:58 am
Thanks Dale, for your suggestions. I think Cold Mountain is going to be next. A co-worker graciously offered to give me her old copy for keepers, so there you go. I’ve heard of the John Jakes book (isn’t that the one that had a tv miniseries of the same name starring Patrick Swayze(!) and Genie Francis among others? I’ll probably skip that one. I’ll do some research on the Irene Hunt book.
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christopher harris said,
October 1, 2010 at 10:54 pm
I very much enjoyed both “Cold Mountain” and “Thirteen Moons.” If you haven’t read Shelby Foote, I suggest you do. The man writes the best historical fiction about the Civil War ever (his trilogy, “The Civil War,” is the bomb! I’d avoid the John Jakes novels, or the Bernard Cornwells, they’re a little ‘jakey.’ I really like your blog! Cheers! Chris
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stentorpub said,
October 3, 2010 at 6:59 am
Thanks, Chris! Yes, I think Cold Mountain is now a “lock” for my next book. (& I thought the Shelby Foote books were more ‘scholarly,’ but they are fiction? I was misinformed…) That “Class of 1846” book I mentioned in the original post really sounds intriguing to me as well.
-Jay
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christopher harris said,
October 3, 2010 at 11:42 am
Jay, yes, Foote’s trilogy is historical fiction, and superbly done too. He carved out a chuck from v1 and published it as a stand-alone slim novel entitled, “Shiloh.” You might like to read it, and see if you like Foote. He was a tank commander during WW2. Cheers!
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Anastasia Fitzgerald-Beaumont said,
October 4, 2010 at 4:15 am
Jay, have you read Andersonville by Kantor McKinlay?
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stentorpub said,
October 4, 2010 at 12:05 pm
I have not. You’re not the first person to mention it to me though. I’ve thought about it, but also feared it would be “too depressing.”
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Anastasia Fitzgerald-Beaumont said,
October 5, 2010 at 7:56 pm
I haven’t read it myself but I do have it on order from Amazon. As soons as I’ve read it I will post a review on Ana the Imp and you can decide for yourself. It was recommended to me by another blogger.
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stentorpub said,
October 6, 2010 at 11:28 am
Excellent! I will look forward to that. 🙂
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