The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta [Hardcover]

Marc Wortman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2009

The destruction of Atlanta is an iconic moment in American history—it was the centerpiece of Gone with the Wind. But though the epic sieges of Leningrad, Stalingrad, and Berlin have all been explored in bestselling books, the one great American example has been treated only cursorily in more general histories. Marc Wortman remedies that conspicuous absence in grand fashion with The Bonfire, an absorbing narrative history told through the points of view of key participants both Confederate and Union.

The Bonfire reveals an Atlanta of unexpected paradoxes: a new mercantile city dependent on the primitive institution of slavery; governed by a pro-Union mayor, James Calhoun, whose cousin was a famous defender of the South. When he surrendered the city to General Sherman after forty-four terrible days, Calhoun was accompanied by Bob Yancey, a black slave likely the son of Union advocate Daniel Webster. Atlanta was both the last of the medieval city sieges and the first modern urban devastation. From its ashes, a new South would arise.

Editorial Reviews

Review

James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom
“Next to Richmond, Atlanta was the most important Confederate city by 1864. Its fall in September of that year signaled the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. Among the many books about General William T. Sherman's Atlanta campaign, The Bonfire stands out for its focus on the experience of Atlantans themselves. Marc Wortman's vivid narrative proves that war is indeed hell.”

Debby Applegate, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher
“The Bonfire is a tour de force of American Civil War history, with everything a reader could want: Extraordinary original research, vivid prose and old-fashioned suspense.”

Booklist
“Wortman’s very absorbing account of the Battle of Atlanta draws on the perspectives of individuals on both sides of the conflict and includes the story of the growth of Atlanta from a railroad junction in the late 1830s to a village in the ‘40s to a major metropolis by the time of the Civil War. That story is fascinating…. Atlanta was awash with contradictions.”

Philip Lee Williams, Michael Shaara Prize-winning author of The Campfire Boys
“Prepare to luxuriate in gorgeous prose, first-rate scholarship, and to discover page by page why Atlanta became the city it is today…. This is one of the most important Civil War books in years. It certainly is a book that anyone who wants to understand the war or current-day Georgia or Atlanta simply must own.”

Washington City Paper
“A chilling narrative.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“From the lurid flames of Gone with the Wind to the phoenix on the city seal, the fiery destruction of Atlanta during the Civil War occupies a central place in the city's mythology. In The Bonfire, Marc Wortman goes beyond the legend to reveal a history that is more complicated, but no less dramatic, than anything that came from Margaret Mitchell’s pen. [It] is a tale of divided loyalties, political intrigue and tremendous human suffering. Wortman’s real talent lies in portraying the life of the city and its residents. His ability to create a deft, rich picture of Atlanta during this tumultuous period is what makes The Bonfire both invaluable history and a gripping read.”

Winston Groom, Wall Street Journal
“An admirable account of the circumstances leading to the fall of the city.”

Review

James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom
“Next to Richmond, Atlanta was the most important Confederate city by 1864. Its fall in September of that year signaled the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. Among the many books about General William T. Sherman's Atlanta campaign, The Bonfire stands out for its focus on the experience of Atlantans themselves. Marc Wortman's vivid narrative proves that war is indeed hell.”

Debby Applegate, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher
“The Bonfire is a tour de force of American Civil War history, with everything a reader could want: Extraordinary original research, vivid prose and old-fashioned suspense.”

Booklist
“Wortman’s very absorbing account of the Battle of Atlanta draws on the perspectives of individuals on both sides of the conflict and includes the story of the growth of Atlanta from a railroad junction in the late 1830s to a village in the ‘40s to a major metropolis by the time of the Civil War. That story is fascinating…. Atlanta was awash with contradictions.”

Philip Lee Williams, Michael Shaara Prize-winning author of The Campfire Boys
“Prepare to luxuriate in gorgeous prose, first-rate scholarship, and to discover page by page why Atlanta became the city it is today…. This is one of the most important Civil War books in years. It certainly is a book that anyone who wants to understand the war or current-day Georgia or Atlanta simply must own.”

Washington City Paper
“A chilling narrative.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“From the lurid flames of Gone with the Wind to the phoenix on the city seal, the fiery destruction of Atlanta during the Civil War occupies a central place in the city's mythology. In The Bonfire, Marc Wortman goes beyond the legend to reveal a history that is more complicated, but no less dramatic, than anything that came from Margaret Mitchell’s pen. [It] is a tale of divided loyalties, political intrigue and tremendous human suffering. Wortman’s real talent lies in portraying the life of the city and its residents. His ability to create a deft, rich picture of Atlanta during this tumultuous period is what makes The Bonfire both invaluable history and a gripping read.”

Winston Groom, Wall Street Journal
“An admirable account of the circumstances leading to the fall of the city.”

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; First Edition, First Printing edition (August 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586484826
• ISBN-13: 978-1586484828
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #758,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful, August 9, 2009

By 

jolomo (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta (Hardcover)

The most fully realized depiction of wartime Atlanta from boom city in transportation, manufacturing and commerce to its siege, evacuation and destruction. He weaves well-chosen dialog and thoughts from letters, many diarists and contemporary newspaper accounts to paint a complete picture of the time. I was impressed that he was able to balance these threads while also keeping tabs on important outside action which effected the city -- always anchoring the story with the voices of those involved. Six accurate maps in the start help to pinpoint where everything happened.

In a great year for books covering Atlanta's history, "The Bonfire" stands out.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gift to the Reader, August 29, 2009

By 

R. King (Culver City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta (Hardcover)

Marc Wortman has done a masterful job of conveying a sense of deeply personalized history yet keeping the city of Atlanta itself as the central character in the story. When I read a pair of sentences such as the two that follow, I feel engaged in a gripping story:

"A Georgia up-country reel was in the offing in which the partners would approach like courting mates, touch briefly and tellingly, and then deflect across and away until they met again, around ridges and rivers, repeating their steps until, like lovers, they fell into a deep embrace. But here the embrace was that of war."

I love how people like Lincoln and Grant are mere peripheral characters, ones whose influences are certainly felt, but who are far from the core of the story. Instead, people like the slave/entrepreneur Bob Webster become our heroes (heroes not without flaws mind you) by tending to the Union wounded left to rot in the post battle sun.

The fascinating character of Sherman is presented in such a way that our focus on him becomes increasingly clear as the tale gets closer and closer to its climax and returns to him again in a contemplative fashion several years later in a post war Atlanta visit with his daughters.

I feel like I have just scratched the surface in terms of how much I appreciate this book. It is a wonderful accomplishment by Mr. Wortman and a gift to anyone who reads it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Atlanta History (1830-1880), October 1, 2009

By 

Old North State (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta (Hardcover)

Wortman has found an interesting way to portray the history of a city over a half-century of development during trying time. Using Atlanta in 1864, when it was the center of the focus of war in the Western Theater, as the pivot point of his story, Wortman goes back to the period of the removal of the Native Americans from the area and brings his story up to the Civil War period. He does this by selecting a few of Atlanta's diverse citizens, telling how they came to be in Atlanta during the Civil War, what happened to them during this period, and what happened to the city at large. This is not a story of war, so much as it is the story of what war can do to a city and it's citizens. It is also a story of how such citizens face adversity. Wortman tells an interesting story, making the history of this city over this half-century come alive in a very personal way.