Classic Novel of Civil War
351429
A classic story of the Civil War and aftermath from the Southern perspective. Margaret Mitchell wrote a masterpiece which consumed her life---it was the only book she ever wrote.  She wrote with great passion and from stories told her from relatives who lived through the events that shattered their lives and lifestyles.
4054218
Margaret Mitchell wrote one of the most popular novels of all time. Set against the breath-taking backdrop of the red hills of Georgia during the American Civil War, Gone With the Wind is a window into a society that was swept away by war. Although I must say I doubt the portrayal of slavery is authentic in this work, every other aspect must be accurate. I have read some background information on Mitchell and, to my knowledge, she spent a significant amount of time researching every detail of her story--even down to the time of day that the list of deaths from the Battle of Gettysburg arrived in Atlanta.

As a Southerner, I am proud of Mitchell's success and her novel. I would have to say that this is my favorite novel of all time--a great epic about the South and its storied past.

However, as vast as the setting may be, it's easy to forget that there are two different plots going on: that of Georgia, and the South, during the Civil War, and that of Scarlett O'Hara and her struggle of hunger, poverty, love, and much more. The timing that Margaret Mitchell used in her novel (i.e. the death of Melanie, thus setting Ashley free; but at the same time realizing she, Scarlett, loved Rhett all along.) is amazing. However, the last part, Part V, moves a bit fast. But I suppose you can't dwell on 12 years worth of dialogue and narrative...

I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a historical novel. Although this book has been known since its publication as a romance, I would say that Gone With the Wind is anything but a modern romance--it is the epitome of what a romance SHOULD be.
4923582
In Guns of the South, a group of South African white supremacists travel back in time to alter the course of history.  Specifically, they provide the AK-47 rifle to Robert E. Lee, and such a modern weapon was bound to change things.  The novel begins just before the Virginia overland campaign of Ulysses Grant in 1864, and the battle of the Wilderness has a different ending.  The book details the scenario of the Confederates getting the upper hand in the U.S. Civil War, and the fallout from that.
Many major figures are portrayed, and despite being somewhat hokey at times, it is a fair and probing depiction of Civil War characters such as Grant, Lincoln, Judah Benjamin, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Jefferson Davis, Ben Butler, and most prominently of all, General Lee himself.  Lee is portrayed as an honorable man who is thrust into roles he does not desire, yet fulfills his duty to the best of his abilities.
The slavery issue is a major theme in the book, as the South Africans (known as the Rivington men, since that fictional North Carolina town is their home base), want to make white domination a world trend that will last into the future.  The post-war scenario creates conflict with that issue, and the whole novel is an intriguing alternative history.
The viewpoint of North Carolina sergeant Nate Caudell is another theme in the book, and the view of an ordinary soldier in the midst of the Wilderness campaign is one of the better sections.  So the perspectives of those in power and the common man are both presented.
Finally, I have read a lot about the Civil War, but somehow I didn't get the significance of a certain Northerner who moves to the South after the war, and eventually joins their army.  If the name Henry Pleasants means anything to a Civil War reader, he is in this book and you can take a guess at what kind of unique military operation he gets involved in.
4532214
A classic which I first read in the early 'forties and just re-read, this is the tale of a youth who joined the Army to fight on the Union side in the Civil War, or as some call it the War of the Rebellion, since no wars are really "civil."

Henry Fleming was a farm youth in New York when, with images of future acts of heroism in his mind, he joined the Army and went off to war with memories of his mother's prayerful tears in his mind.  While encamped on a river within sight and sound of enemy pickets and listening to the stories of his peers, he begins to doubt his courage.

The story is filled with images of the horror and carnage of war, although written lyrically and sensitively.  If there is a lesson, besides the dreadfulness of large numbers of men trying desperately to kill each other, it is that one and the same man can experience depths of cowardice and pinnacles of courage and brave acts, depending upon his surroundings and how they affect him.

I loved the story in my 'teens, and I am still greatly impressed by it in my seventies--and I have seen the elephant!

Joseph H. Pierre
920473
One of the greatest novels ever written.. For a young girl growing up in the South, it is a must st read..
8284
This book was the basis for the movie "Gettysburg," and it's easily the best Civil War novel I've ever read.  The novel covers the battle of Gettysburg, wich each chapter written from the point of view of a different person.

We see the battle unfold, with the armies coming together in this quiet Pennsylvania town.  During the book, we get a close look at some of the officers of the two armies, their backgrounds and how they reacted to the events.

