Civil War Books

U. S. CIVIL WAR BOOKS
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FICTION

I have " star " rated each book using the following scale:

- Great! Run out and buy it!
- Good! Recommended!
- Flawed! Some redeeming features. Get it from the library.
- Gawd-awful! Avoid this one!
- Don't Ask!
- Not Rated!

These are, of course, only my opinions. Your comments or rebuttals to the Webmaster are always welcome.

Cold Mountain, A Novel --- By Charles Frazier

This book is advertised as the "best Civil War novel since "The Killer Angels" and it is a best seller. So, it's a mandatory read; especially for someone devoted to the Civil War. Right?...wrong!

It may be the best novel since Killer Angels, but it in no way compares to that fine Michael Shaara book. It mainly deals, in exquisite detail, with life in the South during the latter days of the war. I found it considerably biased against the South, its leaders, and implying that the ultimate goal of a Southern soldier was to turn himself in to the Union army.

The book is well written but goes into too much detail regarding the countryside and the hundreds of plants and weeds described. Also, I feel that some of the gore could have been toned down.

All in all, the book is the story of a man overcoming many obstacles to reach the woman that he loves and concluding with an ending that was signalled chapters earlier. I suppose that if you come to it without my Civil War baggage, it would be a good read, providing you don't get worn out by the excessive detail.

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