Here are 16 books that Flames Beyond Gettysburg fans have personally recommended if you like
Flames Beyond Gettysburg.
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I grew up near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was fascinated by American history. My initial fascination with the history of the Civil War in the Harrisburg area turned into my first book and the start of my career as a historian of the Underground Railroad and the Civil War. This list reflects my early interest in the lesser-known aspects of the famous Gettysburg Campaign by recommending books that expand our scope beyond the three-day battle.
Confederate soldiers spent much of their brief time in the Keystone State antagonizing Pennsylvania civilians.
I find Wynstra’s book particularly powerful because he shows how senior Confederate generals struggled to rein in their enlisted men’s overwhelming desire for revenge. Furious over what they perceived as Northern abuses on the Southern homefront, rank-and-file Confederates wanted Northern civilians to feel the brunt of the war.
As Wynstra also shows, African American civilians fared far worse than their white counterparts. Confederate soldiers, furious over years of Underground Railroad activity, seized free Blacks and carried them back south into enslavement.
After clearing Virginia's Shenandoah Valley of Federal troops, Gen. Robert E. Lee's bold invasion into the North reached the Maryland shore of the Potomac River on June 15, 1863. A week later, the Confederate infantry crossed into lower Pennsylvania, where they had their first sustained interactions with the civilian population in a solidly pro-Union state. Most of the initial encounters with the people in the lush Cumberland Valley and the neighboring parts of the state involved the men from the Army of Northern Virginia's famed Second Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, who led the way as Lee's…
I grew up near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was fascinated by American history. My initial fascination with the history of the Civil War in the Harrisburg area turned into my first book and the start of my career as a historian of the Underground Railroad and the Civil War. This list reflects my early interest in the lesser-known aspects of the famous Gettysburg Campaign by recommending books that expand our scope beyond the three-day battle.
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 Gettysburg authority details two critical engagements; Harry Pfanz provides the definitive account of the fighting between the Army of the Potomac and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill - two of the most critical engagements fought at Gettysburg on 2 and 3 July 1863. He provides detailed tactical accounts of each stage of the contest and explores the interactions between - and decisions made by - generals on both sides. In particular, he illuminates Confederate lieutenant general Richard S. Ewell's controversial decision not to attack Cemetery Hill after the initial Southern victory…
I grew up near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was fascinated by American history. My initial fascination with the history of the Civil War in the Harrisburg area turned into my first book and the start of my career as a historian of the Underground Railroad and the Civil War. This list reflects my early interest in the lesser-known aspects of the famous Gettysburg Campaign by recommending books that expand our scope beyond the three-day battle.
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.
A distinguished Civil War historian offers a close-up analysis of the final day of the decisive battle of Gettysburg, drawing on letters and diaries from men on both sides to illuminate the events and personalities responsible for the ultimate Union victory and to discuss Pickett's Charge, the combat at Culp's Hill, and a key cavalry engagement between Stuart and Custer. 25,000 first printing.
From the author of Washington’s Spies, the thrilling story of two rival secret agents — one Confederate, the other Union — sent to Britain during the Civil War.
The South’s James Bulloch, charming and devious, was ordered to acquire a clandestine fleet intended to break Lincoln’s blockade, sink Northern…
I grew up near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was fascinated by American history. My initial fascination with the history of the Civil War in the Harrisburg area turned into my first book and the start of my career as a historian of the Underground Railroad and the Civil War. This list reflects my early interest in the lesser-known aspects of the famous Gettysburg Campaign by recommending books that expand our scope beyond the three-day battle.
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.
Brown concludes that even though the battle of Gettysburg was a defeat for the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee's successful retreat maintained the balance of power in the eastern theater and left his army with enough forage, stores, and fresh meat to ensure its continued existence as an effective force.
David DeKok became interested in environmental disasters in his native Michigan in 1974, when PBB, a fire-retardant chemical, was accidentally mixed with animal feed, entered the food chain, and then most people in the state, probably including himself. As a journalist in Pennsylvania, he wrote extensively about the Centralia mine fire and the aftermath of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, and is the author of four books. He tends to write about small towns and small-town people in crisis.
While this is not a comprehensive history of the TMI accident and its aftermath—none exists––you can happily read this book and understand the seriousness of what happened. It is not encumbered with anti-nuclear ideology, like some of the books written immediately after the accident were. It has many photos, a glossary of nuclear terms, and an index.
It was 5 a.m. at the nuclear power plant on an island in the middle of the Susquehanna River. Suddenly an alarm shrieked. Something was going wrong inside the plant. Within minutes human error and technical failure triggered the worst nuclear power accident in the United States and within hours, the eyes of the world were on Three Mile Island. Wilborn Hampton transports the readers to this pivotal moment in American history, telling the hour-by-hour story of covering the nuclear accident as a U.P.I. (United Press International) reporter. His fascinating account will compel readers to consider one of the most…
I came to Civil War studies fairly late in life but still relatively callow, by a route too roundabout to explain. But after reading James McPherson’s, Battle Cry of Freedom(there’s a bonus book!), I found I had a love of every facet of the era. The only thing I’d ever wanted to be was a writer and, as I delved deeper into the vast body of literature on the American Civil War, I finally felt as if I’d found thesubject I could pour all my passion into (that and my enduring love of dogs). My novel Wilderness, along with a few novels published in French, was the result.
