Fields of Honor

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Few historians have ever captured the drama, excitement, and tragedy of the War Between the States quite like Edwin Bearss The acclaimed Homer of the Civil War, has won a huge, devoted following with his extraordinary battlefield tours and eloquent soliloquies about the heroes, scoundrels, and little known moments of a conflict that still fascinates America Antietam, Shiloh, Chickamauga, Gettysburg these hallowed battles and than a dozen come alive as never before, rich with human interest and colorful detail culled from a lifetime of study Illustrated with detailed maps and archival images, this 448 page volume commemorates the 140th anniversary of the war s end with a unique narrative of its most critical battles, translating Bearss inimitable delivery into print As he guides readers from the first shots at Fort Sumter to Gettysburg s bloody fields to the dignified surrender at Appomattox, his engagingly plainspoken but expert account demonstrates why he stands beside Shelby Foote, James McPherson, and Ken Burns in the front rank of modern chroniclers of the Civil War, as the Pulitzer Prize winning McPherson himself points out in his admiring introduction A must for every one of America s countless Civil War and history buffs alike, this major work will stand as an important reference and enduring legacy of a great historian for generations to come. Best Read [ Fields of Honor ] By [ Edwin C. Bearss ] – kino-fada.fr Mr Bearss truly shows his expertise, but unless one is themselves something of a scholar of the Civil War this book would be very difficult to follow The narrative is no where near as powerful as it might be if there was better development of the characters I know this is not fic...I enjoyed this book It is exactly what it says it is on the book jacket a collection of battlefield tours conducted by former National Park Service Chief Historian Ed Bearss Personally I have visited all the major battlefields that are covered in this book, some of the battles leading up to them that are covered in brief I have not, but I could see where if you have not visited Shiloh battlefield and only have a cursor...Bearss account reads as if you re standing on the battlefield with him, tour map on hand, listening to him describe the action You ve just done a tour of the National Parks museum, watched the short film clip and studied the dioramas Bearss is giving you the final tour before you head off to grab lunch.That s the problem.The book is useless to the uninitiated The maps don t adequately match the narrative He ll describe locations and units and commanders who are absent from the maps entirely Bearss account reads as if you re standing on the battlefield with him, tour map on hand, listening to him describe the action You ve just done a tour of the National Parks museum, watched the short film clip and studied the dioramas Bearss is giving you the final tour before you head off to grab lunch.That s the problem.The book is useless to the uninitiated The maps don t adequately match the narrative He ll describe locations and units and commanders who are absent from the maps entirely.This was a tremendously confusing book What little I knew about certain battles in question helped me get through those accounts, but where I didn t know anything about them I was totally lost He strays constantly with sideline anecdotes on the various personalities involved in the narrative At times he repeats himself, telling twice how Lee growled his discontent with George Pickett, whom he relie...The last chapter, about Grant s pursuit of Lee s worn down army to Appomattox was the best part of the book, a great finish It was exciting, detailed, and easy to follow the action Bearss astounding attention to detail mak...One of the best ways to experience past conflicts from history is to visit the battlefields In Edwin Bearss Fields of Honor, readers have an opportunity to tour the American Civil War battle grounds without actually having to physically be there on the field Civil War historian James M McPherson offers an introduction to the book that provides background on Edwin Bearss that includes his authority on not only the sub...I haven t read a lot of Civil War books, so maybe I m not as qualified as others to comment on this effort by US National Park Service Historian Emeritus Edwin C Bearss But this is some pretty hard and dull reading I was expecting to hear stories about some of the important battlefields of the Civil War, and while there are a few good nuggets in here, most of it is simply Bearss trying to describe which segment of which army moved here, followed bydescriptions of which army moved some I haven t read a lot of Civil War books, so maybe I m not as qualified as others to comment on this effort by US National Park Service Historian Emeritus Edwin C Bearss But this is some pretty hard and dull reading I was expecting to hear stories about some of the important battlefields of the Civil War, and while there are a few good nuggets in here, most of it i...Bearss is a true expert Unfortunately, like many experts on the Civil War, he forgets what is important to most readers and smothers us with detail that allows him to showcase his voluminous knowledge Do I really need to know that a specific officer went to Oberlin What bearing does it have on what he did or didn t do If the fact that he didn t go to West Point is supposed to tell me something, then I have no idea what it is What about company commanders Do they really have to be identifie Bearss is a true expert Unfortunately, like many experts on the Civil War, he forgets what is important to most readers and smothers us with detail that allows him to showcase his voluminous knowledge Do I really need to know that a specific officer went to Oberlin What bearing does it have on what he did or didn t do If the fact that he didn t go to West Point is supposed to tell me something, then I have no idea what it is What about company commanders Do they really have to be identified for me to understand the waxing and waning of fortunes on the battlefield I find this approach to Civil War history, even when told in Bearss folksy manner with his charming anecdot...I ve tried to read this book twice now, and was always thoroughly interested after the first chapter, yet after that I found myself lost It seemed like the author was just talking a little too fast for a novice civil war fan like myself to follow al...Great book, I really enjoyed it.Favourite quote Now, we all know who won at Waterloo, and it wasn t the French on Beauregards Napoleonic approach at Shiloh.Makes you want to learnon the different battles Definitely a must read Great appetizer for further studies on the civil war battles.Bearss takes you on a tour of the Civil wars major Battles His anecdotal manor makes this an enjoyable read Would have given it five Stars but not quite up to the caliber of Foote Bears tends to leave out a lot of detail which makes this a...

Fields of Honor
  • English
  • 07 January 2018
  • Hardcover
  • 464 pages
  • 0792275683
  • Edwin C. Bearss
  • Fields of Honor