6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Confused, Disorienting, Brutal Book Mirrors Combat, December 16, 2003
This is a different kind of Civil War book, a micro history covering a brief period time through the lens of scores of Confederates and Unionists who simultaneously experienced the artillery duel and Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863.
Priest delivers the same type of book he produced in "Antietam: The Soldier's Battle." Both are combat participant's view of the conflict (although Antietam takes in the full day's battle), and seek to tell the story through the lens of utter confusion and immediate focus that describes the warrior's contemporary understanding of what he is pursuing.
As such, this book jumps, sometimes paragraph by paragraph, among scores of participants to describe the intensity and locus of what was happening over roughly fifteen minute increments during those famous afternoon hours. It is impossible to follow characters throughout the book; though many reappear over the book's some 200 pages, they are not meant to be the focus of a drama or military biography.
I suspect Priest's method of letting the soldiers' recollections drive the pace of this fast-paced and confusing combat portrait is to try and recreate -- as much as a book can -- the utterly confusing, disorienting, violent and formless experience of combat. In this, the author succeeds brilliantly.
This book is probably not for the first time Civil War reader and will disappoint anyone looking for the story of Pickett's Charge in terms of where it stood in Lee's strategy and the Battle of Gettysburg. But for the Civil War aficionado, Priest's work delivers a wonderful micro history that has carried this reader closer to the action -- what I imagine the real action -- than any other author.
This is history written before units are marked on maps (although Priest's maps are excellent, numerous and easy to follow) and before the likes of Coddington, Sears or Catton have had a chance to tell the larger story. For any reader wanting to get a feel of what it must have been like to charge into the bullets and canister flying from Cemetery Ridge like wind driven rain, this book can't be beat.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Micro-History at its best !, December 31, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Into the Fight: Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg (Hardcover)
John Michael Priest has once again displayed the literary art to which he seems born. This book is so utterly enthralling, it is almost like reading a novel. Even the veteran of many Gettysburg book readings will hinge on the story of Pickett's charge as told by Priest. His use of numerous primary sources lends to his telling of the story by the participants themselves. Each individual story then coalesces into a coherent and understandable analysis of how the charge developed and died. Priest gives both Confederate and Union impressions an equal treatment, creating a full veiw of the action. His writing brings out the horror, sadness, terror, pride, honor and exhultation felt by those actually present on that fateful day. Previous knowledge of the battle or Pickett's action is not needed to enjoy this work. Priest follows the action closely, developing it enough for the beginner or simply curious to understand. For those with a background in Civil War history, even Pickett's charge, the personal accounts still make the account a worthwhile read.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent! Not to be missed, July 31, 2003
Taking us back to that fateful day on July 3rd 1863, John Michael Priest does indeed take us "INTO THE FIGHT" as we are told the story of Pickett's Charge. While reading this book, one can't help but be transported back in time to that smoke filled battlefield on the ridges of Gettysburg. By using first hand accounts by the soldiers who were there, Priest gives the reader a vivid picture of what it must have been like to experience the terror of that chaotic day's fighting from both Union & Confederate sides. Numerous maps throughout the book (25 to be exact) clearly illustrate troop movements and artillery placement making it easy for the reader to follow along as the action unfolds. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anybody interested in understanding the third days fighting at Gettysburg. The maps alone are worth the price of admission.
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