Suggested Holiday Reading

Hugh Hewitt posted a question on his website asking for book suggestions on modern novels worth reading twice. I'm not sure if these books fit that description, but they're certainly worth reading, especially if you have an interest in American history. I've read several of them more than once, and plan to revisit the others as time permits.

Jeff Shaara, and his father Michael, have written a number of novelized stories of significant American wars. A couple have been made into movies, and the I highly recommend the whole series. The stories are told from the viewpoint of the major players of the wars and really do a good job of putting the reader into the scenes. Here are a list of the titles, all of which I have in my collection:

Rise to Rebellion - the story of events and major characters leading up to the Declaration of Independence.

Glorious Cause - the story of the Revolutionary War as seen through the eyes of several major players, including Washington and Cornwallis.

Gone for Soldiers - the story of the Mexican American War. This was particularly interesting to me due to the fact that I really didn't know much about this war, and many of the men who went on to senior commands on both sides of the Civil War served in junior officer roles in this war. The viewpoints include those of Winfield Scott, Robert E. Lee and Santa Anna.

God and Generals - the first book of a Civil War trilogy which takes some of the senior generals of the war from the years prior to the war up until the march to Gettysburg. Included are the viewpoints of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and various Union generals.

The Killer Angels - written by Michael Shaara, is the definitive account of the battle of Gettysburg, and is required reading in my house prior to our summer vacation next year to visit the battlefield. The emphasis in this book is on Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, Buford, and Hancock.

The Last Full Measure - this book takes up the rest of the story of the Civil War from the end of the Gettysburg battle through the surrender at Appomatix Courthouse. The last two years of the war are seen mainly from the viewpoint of Lee and Grant.

The entire Civil War trilogy is available on Amazon.com in a paperback set.

To the Last Man - this is Shaara's newest book and just out in hardback (available at Costco) and is the story of WWI. I just got this and haven't read it yet, but plan to do so during the holidays.

Also, in keeping with the Civil War theme, Newt Gingrich has co-written a couple of books with a different take on the war. For instance, what if Lee had not chosen to fight the third day at Gettysburg but had instead left the field to fight again another day. He has two books which start at Gettysburg and take that theme forward.

Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War

Grant Comes East

There will be a third installment which I assume will take the war to its revised conclusion. I'm looking forward to seeing how Newt wraps things up.

Happy reading!