Monday, August 13, 2012

Civil War Reading and Watching

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I have been reading up on this "great cataclysm," as it is often dubbed. I studied the war in high school and have done focused reading on it from time to time since then.

Here's a really great reading list, alphabetized, from the War Through the Generations blog, which will be an excellent reference as I continue to build my reading/watching lists.

Here's what I've done so far, some more recently than others.  I'll be adding to this list as I see and hear about new books and movies that peak my interest, and as I remember other items already read that I don't remember now.

Fiction
Read

Non-fiction
Read

To Read
  • R.E. Lee, by Douglas Southall Freeman
  • Lee's Lieutenants, by Douglas Southall Freeman
  • Mary Chestnut's Diary, by Mary Boykin Chestnut
  • The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace, by H.W. Brands
  • Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877, by Eric Foner, Richard B. Morris

Films, videos, documentaries

Watched:
  • Gettysburg
  • The Civil War, Ken Burns
  • Gone With the Wind
  • Little Women
  • Glory
  • The Conspirator
  • Lincoln, with Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role, based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals
  • North and South - parts I and II were pretty good, but part III is atrocious.  Not sure I will finish it. 
  • Mercy Street - tremendous first season

Lectures

Listened to:
  • Robert E. Lee and His High Command, taught By Professor Gary W. Gallagher via The Teaching Company
  • American Civil War, taught By Professor Gary W. Gallagher via The Teaching Company

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9 comments:

  1. Brian JosephAugust 14, 2012

    Thanks for the great list. I am very interested in American History. Though I have a good grasp of its "Basics," I have never really focused upon the American Civil War. I have Shelby Foote's Civil War Series sitting on my book shelf but have not read it yet.

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  2. AnnaAugust 14, 2012

    Thanks for linking to the list that we compiled on War Through the Generations. Feel free to email us links to any reviews you post on Civil War books, and we'll link those, too. warthroughgenerations at gmail dot com

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  3. SerenaAugust 14, 2012

    Anna and I are pleased that you've linked to the list of reviews we compiled for the Civil War. Please feel free to contribute your own review links and we'll get them posted.

    I hope, too, that you will consider joining our new reading challenges -- for 2012 it is WWI.

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  4. LisaAugust 14, 2012

    Great lists! Ken Burns' Civil War was one of the most incredible things I've ever watched and Glory makes me cry every time I see it, even if I don't watch to the end!

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  5. AnonymousAugust 23, 2012

    I loved The Class of 1846. You're the first fellow blogger I've seen that has read it. I even got emotional when reading about Stonewall Jackson's death, and I do NOT get emotional. :-)

    -Ay

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  6. marufhosenApril 27, 2013

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  7. *ೃ༄ JillianJune 06, 2017

    This is SUCH a great list. :)

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  8. CLMJuly 02, 2023

    I have to admit I prefer the English Civil War but I have read several of the fiction titles listed. I read everything John Jakes wrote my senior year of high school when a blizzard shut down Massachusetts (I think a neighbor felt sorry for me running out of library books). Later, when I took the Radcliffe Publishing Course, we had to create a mock group of books to publish and reached out to Jakes' agent to have him write a saga about Charlemagne. Apparently, he thought it sounded like great fun and gave us permission to use his name.

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    Replies
    1. JaneGSJuly 05, 2023

      I find the English Civil War extremely interesting too, and my interest means I usually can answer related Jeopardy questions, which is always a bonus. Cool John Jakes story :)

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