Today's Reading List

These selections encompass a couple of things that are sure to be in the news in the coming months: The Civil War and Newt Gingrich.  For the next four years there will be periodic 150th anniversary commemorations of various Civil War battles and events, and for at least the next few months Newt will be running for president.

Many people may not realize that Newt is a historian and also a prolific author who co-authored the enclosed Civil War series, but this is not just a historical recounting of the war, but an "alternative history" of the war.  The series starts at Gettysburg and assumes that everything that happened up to July 1, 1863 happened just as history tells us it did.  However, from that point on things change as instead of fighting hopeless battles on the 2nd at Little Round Top and the 3rd with Pickett's Charge, the Confederates instead withdraw from Gettysburg after Day 1 with their army much more intact and defeat the Army of the Potomac in a decisive battle on July 4th near Union Mills, Maryland.  From there you'll have to read the rest of the series.

The North still wins the war, but it's interesting the way Newt and his co-authors spun the tale.  If you're a Civil War buff, you'll enjoy it.