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Title: Mr. Lincoln's Army by Bruce Catton ISBN: 0-8446-6791-9 Publisher: Peter Smith Pub Pub. Date: February, 1994 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.75 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.92 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Outstanding overview of McClellan's Army
Comment: As other reviewers have mentioned, Bruce Catton is considered to be one of the best authors to read if you are interested in the Civil War. Despite many recommendations from others I had not read any of Catton's books until now. Having just finished Mr. Lincoln's Army, I can finally understand why Mr. Catton has received so many accolades (to include the Pulitzer prize). This book is an outstanding introduction to General McClellan, and the Army he commanded.
I truly enjoyed this book for several reasons. First, the writing style is excellent. This book is not boring history (facts, figures, hyposthesis, conclusion). Instead, Catton tells the interesting story of what happened to the Federal Army from the beginning of the war up until the battle of Antietam. The book reads more like a good novel, than a history text book. Having read many Civil War authors, I would put Catton in the top category.
Secondly, Catton includes many observations and stories from the everyday soldier which add vivid details to events as they unfold. His description of the Battle of Antietam comes alive when he includes descriptions of what the men who fought actually saw and experienced. I learned a lot and gained new insight into many events which speaks volumes to the quality of this book, considering it was written back in the 1950s.
Lastly, Catton stays focused on his topic and does not try to cover too much material. The book is about the Union Army, so he does not waste time getting into too many details about what was happening on the Confederate side. I enjoyed this perspective because Catton succesfully answers the question of why the Union Army could not defeat the Confederates early in the war, despite the great advantage of resources that it possessed.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Civil War. Whether you are a "Civil War Buff", or just trying to find out more about this pivotal event in American history, you will enjoy this book.
Rating: 5
Summary: McClellan's Army in its Glory and Sadness
Comment: Around the time of the Civil War's Centennial celebration, Bruce Catton dominated Civil War writing in this country. His books still speak to the reader in a literary style that brings the feeling of the war and its participants very much alive.
"Mr. Lincoln's Army" is the first of his three-part trilogy on the Army of the Potomac. Catton traces the tragic evolution of this army -- always a superb fighting force in the ranks -- from a misused and abused weapon to the anvil that finally broke the rebellion.
In this book, Catton focuses on one of America's few men of Destiny -- at least until he had the opportunity to confront destiny in the face -- General George B. McClellan. McClellan picked up the pieces of the Army of the Potomac twice. First, after its inauspicious start at the First Battle of Bull Run and again after the army's route following the second tussle with the Confederacy near that same small battlefield.
McClellan was good at everything in which a general had to excel except fighting. An outstanding organizer and moral builder, "Little Mac" trained the army to a professional level and instilled in it an esprit de corps that helped sustain it through disappointment and disaster.
The one thing McClellan could not do, as Catton illustrates through his focus on the Peninsula Campaign and the Battle of Antietam, was use this superbly honed weapon decisively in battle. Always thinking he was outnumbered when in fact he held the advantage in forces, and lacking the inner confidence to take even good battle risks, he wasted multiple opportunities to end the war (or at least the existence of the Army of Northern Virginia) and save years of conflict and hundreds of thousands of lives. McClellan ends up as the ultimate in tragic figures, outwardly seeming so perfect for the job and bearing the loftiest of expectations as a savior, but inwardly cowed by fears and suspicions that he wasn't up to it.
This book is a wonderful and evocative portrait of the spirit of the Army of the Potomac in the McClellan era. Catton's great strength is the use of anecdotes to draw the big picture and sniff out "what was in the air" at different points in time. Thus his books are not exhaustive campaign and battle portraits and are short on troop movements and deployments of particular units. He seeks to demonstrate what was actually happening when all the personalities and actors of a moment are factored together. It is a big picture look at his subject buttressed by observations, iconic stories and the unusual that allows the reader to understand the feeling that surrounded events.
Thus, Catton focuses mightily on the relationship between McClellan and Lincoln's administration, his relationship and the performance of senior officers and in deciphering the motives, mindsets and chess game that seemed to envelope significant figures in the Army of the Potomac to a much greater degree than any other Union or Confederate army engaged in the conflict.
As all of Catton's writings on the Civil War are, this one is a classic.
Rating: 5
Summary: Why oh why did they stop printing this?????
Comment: What a wonderful book. I was so lucky to be able to pick up a great condition trilogy of the AOP (Mr. Lincoln's Army, Glory Road, and Stillness at Appomatox).
Catton's style is so amazing. You get the broad strokes of tactical movement, political wranglings, down in the ditch tales, camp life, and of course the human equation.
Excellent. Excellent. Excellent.
I must say, I'm glad I had a little working knowledge of the ACW before reading. He does have a tendency to just start up. For instance, Lincoln's Army starts in the middle of 2nd Manassas, then kind of works back into a flash back and fills in some of the bios. This may be a little confusing for an un-informed reader. You may want to read a very general, one volume sort of history before moving on to Catton.
The good thing though is the book is suitable for a beginner and yet I think the more you know about the ACW, the more you will enjoy it. There are so many great little stories about politicians, soldiers, officers, etc.
Highly recommended.
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Title: A Stillness at Appomattox : The Army of the Potomac Trilogy by Bruce Catton ISBN: 0385044518 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 01 October, 1953 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: This Hallowed Ground: The Story of the Union Side of the Civil War by Bruce Catton ISBN: 078581552X Publisher: Castle Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
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Title: Phoenix: Never Call Retreat: Volume Three in the American Civil War Trilogy by Bruce Catton ISBN: 1842122916 Publisher: Phoenix Press Pub. Date: December, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Terrible Swift Sword by Bruce Catton ISBN: 0385026145 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 24 April, 1963 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Grant Moves South by Bruce Catton ISBN: 0785812644 Publisher: Castle Pub. Date: October, 2000 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
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