If you want to learn something about Gettysburg, this would be a fun way to get started.
775012
I haven't read this book since high school.  I recently was at Gettysburg for the 150th anniversary of the battle.  That made me want to re-read this book.  It is a great first person narrative of the experience if Civil War battle.  It also argues  that anyone can be a hero, a coward or both.
4553305
Reads like a great novel from first paragraph through the last page. To understand the Civil War[1861-1865] one must "see" into Charleston and South Carolina where the nation's previous most potent threat of secession had been attempted in 1832. This book is emotionally so engaging that
I wished the state had been allowed to secede, the sooner the better. Herein a former state attorney general is quoted: "South Carolina is too small to be a republic and too large for an insane asylum." The star of this biography/history of Charleston was the British Consul there from 1853 to February 1863. I have 100 "flagged" passages in my copy: One of the last is on page 292: "...Bunch's long record of dispatches about the Southerners,their politics,their key personalities and especially their craving for new slaves from Africa had slowed London's march toward recognition of the Confederacy."---To which I almost say "Amen", but, then, I also realize that some USA-

Abolitionists were as fanatical as the most fanatic of Charleston's "Fire-Eaters".
  Which leads me to wonder if--The war was a "close thing"--A Southern victory at, say, Antietam/Sharpsburg, probably bringing in British and French arbitration and Southern independence might have been a lesser evil by saving 100,000s[4000,000?] of lives since the war would have been shortened by 2.5 years. Note that before Jefferson Davis died the last vestige of slavery had been declared ended[in Brazil]. I believe that
slavery in the CSA would have ended by that time too. The lesson: Be careful what stories you try to make true. Br true to.at least, a lesser, or better,the least evil if you wish to avoid greater evils.
4819339
I had a yellowed old paperback copy of GWTW that I couldn't part with since I had re-read it every decade or so. When I started loading my Kindle with classics and books I considered worth reading again, of course GWTW came up on my list. The epic struggles and love story of Scarlett and Rhett and Ashley are always enthralling. There are so many lines from the movie that have found a place in our culture, and I highlighted them as I read the book. The story of tragedies and endurance during the Civil War still resonates today, and this epic novel will continue to be read over and over.
2559845
Margaret Mitchell's evergreen saga of the Civil War era has become a kind of cultural icon.  This sprawling novel was her sole work, but what a book!  Two of the leading protagonists, Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, are perhaps the best known fictional characters in American literature.  The saintly Melanie Wilkes and her reticent husband Ashley are also widely recognized.
  Northern writers have yet to produce a comparable work.  Mitchell's novel plugs into the antebellum nostalgia of the south.  Even though her writing arguably does not meet the high standards of gifted southern writers (such as Flannery O'Connor and company), her wonderful narrative skills continue to make this book an enduring best-seller, decade after decade.
  As generations of American booklovers will testify, "Gone With the Wind" is a highly rewarding, romantic must-read.
2071933
All Quiet On The Western Front follows a group of young German soldiers who were classmates before the war through the vividly described horror of the trenches. As an example of autobiographical fiction it is unsurpassed. While fictional the details of life at the front could only have been recorded by a veteran of the same campaigns described here. Erich Maria Remarque wrote the classic novel of his war. I read this shortly after completing Storm Of Steel a non fictional account of roughly the same battles and scenes. Both books were disturbing but for different reasons. Remarque's novel is clearly anti-war and shows through the narration the absurdity of what the protagonist was experiencing. Junger's book Storm Of Steel seemed more of a testament to the nobility of war and combat.

Remarque was a scene painter. The book has some character development and continuity but it can also be read as a series of vignettes of the life of a soldier in WWI. I found the middle section of the novel that describes his return home on leave especially poignant. The front line soldier's challenge in trying to relate to his former home and normal life was incredibly hard hitting.  Can't say why I took so long to get arond to this. It's been on my shelf for years but I am glad I finally picked it up.
4332848
Although "Gone With the Wind" is one of my favorite novels, I haven't enjoyed more recent Civil War fiction. "Enemy Women", however, though poorly titled, is one of the most enjoyable books I've  read lately. The women in this book are not "enemies". They are simply brave survivors, trying to protect their homes and families. That the author, Paulette Jiles, is a poet shines through in her prose. It soars in descriptions of the untamed land and then abruptly slams searingly to the earth telling of the "collateral damage" inflicted by the Federal and Confederate troops in the divided state of Missouri. Adair, the consumptive heroine, is an updated Scarlett O'Hara, full of intelligence, sass, guts and sarcasm. When the Feds burn the homestead and capture her father and her horse, Adair sets off on a long journey to rescue them, ending up in a Federal prison as a Rebel sympathizer. There she meets Federal Major Neumann, who falls in love with her, but he is no Rhett Butler and this is not primarily a love story. When the Major is transferred, he gives Adair the means to escape prison, vowing to find her back at her old homestead when the war is over. Adair's struggle alone through the warring sides and the punishing natural dangers of the wild countryside reveal a strong,resourceful and determined woman. Both the Feds and the Rebels had malevolent uncredentialed militias  freely roaming the state, killing and burning at will. Unlike Scarlett, Adair does not depend upon her femininity, although along the way she meets many memorable characters, like Greasy Joe, in scenes that are sometimes humorous and sometimes hauntingly sad or horrific. In addition to a fast-moving plot,the author's character development and the reproduction of the Southern Arkansas language are the novel's strong points. I could never decide which side the author would have taken since she equally presents the good and the evil of both sides in the Civil War. Each chapter begins with quotations taken from reference books about the war in Missouri, giving the fiction more authority. Another thing I liked about the book was the author's knowledge about horses which is translated into Adair's love for her horse, "Whiskey", a minor character throughout.  I would have given this book five stars if the author had used quotation marks when the characters speak. It is harder to read without them.&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Enemy-Women-A-Novel-P-S/dp/B001O9CF3G/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Enemy Women: A Novel (P.S.)</a>
648597
Shelby Foote's "The Civil War: A Narrative" has been described  by critics and readers alike as "...a classic of its kind." It  took Foote 16 years and over 2,800 pages to tell the story of America's  bloodiest and most tragic war. "The Civil War: A Narrative" is a  long journey, but one I found well worth taking. Foote is a master at  weaving the personalities and events of the Civil War into a seamless and  often captivating narrative. One of the great beauties of this trilogy is  Foote's ability to hold the reader's interest (he held me spellbound  through all three volumes) for the long haul with his sparkling, almost  musical prose.

