Can anyone suggest some good American history books about either the Colonial/Revolutionary period or the Civil War?
Can anyone suggest some good American history books about either the Colonial/Revolutionary period or the Civil War?
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Non-fiction .The Longest Night-a Military History of the American Civil War .by David I Eicher.
Civil War novels Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara..And The Killer Angels by Michael Shears.
Thank you, @Fred. I will definitely look them up.
Read works of Michael Shaara and his son Jeff Shaara.
I read the Killer Angels and thought it was excellent. I should check out some of his other books. Thanks for recommending them.
1776
I read David McCullough’s 1776 and thought it was excellent. I also really liked his book John Adams. He is an excellent historical writer. Thanks for recommending it.
I could not remember author of 1776, Thanks. Have heard good things about John Adams.
@Jill Because of McCullough’s book, John Adams has become my favorite revolutionary. His role in arguing for independence has been understated in a lot of historical writings. He was definitely a key player! Loved that book.
The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words by Ronald C. White Jr
Thank you! I will have to read this. Lincoln is the best president we have ever had—at least in my opinion. Have you read Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin? It is excellent.
You’re welcome! I haven’t read it, but I will. Thank you!
@Yael You are welcome! Enjoy.
I need to read this! Thanks for suggesting it.
@Patricia, my pleasure.
There’s a life-size statue of William Tecumseh Sherman on horseback at the Fifth Avenue south entrance of Central Park in New York City. I used to bring my dates there and tell them that he was my ancestor.???
Tracy Sherman What fun! I wondered if you were related to him when I saw your name. You could certainly have fun with your dates!
@Patricia, not related that I know of. Although I was nervous when I went through Georgia.
LOL. I know what you mean.
I just finished this on Wednesday! It was very interesting. Grant mentioned Sherman’s Memoirs in his book and I put it on my need to read list. Thanks for recommending this.
@Patricia, fantastic book and a very interesting if flawed man.
I’ve seen two plays about him, one just about he struggles to write his memoirs as he was in intense pain and dying from cancer of the jaw.
He was urged to finish the help of his publisher Mark Twain.
@Tracy Yes. I think it was his determination to finish his books that kept him alive so long. He was very motivated/driven and this shows up in his campaigns and leadership during the Civil War. I wonder if Lincoln’s assassination outcome would have been different if Grant had actually gone to the theater with Lincoln. We might have lost Grant as well.
@Patricia or saved Lincoln.
@Tracy Yes, I agree that Grant might have been able to prevent Lincoln’s assassination.
@Patricia, that’s a novel waiting to be written.
I know! Are you up to it?
I already have one book and a short story I’m procrastinating on.
?
And they both do have real people in fictionalized settings.
@Tracy Are they historical settings?
@Patricia, yes but fictionalized.
The novel is set around 1918 and the short story is set in 1931-32.
@Tracy Oh. The novel is set around the end of WWI and the short story is set during the Great Depression—2 very interesting and challenging periods in American history.
@Patricia, and they’re involved with the movie industry of the time.
Why did you choose that industry? Just curious, not criticizing. Are you involved with the movie industry?
Sorry, I’m getting busy at work, I’ll respond soon
@Patricia, sorry to take so long to get back to you.
I was an actor back in NYC, stage and one man shows but I love movies. I especially love the early years of the film industry. I’ve done a lot of reading on it and I just love those times and people.
I love movies too–especially the classics. What are some of your favorite movies?
Recently I’ve been watching a lot of old comedies. The Marx Brothers, WC Fields, William Powell and Myrna Loy in the Thin Man series.
Mel Brooks too.
My favorite director is Akira Kurosawa.
I also love the old Universal horror films.
And silent like the films of Buster Keaton and Roscoe Arbuckle.
How about you?
I saw the recent Blade Runner, which I didn’t like. And the Star Wars which I did like.
I love all of the old comedies, especially the Marx brothers and W.C. Fields. The slapstick comedy still makes me laugh. It was good, clean fun. I like historical movies, especially those set in the Revolutionary or Civil War periods. Gettysburg comes to mind as do Killing Lincoln, Lincoln. There is a documentary coming out this year called the Gettysburg Address which I am anxious to see.
I missed seeing the Star Wars movie, but I did see The Post and The Darkest Hour. I really liked both of them. I read the Darkest Hour book and found it very good. I will have to see the Star Wars video when it comes out.
@Patricia, I didn’t see The Post or The Darkest Hour.
I’m sure you’ve seen the Ken Burns’ Civil War.
Yes! I bought it as well. I have a huge collection of movies. I collect movies and books. Have thousands of books and almost 500 movies. That is no exaggeration. I love comedies like the Grumpy Old Men movies, the Home Alone movies; musicals like My Fair Lady, Sound of Music, and my all-time favorite, Gone With the Wind. I have read that book too many times to count.
I have tons of books and movies too.
And music.
Most of my stuff is in storage back in the states but I have a lot of moves, books, and music here too.
@Tracy I have music too. Where are you?
@Patricia, I’m in Tokyo, Japan.
How about you?
Are you there for work? I am in Minnesota. And home for the day since we are in the middle of a snow storm. I have been up since 4:00 and am going to sign off for a while.
I’m an English teacher here.
