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Title: Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War by Newt Gingrich, William Forstchen ISBN: 031230935X Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Pub. Date: June, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.04
Rating: 5
Summary: Gingrich Delivers
Comment: I did not buy this book, a friend who is crazed about anything related to the Civil War subtlety recommend it by putting it in my hand saying really, "you will like it". Unconvinced that I would be interested in a Civil War battle of anything by Newt Gingrich for that matter, I took it home. This book takes hold of you unmercifully, and in my case reluctantly, and does not let go. The character development is remarkable. You will fret over every agonizing decision and cringe at every gory, and I do mean gory, detail. Three cheers for Gingrich and William Forstchen on their alternative history, I'm convinced - they can tell a great story.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Surprisingly Powerful Epic
Comment: I have to admit, I was surprised and pleased when I read Gettysburg by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen. Their previous effort at alternate history, 1945, did not do very well, primarily in my opinion because that book was slapped together in haste to try to sell books based on Speaker Gingrich's name and fame.
Not so this offering. The premise is simple. On the second day of the battle, Lee does not assault the Little Round Top. Instead, taking Longstreet's advice, he sends a goodly portion of his army round to the far right flank of the Union Army, seizing its supplies and cutting it off from Washington. What follows is a hellish bloodbath which is all the more searing to the Civil War buff as one sees what happens to familiar charecters such as Chamberlain, Hood, Armestead, and others. I cannot recommend this book enough. It is nothing less than a counterfactural Killer Angels.
It is also, irritatingly, the first of a trilogy. Now we'll have to wait for the narrative of the second volume, to be named apparently Grant Comes East.
Rating: 4
Summary: What Might Have Been
Comment: In 1853, Robert E. Lee understood that drastic measures were needed to bring the Civil War to a conclusion favorable to the Confederacy. Although the Army of Northern Virginia was blessed with often brilliant generalship, Lee knew that the Union's ability to endlessly churn out soldiers and war materiel meant that even with mediocre leadership the North would eventually grind down the Confederate forces by sheer force of numbers. Lee could win only by destroying the Union's will to fight, and this would not be done by fighting a strategically defensive war strictly on Southern soil. These considerations led to Lee's fateful decision to invade the North.
We all know how that venture ended. Lee, in an uncharacteristic tactical lapse, decided to stand and fight against a well-supplied, entrenched Union force that occupied superior defensive ground south of Gettysburg. Under the circumstances it should not have required brilliant Union leadership to successfully repulse Lee's attacks, but Lee's efforts to take Little Round Top on Day 2 came within a hair's breadth of succeeding. Had Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain failed in his now-famous last-ditch defense of the Union left, the outcome of the Battle of Gettysburg might have been very different.
'Gettysburg' takes the "what if" scenario a step farther. What if Lee, instead of making the bullheaded decision to stand and fight at Gettysburg, had withdrawn after the chaos of Day 1 to mount a flank attack designed to draw the Army of the Potomoc to him on ground that gave the rebels all the advantages? Such a strategy seems more consistent with Lee's reputation for audacity and creativity, and co-authors Newt Gingrich and William Fortschen play out the premise in fascinating detail.
The authors obviously know their Civil War. The Union and Confederate officers are brought to life and act in accordance with their historical reputations, although Lee, with his sustained air of careworn courtliness comes off as something of a one-note caricature. The picture painted of life in both armies, the weaponry, tactics, the protocol, traditions and habits, are true to life and full of interesting bits of trivia.
The political leaders are less well-rendered and seem one-dimensional. One gets little understanding of the interpersonal dynamics of Lincoln's Cabinet. While the politics of the war were not the focus of the book, it would have been enlightening to spend a little more time on this part of the picture.
It's interesting to see the new roles that Gingrich and Fortschen built into their story for well-known officers at Gettysburg. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the hero of Little Round Top, is found unsuccessfully defending the Union right against as flanking maneuver by Confederate forces, a role he played successfully in the real battle. Gen. Dan Sickles, who impetuously advanced his division at the real battle thus imperiling the entire Union line, revives his reputation here by unsuccesfully pressing Gen. Meade to allow him to advance forward to investigate some mysterious Confederate troop movements. In the book, had Meade only allowed him to go, Sickles would have discovered the Confederate flanking maneuver soon enough to thwart it.
I got the book as a gift and initially thought it was an historical novel that followed the actual battle faithfully. While at first I was disapppointed to find that it branched off from true history, I nevertheless quickly became engrossed with the this sharply-written novel and it was interesting enough to finish in just three sessions.
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Title: Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism by Ann H. Coulter ISBN: 1400050308 Publisher: Crown Forum Pub. Date: 24 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title:Gods and Generals ASIN: B00009OOFA Publisher: Warner Home Video Pub. Date: 15 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $20.99 |
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Title: Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg (Crown Journeys) by James M. McPherson ISBN: 0609610236 Publisher: Crown Publishing Group Pub. Date: 13 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Off with Their Heads : Traitors, Crooks & Obstructionists in American Politics, Media & Business by Dick Morris ISBN: 0060559284 Publisher: Regan Books Pub. Date: 17 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Stonewall Jackson at Gettysburg by Douglas Lee Gibboney ISBN: 1572493178 Publisher: Burd Street Press Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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