My Bookshelf

Friends,

Since we have been discussing the written word this week, I thought I would take a moment today to mention my current reading project.  I am (slowly) working my way through The Bloody Crucible of Courage by Brent Nosworthy.  You can find it here.  It is a fairly weighty tome, coming in at 752 pages.  That breaks down into 660 pages of text and 68 pages of notes/bibliography.  The remainder belongs to the index.  The author sets out to examine not just the fighting methods of the Civil War, but also place it alongside the combat experience of the soldiers.

It is a massive undertaking!  This book is not for the faint of heart.  Only serious Civil War students would enjoy this.  Mr. Nosworthy seeks to set the Civil War within the context of other military tactical and technological developments from Europe which took place before and after our Civil War.  To that end, I think he does a very good job.  Plus, he includes a lot of tactical maps which I love!  I could stare at a battlefield map all day.  But for those who want a really good examination of all matters tactical and technological, this is the book you'll want to read.

Dear Readers, do you ever find yourself reading a Civil War book and saying "D--n!  I wish I had written that!"  Alas, I do.  And all too often.  So I will leave you with this question, "What Civil War book are you currently reading?"

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict who is happy to announce an upcoming special blog post featuring an interview with the producer/director of a documentary on the Western Theater that will air in the spring.  Stay tuned for more!