Customer Reviews

Stonewall Jackson at Gettysburg

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Generously immersed in historical fact, I found myself forgetting at times where fact ends and the "what if" takes over. Gibboney works this concept superbly and his excellent knowledge of civil war history rewards him well as he deftly paves a side road to historical reality. I anxiously await more literary magic from this gifted writer.

Although this books is classed as "juvenile fiction" and is perhaps not as complex as a novel for adults, Gibboney has come up with an original idea in the treatment of Gettysburg that makes the book worth reading by any alternate history fan. I.e., that the battle might have been fought elsewhere. Now admittedly there have been few other novel-length treatments of an alternate Gettysburg (Tsouras's detailed book is the only one that springs to mind), but Gibboney is apaprently the first to describe how a bad first day at Gettysburg could have led the Union to retreat, and the climatic battle is fought somewhere down the road. Thus, in Gibboney's world, we would today be still talking about the Battle of Taneytown.

Well illus., great CDV of Robert E. Lee signed on the image

I am a native of Gettysburg and a student of the battle. I was looking forward to Douglas Gibboney's book as I have often wondered how the battle might have been influenced by the presence of Stonewall Jackson.

Gibboney moves the battle out of Gettysburg after the first day which is probably what Jackson would have convinced Lee to do, but in that case, the title is misleading. I was disappointed.

This work provides an entertaining look into what may have transpired during the Battle of Gettysburg. True, the outcome may have been different, but one can never really know.

I'm often asked, "...what would Jackson have done at Gettysburg if he were alive.", and my response usually is, - "Stink, since he'd been dead for a while". Now there is at least one new senerio for the armchair historian to ponder.

Quite interesting and a fun read.

Of course, Jackson being at Gettysburgh is one of the biggest "what ifs" of all time. However, this author really doens't put much thought into the battle that could have happened. The battle that happens in this book is won by the South because they "try harder" for Jackson. If you want a what if book, read "Gettysburgh" by Newt Gingrich because this book stinks.

Why would anyone think that they could improve on the
tremendous drama of the history of the Gettysburg Campaign, especially with the hackneyed idea of Stonewall
Jackson's presence at Gettysburg? Don't waste your time
with so-called alternate history, study and learn about the
real events, often stranger than any fiction.