Has anyone here read Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy? I know he became super famous from the Ken Burns doc, but I wondered if it was worth diving into those books.
He was respected by other writers (and was childhood friends with Walker Percy), but not so well known. He was sort of getting by as a fiction writer before negotiating the commission for what became his trilogy.VanZandt92 said:
I'm no Civil War buff, but wasn't Foote pretty well known before that?
ChiliBeans said:He was respected by other writers (and was childhood friends with Walker Percy), but not so well known. He was sort of getting by as a fiction writer before negotiating the commission for what became his trilogy.VanZandt92 said:
I'm no Civil War buff, but wasn't Foote pretty well known before that?
If you mean before the Burns documentary, the documentary definitely did a lot for his reputation. I'm not old enough to say for sure, but I doubt he had the recognition of other popular historians like Bruce Catton.
Well, when 100% of the casualties are American and it sets the groundwork for the national direction for the next century or so, it does tend to draw considerable attention.........VanZandt92 said:ChiliBeans said:He was respected by other writers (and was childhood friends with Walker Percy), but not so well known. He was sort of getting by as a fiction writer before negotiating the commission for what became his trilogy.VanZandt92 said:
I'm no Civil War buff, but wasn't Foote pretty well known before that?
If you mean before the Burns documentary, the documentary definitely did a lot for his reputation. I'm not old enough to say for sure, but I doubt he had the recognition of other popular historians like Bruce Catton.
Here's to the most over studied conflict ever.
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Weird thing is that kids know very little about the Civil War. They all think that our country is the most polarized it has ever been. BS! Study some civil war history.
It was emphasized when I was in middle school. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the generational change of teachers and their interests. I also had parents who were interested in visiting battlefields on family trips, so I was lucky to have parents who wanted to see the things I wanted to see, including statues of ancestors.Quote:
Weird thing is that kids know very little about the Civil War.
The real shame of course is that the books aren't narrated by Shelby himselfMr. AGSPRT04 said:
Back to the OP...I own the trilogy in hardback. It's a great read, and has lead me to undertake several battle field visits. Unfortunately, it takes forever for me to get through a book of any length because I never seem to find the time required. But I am hooked on audio books played through my iPhone (I use Audible). That way I can listen while commuting or traveling for business, doing tasks around the house, getting ready for work in the morning, etc. I can also play the audio back faster than I could otherwise read and comprehend. I have the first 2 volumes on Audible as narrated by Grover Gardner. For some reason I have been unable to determine, the 3rd volume appears to have been withdrawn from sale...I've got to track that down.
Change Detection said:
I saw an interview with SF and he wrote all 3 books with a dip pen. The books are huge and he hand wrote each with a dip pen.
The Civil War is not over studied, more truths come out as things are re-evaluated. For instance, the death toll is being recalculated to 800K or more, up from 650K.
Weird thing is that kids know very little about the Civil War. They all think that our country is the most polarized it has ever been. BS! Study some civil war history.