Customer Reviews

Chickamauga: Bloody Battle in the West

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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One of the major problems of Civil War history is that it can easily be told in the most boring of ways. Unit vs unit. Positioning of regiments. Lengthy debates about flanks being left up in the air. Detail IS important to any history, but what sets Glenn Tucker apart from so many other authors of this genre is that he tells a hell of a fine story. Because of his writing, he has become one of my top two favorite Civil War authors (Dowdy being the other, although you could make a fine argument for Shelby Foote too). Tucker takes this pivotable battle in the west - the equivalent of Gettysburg - and brings it alive through the people who fought the battle - the privates and the generals, the farmers and the townspeople. It's easy to assume the Union was saved at Gettysburg. In truth, it could have been lost at Chichamauga just a few months later.

Not much can be added to the previous review, I fully agree on the comments made. A well researched and presented book, very easy to read and follow. One of the best books on this battle I have read to date (this authors book on Gettysburg was one of the first books I had ever read on the American Civil War and I reckon one of the easiest to read on that famous battle). This book is worth the time to sit down and relax and enjoy a good read with a cup of coffee!

Glenn Tucker won the Fletcher Pratt Award for his very good book 'Chickamauga: Bloody Battle in the West' in 1961. Reading the book one can still see why. Though superseded by Peter Cozzens' 1992 'This Terrible Sound' I believe that Tucker's book on Chickamauga still has quite a bit of merit. Tucker writes in the charming 'old school' fashion of a Bruce Catton that is very easy to read. His book has decent maps and his writing makes the campaign and battle easier to follow. He also does a good job at sketching personalities and Braxton Bragg, William Rosecrans, George Thomas, James Longstreet and Nathan Bedford Forrest come alive in his pages. He is sympathetic to these flawed but all fascinating characters. The average foot soldier is also not forgotten. Tucker also is very good in depicting the ebb and the flow of the battle and the harshness of the fighting, terrain, and climate. His endnotes also contain some good information, containing especially interesting info on the odd weather conditions of 1863 in the United States.

Highly recommended!