My Enemy, My Brother: Men and Days of Gettysburg

Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ!
Review: An excellent, blockbuster of a book. There is more history crammed into its 246 pages than I ever imagined could be accomplished in so short a span. Well written, fast moving and riveting, the author examines The Battle of Gettysburg from the participants' view: military and civilian, high and low ranking, male and female, Union and Confederate. Extreamly well done.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, readable overview of the Battle of Gettysburg
Review: What a great way to get an overview of the Battle of Gettysburg. No dry, humourless tome, this one. Rather, a very readable book that looks more at the views of the common soldiers than the moves and countermoves of the generals. The format of following many different participants and viewers of the battle (all real-life) makes for a story that reads more like a thriller. How accurate it is, I cannot say, not being an expert on the battle. However, I do note that Persico does not have what is now accepted as the true story behind the very famous photo of the dead sharpshooter at Devil's Den (it is now believed that the photographer moved and arranged the body to set up the photo). He instead believes the photographer's story that that was how he found the body. Overall, I found this an enjoyable read, and I found it easily put into place for me (for the first time in any Civil war book I have read) all the intracacies of that conflict. Just a note: I only became interested in this battle as a result of receiving the new computer game "Sid Meier's Gettysburg!" as a gift recently ... I would also thoroughly recommend that game! Especially if it leads players to want to research more about the battle and times it portrays!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, readable overview of the Battle of Gettysburg
Review: What a great way to get an overview of the Battle of Gettysburg. No dry, humourless tome, this one. Rather, a very readable book that looks more at the views of the common soldiers than the moves and countermoves of the generals. The format of following many different participants and viewers of the battle (all real-life) makes for a story that reads more like a thriller. How accurate it is, I cannot say, not being an expert on the battle. However, I do note that Persico does not have what is now accepted as the true story behind the very famous photo of the dead sharpshooter at Devil's Den (it is now believed that the photographer moved and arranged the body to set up the photo). He instead believes the photographer's story that that was how he found the body. Overall, I found this an enjoyable read, and I found it easily put into place for me (for the first time in any Civil war book I have read) all the intracacies of that conflict. Just a note: I only became interested in this battle as a result of receiving the new computer game "Sid Meier's Gettysburg!" as a gift recently ... I would also thoroughly recommend that game! Especially if it leads players to want to research more about the battle and times it portrays!