Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage

Engaging and Enlightening

I am no Civil War historian, just an avid reader. I found this book to be very engaging. I had just returned from my first visit to Gettysburg and found the details to be a perfect companion to the trip. It really filled in details which I could directly relate to the geography I had just experienced. To see the ground and then read the details of the battle made everything come alive. A superlative job.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Excellent Narration

I've read many a narration of the Battle of Gettysburg, and this one comes close to being the best (it is indeed very hard to surpass the Killer Angels). Reading smoothly and effortlessly, GETTYSBURG provides an intriguing description of Lee's mindset leading into the battle, the disparities of opinion among the Confederate Generals, and the orchestra of errors and poor leadership which doomed the Army of Northern Virginia. The Union forces are not nearly so well covered as are the Confederate forces, but the detail is highly accurate (I am a Civil War historian) while not being *too* detailed (a common failing among non-fictional Civil War novels). The best element in the book is author's explanation as to Lee's decisions to move ahead with the battle even after nearly all his generals agreed it was a serious mistake, an explanation which has been made before, but never so elegantly. Fascinating and addicting, I highly recommend it to anyone, Civil War historians or the Curious of Mind alike. Enjoy!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Perpetuating Lee myths is very poor history

In my opinion, this is one of the worst pieces of history to come out on Gettysurg within recent memory. Through the grace of a smooth narrative, the author retells about every myth and misconception connected to Robert E Lee and Gettysburg. What I found especially detached from the facts were Trudeau's troubling explanations of Lee's decisions, what they were (supposedly) based on and how other generals in the Army of Northern Virginia (allegedly) viewed the commanding general's course of action AT THE TIME THESE DECISIONS WERE MADE. Indeed, the author's conclusions are so at odds with what other members of the Confederate high command have stated, that this reader is left wondering what the author REALLY knows about the subject matter. In short, I wish that the author would have bothered to read past the oft-repeated, baseless myths, and done some serious research and original thought.

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Amazing and well written

This book gave me the feeling of being right there as a participant in the battle. I found it very difficult to put this one down, highly recommend this book.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Chamberlain is turning in his grave!!

The book was very well written, addicting, and an interesting read. What are questionable are some of his theories which tend to go against the mainstream opinion. For example, the author explains that Joshua Chamberlain, the hero of Little Round Top, in fact did not give the order to charge, but that the door-like swinging motion of his men was merely the result of the terrain. That is fine and dandy, but if you notice, he gives no evidence to his claim. He says that Major Spear never heard Chamberlain's order, but he does not point to anything Spear said or wrote to help prove this. Although the book is exhaustively researched, it comes short in supporting it's more radical statements, which seemed to be it's thesis. Read it, it is worth it...If anything at all, the book will spark a higher interest in you on the highly debated struggle at Gettysburg.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Usual Trudeau Fare

while an interesting and fairly easy read, Trudeau once again fails to support his more glaringly revisionist suppositions with concrete historical evidence. This book will undoubtedly entertain the average reader but the armchair Civil War scholar will recognize it's flaws. I have always admired the professional historian who can set aside his personal "politics" and view such events through the prism of the social norms of the day, without judgment. Sadly, Trudeau seems unable to acheive that degree of objectivity. No one can take away from Trudeau's obviously laudable skill as a writer, but some of his more subjective assertions should be taken cum grano salis.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

gettysburg

I loved this book. I could not put it down. My heart raced as I read the battle scenes. Very easy to keep up with. It was a joy to read.

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