You must be exhausted, sorry to keep you up.
I used to visit Minneapolis a lot.
Take care and be safe in the snow storm.
Sorry, I just wanted to leave you with this, about the US Grant play I had mentioned before.
Sweet dreams.
http://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/09/theater/theater-cold-harbor-the-life-of-us-grant.html
@Tracy Were you in this play? You mentioned that you were an actor in NY.
I taught English classes at the University of Minnesota for 4 years. I loved it.
@Patricia, no I wasn’t in this play but they were one of my favorite acting groups.
@Tracy It sounds like it was a great play.
@Patricia, really amazing. I saw it a few times.
@Tracy, what fun. I love going to the theater. The Twin Cities has a very active theater community, and I used to go to plays all the time. I had season tickets to the Guthrie for many years, but I don’t go to plays very much any more. I would love to see Hamilton, but the performances in Minneapolis have all ready sold out. I am reading the book now and it is very good. But, then, it is about one of my favorite periods in American history.
@Patricia, there was always plays to see in NYC, my hometown. From Broadway and opera to down town off off Broadway and experimental theater.
And even free Shakespeare in the park.
I found a review of the other US Grant play I was talking about, the one with Mark Twain. This was also fantastic and I was it a number of times. I just thought it was great.
https://www.upi.com/Guare-play-deals-with-US-Grant-memory/37721024335791/
Hamilton sounds amazing.
Tracy, thanks for sharing the review. I would have loved to see both of these plays. I have started reading several books about WWII. Most of the history courses I took in college somehow always seemed to run out of time before we got to the 20th Century, so I never really studied it before. I started out by reading several of Bill O’Reilly’s books and got drawn into that period in American history. I am not a fan of O’Reilly, but I do like his books. I have minors in American History and Political Science and have always loved studying these topics. I especially like books about John Adams. I think he is my favorite patriot and thoroughly enjoyed David McCullough’s books–John Adams and 1776. Both are really great historical reads.
@Tracy, Hamilton does sound amazing. Have you gone to any Japanese plays? Or seen any Japanese movies? I don’t know much about Japan, except for what I have been reading about WWII. Do they have movie production companies, or do they mostly show American movies.
@Patricia, the only play I’ve seen here has been a small theatre company’s English language Macbeth.
Japan has a thriving film industry. They have had since the silent era.
Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa is my favorite. If you can see any of his film I highly recommend them. He’s was one of the world’s great filmmakers.
I love this quote by Mark Twain: “Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life!” Yes!
I never got into the earlier history of the US. I guess I stopped at the Civil War. I was a huge fan of western movies as a kid so maybe that’s why.
Did you ever see silent film, The General by Buster Keaton? Based on a true Civil War event, and a comedy.
I love Mark Twain. My New Years resolution was to read him and Charles Dickens this year.
I’m stuck on Dickens because his stories are so sad. I can’t read them.
I have always had a hard time reading Dickens for that very reason. I thoroughly enjoy Mark Twain though. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are two of my favorites although I did enjoy The Prince and the Pauper too. Did you ever see the movie of the same name that starred Errol Flynn? It came out in the late 1930s I think. I know there have been many other movies based on Twain’s book, but I really like this older version.
The Prince and the Pauper with Errol Flynn?
That sounds amazing.
I love his Robin Hood.
I like Dickens but it’s so emotionally draining.
The 1935 David Copperfield movie is great, and it features WC Fields!
Fields was an expert on Dickens.
@Tracy I think Mark Twain is the greatest American humorist ever. I found his Life on the Mississippi fascinating. He is such a good writer and story-teller.
I did not see the 1935 movie with WC Fields. It is hard to envision him as Copperfield since I remember him mostly as doing comedy. It was fun to watch him when he paired with Mae West. They were outstanding together.
I am going to sign off for a while. I have enjoyed chatting with you.
@Patricia, my pleasure.
I look forward to talking with you again.
The Civil War: A Narrative (1958–1974) is a three volume, 2,968-page, 1.2 million-word history of the American Civil War by Shelby Foote. Although previously known as a novelist, Foote is most famous for this non-fictional narrative history. While it touches on political and social themes, the main thrust of the work is military history. The individual volumes include Fort Sumter to Perryville (1958), Fredericksburg to Meridian (1963), and Red River to Appomattox (1974).
For many this is the definitive work.
For the Colonial /Revolutionary period a useful and eminently readable book is “American Colonies-The Settlement of North America to 1800″by Alan Taylor.which goes back to the very earliest European settlements and has an excellent section on the Revolutionary War.
For a good novel on the Revolution you could do worse than “Redcoat “by Bernard Cornwell.
Thank you, Fred. I will add both of these to my “Need to Read” list!
Another great recommendation, Tracy. Thank you. I have this 3-volume narrative and read it many years ago. Maybe I should reread this.
America’s First Daughter
I hadn’t heard of this book before. I looked it up on Google, and it sounds really interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.
@Patricia I really enjoyed it.
@Sherri I am looking forward to reading it.
@Tracy, sorry it took me so long to respond to your post. I did see The General with Buster Keaton. It was very good. I loved westerns as a kid, and grew up on the Saturday morning line-up on television. There were so many westerns then. I loved Gary Cooper in High Noon, and John Wayne was always a favorite.