As I mentioned in a previous post, I love to sit down with a good novel from time to time and loose myself in the pages between its covers. My reading is nearly split 50-50 between nonfiction and fiction. When I read novels I mainly read historical fiction, a couple of times a year I’ll veer off to read the latest Janet Evonovich book, and every so often I’ll pick up a novel from the best seller list to read, but by and large historical fiction is what I love to read when I'm NOT reading nonfiction. I especially love to read Civil War novels. Here is a list of just some of my favorites:
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara – Hands down the best Civil War novel of all time. Mr. Shaara, in his Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece, covers the turbulent three days of the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes, minds and hearts of the men who fought it. I read it about every 12 to 18 months or so.
John Jakes’ North And South Trilogy – My first foray into historical fiction. I think I must have first read North And South (the first book in the series) sometime around 1983 or 1984. Mr. Jakes is the grandfather of the family saga and follows the Hazard and Main families from the antebellum years (North And South), through the Civil War (Love And War) and to the end of Reconstruction (Heaven And Hell). It is truly a panoramic vision of those years as Mr. Jakes is a master at interweaving the plot lines of multiple characters.
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier – Though not really a book about the war as much as it is set during the war, it follows Inman, a wounded Confederate deserter, as he walks his way across the North Carolina wilderness to his home on Cold Mountain, and Ada, the woman he loves. I fell in love with the language of this book.
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara – Hands down the best Civil War novel of all time. Mr. Shaara, in his Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece, covers the turbulent three days of the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes, minds and hearts of the men who fought it. I read it about every 12 to 18 months or so.
John Jakes’ North And South Trilogy – My first foray into historical fiction. I think I must have first read North And South (the first book in the series) sometime around 1983 or 1984. Mr. Jakes is the grandfather of the family saga and follows the Hazard and Main families from the antebellum years (North And South), through the Civil War (Love And War) and to the end of Reconstruction (Heaven And Hell). It is truly a panoramic vision of those years as Mr. Jakes is a master at interweaving the plot lines of multiple characters.
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier – Though not really a book about the war as much as it is set during the war, it follows Inman, a wounded Confederate deserter, as he walks his way across the North Carolina wilderness to his home on Cold Mountain, and Ada, the woman he loves. I fell in love with the language of this book.
And lastly…
Gods and Generals & The Last Full Measure by Jeff Shaara – the prequel and sequel to his father, Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels. Both books pale in comparison to the volume that spawned them, but taken on their own merits they are good reads. If anything I think their drawback is they try to cover too much historical terrain. The Killer Angels focused on the three day Battle of Gettysburg, while Gods And Generals covers the two years before Gettysburg and The Last Full Measure covers the war's final two years.
3 comments:
North and South was one of my first visits to the world of historical fiction as well. I think it was the first Civil War fiction I ever read. My tastes tend to run more toward WWII fiction simply because of family connections.
Recently, though, I had a chance at a sneak peek for a new Civil War novel coming out in October. Bedlam South, by David Donaldson and Mark Grisham really impressed me with its attention to historical accuracy and its uniqueness in that the focus is on the mental health of the characters moreso than the battles they take part in. If you get a chance to read it, I think you'd really enjoy it.
Ruth,thanks for the comment... with your recomendation, I'd gladly read "Bedlam South" and post the review of it here on this blog... I'll be looking for it when it comes out. Thanks for the suggestion. - Jim
Hi Jim -- You're very welcome! No one else in my house likes to read this stuff so I'm always glad to find someone else who does. I'll be watching for your review and very interested to hear your thoughts on it.
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