100 books like At the Forefront of Lee's Invasion

I have long been a fan of this book, in part because it was among the first books to seriously look beyond the three-day battle of Gettysburg and recount the military actions that erupted in the lead-up to the famous battle.

Mingus writes about Confederate general Jubal Early’s advance through Gettysburg and York and all the way to the Susquehanna River, where Confederates fought with a hodgepodge force of Union militia that managed to prevent a Confederate river-crossing. Simply put, this book is a great choice for Civil War buffs who want to look beyond the histories of the three-day battle or for general readers hoping to expand their knowledge. 

In truth, I could have picked any of the late Harry Pfanz’s excellent books on the Battle of Gettysburg. Pfanz’s detailed tactical histories of the battle remain unrivaled. His account of the fighting on Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill throughout July 2-3, 1863, showcases his signature depth and attention to detail. If you like military history, read Pfanz.

A lot has been written about the Battle of Gettysburg’s decisive third day, but I find myself returning again and again to Jeffry Wert’s book.

Wert is a brilliant writer and story-teller, providing readers with enough tactical military history to understand the movements of both armies, but not too much that readers get lost in the shuffle. The result is a great, lucid read about the battle’s dramatic finale. 

Kent Masterson Brown takes something that is often relegated to an afterthought—that the defeated Confederate army slipped back into Virginia—and reveals how it profoundly shaped the course of the war.

Brown shows us that for defeated General Robert E. Lee, extricating the Confederate army from Pennsylvania was no simple task. The Confederate army may have lost the battle, but after reading Brown’s book, one could argue that it won the retreat. 

I love a story in which the central character is approachable and authentic. Joshua Chamberlain had no family legacy of military service, but putting his academic background to use, in understanding the purpose of his unit, the mission, and the war, I found myself reliving every moment of his life, as if I was a member of his unit.

His humility and genuine appreciation for those serving with him was yet another example of how I sought to lead those I served. I found myself immersed in who he was and how he was able to put into context the struggles of those serving with him. I, too, try to ‘live the talk’ as he did during and after the Civil War.

I love a book with maps, and this has two. The author crafted sixteen fictional characters, each with their own voice, no two alike, populating both sides of the Civil War. Male, female, black, white, Northern, or Southern, these fictional characters represented all aspects of the population.

I was halfway through the book, flipping back and forth to keep the characters straight when I realized a list at the back identified each character's affiliation. Who was my favorite? Each touched me, although my heart lurched when the teen who joined to escape his father’s beatings was killed.

I am humbled by the author’s tight writing and accomplishment in weaving so many characters together. I’ll definitely read it again. 

This book remains the best one-volume biography of Robert E. Lee almost twenty-five years after its publication. Thomas is far more balanced than either Lee’s critics or devotees. Early on, he offers fascinating material about Lee’s parents and private life in general. His discussion of Lee’s father, Light-Horse Harry Lee, is particularly riveting. Despite being born into one of Virginia’s leading families, young Robert E. Lee grew up in an insecure environment after losing his father at a young age. Throughout the book, Thomas provides concise, though somewhat limited, summaries of Lee’s military exploits.

I actually think that Shaara has outdone his father. Both, of course, weave the story around actual historical events, although Shaara Junior’s introduction of fictional characters livens the narrative up. I’ve enjoyed all of Shaara’s books, regardless of their historical setting, but I chose this one because it was a good way for me to learn more about the Civil War post-Gettysburg and also have a really good read.

Many years ago, I fell in love with Watership Down, Richard Adams’ iconic book about the trials and triumphs of rabbits, from the rabbit’s point of view.

With my doctorate in animal science, I know that neither rabbits nor horses can act, react or think like humans. Giving animals human-only abilities is called anthropomorphism and is not considered scientifically acceptable. That doesn’t matter when Richard Adams fuses his writing skills with a delightful concept of how animals face amazing challenges.

Traveller, Robert E. Lee’s famous war horse, narrates his view of a tragic general fighting in an epic failure of the human spirit. 

Although the Civil War was principally a land conflict, naval contributions were fundamental, not just peripheral or supporting. This excellent operational and campaign overview examines social, political, and technological revolutions in Western warfare leading to and through the struggle. It deals primarily with terrestrial warfare, but unlike many such works, places waterborne operations in context and gives the navy its due. Steam propulsion and industrial superiority produced massive Union naval power for a strangling blockade, fortress-busting warship squadrons, and an unprecedented riverine fleet. The Confederacy’s coasts and seaports constituted a third major theater while in the west, rivers were avenues of invasion and conquest. Chapter 5 contains a cogent discussion of “The Unfulfilled Promise of Joint [Army-Navy] Operations.” Highly recommended as a well-integrated military-naval history.