Of course, all the major battles - from Fort Sumter to  Appomattox, with stops at Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Vicksburg,  Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and others - fairly leap, in  all their horror, from these volumes' pages at the hands of this gifted  writer. But Foote goes one better. Less famous battles (i.e., Pea Ridge,  Perryville, The Seven Days), minor skirmishes, and other events, which  receive short shrift or a passing reference at best in most one-volume  accounts of the Civil War, receive much fuller treatment here. (Two prime  examples of this are General U.S. Grant's seven failures on the Mississippi  River as he attempted to get his army below Vicksburg, and Colonel Benjamin  Grierson's cavalry raid through Mississippi in 1863.)

Despite the claims  of some critics who accuse Foote of "Southern bias" in his  writing, I found the author's account of the Civil War to be both fair and  objective.  The three volumes also appear to be well founded on solid  historical research. However, I would have preferred to see footnote or  endnote citations of the author's sources, a more comprehensive  bibliography.

"The Civil War: A Narrative" is a wonderful  reading experience. Rich in detail, eloquently written, and imbued with  first-rate scholarship, it gives readers an accurate understanding of the  people and events which made up America's bloodiest conflict. For readers  (like me) who want to understand the Civil War, how it was fought, won, and  lost, "The Civil War: A Narrative" is indispensable. It is the  central work in my Civil War library.
348984
A captivating novel based on historical events surrounding the Battle of Franklin (Tennessee)  at the end of the Civil War. The main character (Carrie McGavrock) was a real woman whose plantation house was commandeered as a field hospital for Confederate battle casualties, of which there were thousands. Most of the others characters are fictional, but the house and adjacent cemetery are real and can be visited today. (The blood stains which remain on the floors - I saw them - are chilling reminders of what occurred in that house 150 years ago.)
612616
Robert Jordan is a young American fighting against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War.  He is sent into the mountains to make contact with a small band of guerillas to blow a bridge in support of an offensive.

Hemingway's tremendous strength of drawing characters that the reader comes to know and care about is on full display in "For Whom the Bell Tolls."  Jordan falls in love with the young woman, Maria, who is seeking refuge from a world that has robbed her of her childhood innocence.  There is Pablo, the former leader who has seen the futility of the war and cannot face the day without dulling his mind with wine.  There is Pilar, Pablo's mate, who longs for her youth, but has now assumed the role of leader and mother to the small group of fighters.

Robert Jordan and the reader come to know the dynamics of the group quite well.  Jordan wrestles with the necessity of endangering the group of people for "the cause."  This book depicts the contrast of war's brutality with the camaraderie of friends.

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" is considered a classic for a reason.  This is a book that has aged well and will stick with the reader for a long time.
4950688
Gore Vidal's "Lincoln" tells the Civil War from the perspective of President Lincoln, his White House staff, his Cabinet and their dealings with the legislature.  It tells of the struggles to find a good general to lead the Northern Army.  The book is considered historical fiction, although the author indicates he built the characters based on review of writings available from the day.  Today we have many Lincoln memorials and celebrate Lincoln's birthday (at least here in Illinois!).  In Vidal's "Lincoln" we see the struggles over fighting an unpopular war, the ambivalence of Lincoln to make decisions, the challenges of an emotionally unstable wife, and the hatred many had for the man we now revere.  Vidal is an excellent author and easy to read.  I think this would be a good book to include in one's review of the history of the American Civil War.
3358027
This novel gives readers a very real look into America's bloody past during the Civil War.  The main character Josephine goes along with her crazed sisters plan to avenge her husband who was killed in the Civil War.  Josephine doesn't want to kill anyone, but she will do anything, including dressing and acting as a teenage boy in order to try to protect her beloved sister Libby.  Both sisters manage to join the Confederate army & fight (if my memory is correct) for 8 long hard months.  While one grieves another finds love.  The author introduces us to men and women, slowly revealing what killing another person does to the mind of the soldier who fights on as well as what is left of those who were in the path of the army's march.  The soldiers march and battle in sickness, hunger, disease & death as well as joy, hope & laughter.  In the end love will either break them or save them both.