Killer Angels as well as Ambrose Bierce stories.
Juvenile fiction: Across Five Aprils, In My Father's House (McClean family lives at Manassas at beginning of Civil War and moves to Appomattox to get away from war. Basically in the story the war starts in their front yard and ends in the living room where Lee and Grant sign surrender)and The Last Silk Dress

I forgot to mention "Sea of Gray" which is a non-fiction account of the CSS Shenandoah. This was an incredible read and I highly recommend it. I skimmed through "Last Flag Down" on the same subject, but haven’t committed to it yet.

I’m currently reading "Jack Hinson's One Man War" about a Confederate sniper who was forced into guerilla combat in Western TN after the brutal murder of his sons at the hands of occupying Union forces. I'll report back later on my final assessment of it.

While not up to the literary standards of the books listed here, the White Mansions music is enjoyable for a casual listen. Tells the story of bluster, conversion, loss, and hardship.

Plus, it has Waylon narrating!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Mansions

here's a sample:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k81sbhiel1A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHzMdrh6hLE

Disk One here:

http://www.amazon.com/Confederate-Tales-White-Mansions-Jesse/dp/B001NZZOM0/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1264631460&sr=301-1


[This message has been edited by Cepe (edited 1/27/2010 4:35p).]

terata...I have to agree with you...that was going to be my favorite, though it is a short story, it had an interesting twist (so to speak) at the end; if I remember right, it was by O.Henry.

this made me remember one of my favorites

Harold Coyle
author of Team Yankee, Code of Honor and several other good ones had a Civil War "series"

Look Away
http://books.google.com/books?id=fdLmwD_9u-sC&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Until the End
http://books.google.com/books?id=8nPhy_vj2hEC&dq=coyle+until+the+end&source=gbs_navlinks_s

quote:

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if I remember right, it was by O.Henry

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I'm not following you Lee, Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was by Bierce, and The Monster was by S. Crane. Both are exceptional reads though.

(The Jack Hinson story should also prove to be an interesting read. There was a half page summary of the events described therein in an issue of Cavalry back in the 90's, I think. I'll see if I can find that old copy and update the board.)

You're probably right about the author; it's been a LOOOOONG time since I've read that story (Fish year maybe?) and a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. It was still a good story and seems that someone made a short TV episode based on the story as well.

I will second the Starbuck Chronicles.

I must be in the minority because Killer Angels just didn't do much for me. Not a fan of the son's books either.

quote:

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seems that someone made a short TV episode based on the story as well.

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You are correct, sir. There was a French production distributed in the 1960s that aired on the old Twilight Zone series. It's been a while since I've seen it, but it stayed quite close to the telling of the story as I recall. There may have been more than one video produced, but the TZ episode is the one I remember. Good job, Lee.

David Poyer is a pretty successful writer of modern naval (and other) fiction a la The Dan Lenson Series. He has a fiction Civil War series that read well if you like books about the war at sea:

Fire on the Waters : A Novel of the Civil War at Sea, Simon & Schuster 2003

A Country of Our Own: A Novel of the Confederate Raiders, Simon & Schuster 2005

That Anvil of Our Souls: A Novel of the Monitor and the Merrimack, Simon & Schuster 2006

I like Poyer a lot...

I liked April 1865. Pretty interesting reads. But the best was KA.

quote:

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I liked April 1865

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Yes, this was ver good....

Has anyone read Winston Groom's "Vicksburg 1863".......?

ttt

I finished “Jack Hinson’s One Man War” by Tom McKenney a while ago.
In short, Jack Hinson became a Confederate Guerilla Sniper after his two non-combatant sons were brutally murdered by Union Patrols in Tennessee.
It is a very interesting and well researched book. The story itself is stranger and more fascinating than fiction.
The book does drag on in its overly detailed description of local battles and guerilla tactics. Too often the author strays from the subject matter of the book to venture off into other area / period subjects. This made the story hard to follow and finish.
As I stated earlier, the research and back ground information is clearly presented and top notch, but the telling of the story was lost by the details. Perhaps a better raconteur will pick up where this author left off and add more allure to the subject. I recommend the book to any Civil War enthusiasts, but caution the casual reader.


I also just finished “The Black Flower” by Howard Bahr which is a fiction work set around the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee. This was perhaps one of the better fiction works I’ve ever read of any subject. I did not find it to be a romance piece as some other reviews have painted it. The author’s use of dreams and paranormal influences really keep the story moving along. There is a very Southern Gothic feel to it. I highly recommend it. I enjoyed it enough to order “The Year of Jubilo” by the same author.

Winston Groom's Vicksburg is written with a more casual reader in mind. He is a novelist writing history (but not with the flair of a Shelby Foote). He does perpetrate some myths as history in his Vicksburg book as he did with his Franklin book too. Still it is accessible and readable-- a popular history but very far from the definitive work on the subject.

If you want a really thick read, try Brent Nosworthy's "The Bloody Crucible of Courage"

He does a great job of looking into the development of combat strategies and tactics, weapons, and the transition of warfare through out the Civil War.

http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Crucible-Courage-Fighting-Experience/dp/0786715634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266946481&sr=1-1

Does anyone read the people who were there, any more? Just asking.

JJ:

All the time.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge probably made the best Twilight Zone episode ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jLxlyTrAC4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sWk2bY-Qj4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D__Q7G16cog&feature=related

I would have to list the Killer Angels too as my favorite book, although I also enjoyed Shelby Foote's 3 volume history. I think my favorite part of the Killer Angels is the defense of Little Round Top.

Stealing the General by Russel Bonds

I am currently reading this. So far a very well written account of the "Great Locomotive Chase".