Part of the enduring popularity of the Battle of Gettysburg studies, is that the battle offers a true microcosm of the American Civil War—from politics to personalities. A meeting engagement, a desperate struggle, a turning point, and human tragedy on a scale the continent had never seen before, the events of those three days in July still resonant down the years. Guelzo’s book, besides being one of the most recent, offers wonderful descriptions of every facet of the battle with finely-crafted prose and a pacing that will keep readers invested from start to finish.
Winner of the Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History
An Economist Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year
The Battle of Gettysburg has been written about at length and thoroughly dissected in terms of strategic importance, but never before has a book taken readers so close to the experience of the individual soldier.
Two-time Lincoln Prize winner Allen C. Guelzo shows us the face, the sights and the sounds of nineteenth-century combat: the stone walls and gunpowder clouds of Pickett’s Charge; the reason that the Army of Northern Virginia could be smelled before it…
What were America's first prisons like? How did penal reformers, prison administrators, and politicians deal with the challenges of confining human beings in long-term captivity as punishment--what they saw as a humane intervention?
The Deviant Prison centers on one early prison: Eastern State Penitentiary. Built in Philadelphia, one of the…
I’ve found that the most tumultuous time in our nation’s history provides a poignant backdrop for fiction. As a firm believer that all people are God’s masterpiece and are created in his image, this time period can be difficult to read. However, I also believe there is a lot of potential to see how good can overcome evil, how faith can lead to healing, and how we can be overcomers. I’ve chosen books for this list that handle history with nuance and sensitivity, showcase fierce characters, provide embedded layers of faith, and leave you thinking long after the final page. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Jocelyn Green does an amazing job of highlighting the complications of the Civil War with multi-faceted characters who have to examine their faith, their loyalties, and their own pasts and prejudices. With an intricate plot and a cast of layered characters, Widow of Gettysburg was one that kept me enthralled.Not only is the amount of research and details from history clearly evident, Green is a master at making both history and story leap from the page. This was one I couldn’t put down.
For all who have suffered great loss of heart, home, health or family; true home and genuine lasting love can be found.
When a horrific battle rips through Gettysburg, the farm of Union widow Liberty Holloway is disfigured into a Confederate field hospital, bringing her face to face with unspeakable suffering-and a Confederate scout who awakens her long dormant heart.
While Liberty's future crumbles as her home is destroyed, the past comes rushing back to Bella, a former slave and Liberty's hired help, when she finds herself surrounded by Southern soldiers, one of whom knows the secret that would place…
DeAnne Blanton retired from the National Archives in Washington, DC after 31 years of service as a reference archivist specializing in 18th and 19th century U.S. Army records. She was recognized within the National Archives as well as in the historical and genealogical communities as a leading authority on the American Civil War; 19th century women’s history; and the history of American women in the military.
This pamphlet, although only 24 pages, is one of the best first-hand depictions of Civil War nursing. Miss Woolsey and her mother travelled to Gettysburg in the aftermath of the battle and immediately launched into the nursing ranks of the U.S. Sanitary Commission. She published her account shortly after returning home, when her services were no longer needed.
When I was a boy, my mother told me every day, “Be a leader.” By that, she meant to remember who you are, stand up for what you believe, do good, and be good. I was only five years old. That daily lesson on the doorstep sunk deep in my heart. For over forty years, I have had a passion for learning, teaching, and practicing small “L” leadership. I have done that as dean of Harvard Business School, president of BYU-Idaho, and Commissioner of Education for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have learned deeply from the books on this list, and I hope you will, too.
I love this historical novel (set in the battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War) so much that I have read it several times. Each time, it is a sleep robber; it is really hard for me to put it down. It is beautifully written, but it is hard to put down because I find beautiful nuggets of gold about leadership with a small “L” every time I read it.
My favorite character is Joshua Chamberlain, an obscure colonel who led a regiment of Maine volunteers. He has power, but he does not use it to coerce or dominate his troops. He uses it to activate the power that is in them! And they do incredible things at a critical point in the battle.
“My favorite historical novel . . . a superb re-creation of the Battle of Gettysburg, but its real importance is its insight into what the war was about, and what it meant.”—James M. McPherson
In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation’s history, two armies fought for two conflicting dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life. Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania fields. Bright futures, untested innocence, and pristine beauty…
Benghazi: A New History is a look back at the enigmatic 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, its long-tail causes, and devastating (and largely unexamined) consequences for US domestic politics and foreign policy. It contains information not found elsewhere, and is backed up by 40 pages of…
I’ve been writing books about Abraham Lincoln for 15 years. I also have two daughters, and I spend a lot of time at night telling bedtime stories. A couple of years ago, I decided to combine these two areas of my life by writing a Lincoln book for kids. But I didn’t want it to be another run-of-the-mill history book. So, I developed a story about a girl who travels back in time and meets a young Abe. Along the way, she learns a lot about his life. I like to tell people that everything about it is historically accurate . . . except the time travel!
In this fictional story about the Battle of Gettysburg, two 11-year-old buglers (one from the 71st Pennsylvania Infantry and the other from 11th Mississippi) meet in the woods and share some moments in conversation away from the din of the fighting.
The story helps young readers reflect on the common humanity and suffering of the soldiers on both sides during the Civil War. In elegant prose and beautiful pictures it humanizes the experiences, fears, and uncertainties faced by these men and boys (and their families).
