GETTYSBURG: THE FINAL FURY by Bruce Catton

Published by Berkley Windhover in 1974

Bruce Catton (1899-1978)

Bruce Catton was the most famous Civil War historian of his era and mastered the art of writing narrative history for the masses. I freely admit that I am an unabashed fan of Catton. I am quite sure that he kick-started my interest in the Civil War that has caused me to fill my shelves with over 100 Civil War books.

Catton tells the story of Gettyburg in slightly more than 100 pages His approachable style is in full display here. For example, his description of Confederate General A.P. Hill: "...a heads-down slugger always willing to take a blow in order to land one." (p. 20)   No one is better at telling a Civil War story than Catton and Gettysburg is the single biggest story of the war. He knows how to keep the story moving but to add just enough detail to make it feel like a special re-telling.

The book is full of great maps, illustrations and photographs and is well worth the time of a student of the Civil War or someone who is simply interested in learning more about Gettysburg.

I rate this history 5 stars out of 5.
Reviewed on March 5, 2015