Gettysburg : A Novel of the Civil War | 
| Authors: Newt Gingrich, William Forstchen
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  129 reviews
Sales Rank: 587879
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Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.4
ASIN: B0009309H2
Publication Date: May 1, 2004
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Product Description
The Civil War is the American Iliad. Lincoln, Stonewall Jackson, Grant, and Lee still stand as heroic ideals, as stirring to our national memory as were the legendary Achilles and Hector to the world of the ancient Greeks. Within the story of our Iliad one battle stands forth above all others: Gettysburg.
Millions visit Gettysburg each year to walk the fields and hills where Joshua Chamberlain made his legendary stand and Pickett went down to a defeat which doomed a nation, but in defeat forever became a symbol of the heroic Lost Cause. As the years passed, and the scars healed, the debate, rather than drifting away has intensified. It is the battle which has become the great "what if," of American history and the center of a dreamscape where Confederate banners finally do crown the heights above the town.
The year is 1863, and General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia are poised to attack the North and claim the victory that would end the brutal conflict. But Lee’s Gettysburg campaign ended in failure, ultimately deciding the outcome of the war.
Launching his men into a vast sweeping operation, of which the town of Gettysburg is but one small part of the plan, General Lee, acting as he did at Chancellorsville, Second Manassas, and Antietam, displays the audacity of old. He knows he has but one more good chance to gain ultimate victory, for after two years of war the relentless power of an industrialized north is wearing the South down. Lee's lieutenants and the men in the ranks, embued with this renewed spirit of the offensive embark on the Gettysburg Campaign that many dream "should have been." The soldiers in the line, Yank and Reb, knew as well that this would be the great challenge, the decisive moment that would decided whether a nation would die, or be created, and both sides were ready, willing to lay down their lives for their Cause.
An action-packed and painstakingly researched masterwork, Gettysburg stands as the first book in a series to tell the story of how history could have unfolded, how a victory for Lee would have changed the destiny of the nation forever. In the great tradition of The Killer Angels and Jeff Shaara’s bestselling Civil War trilogy, this is a novel of true heroism and glory in America’s most trying hour.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 124 more reviews...
 An Historical Account of Gettysburg, Is What I Thought ... August 16, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is portrayed as an historical account of the battle of Gettysburg with the infusion of a dynamic dimension to the events and characters made possible by what Newt Gingrich refers to as "Active History". Gingrich explains what he means by active history in the introduction to this book. As he describes this active history approach to historical discovery, Gingrich explains that by looking at choices which were "not" made by key figures in this battle as well as uncontrollable circumstances such as weather conditions and other events, made it possible for him to gain a deeper and more dynamic understanding of this great battle. He goes on to explain, though, that it would be mere fantasy to consider an aggressive General McClellan, and that it is important to stay within the boundaries of what would be considered reasonable given the current facts of this historical event. This sounded logical and having read and enjoyed Michael Shaara's "Killer Angels", I thought I would be reading an historical account of the battle of Gettysburg with new insights to this historical event.
What I discovered though, was a complete re-write of the fighting which took place on the second and third days of this battle. I could not find the locations of where some of this fighting took place because I was relying on maps I had, i.e. pulled from Wikipedia, etc., and that this fighting did not even occur in Gettysburg but in surrounding towns and villages. Until I discovered that no account of the fighting which took place on Little Round Top did I realize that this was not a "true" historical account of the battle, but was a "what if" scenario of what could have happened. In my own view this is just as much fantasy as presenting an aggressive General McClellan. Gingrich explains that the reason why most people do not enjoy history is because it is presented on facts which are foregone conclusions where the only differences (I assume he means between historical accounts) can only be found in the minutia of things. While this may be true and history, at least to some people, is considered boring, it is what it is. How this could be considered as anything other than fiction is beyond me, and I find it a shame that Gingrich believes that he can re-arrange battlefields and still refer to his work as historical. For those who are not familiar with the historical facts of the battle of Gettysburg, and are not aware of this "active history" approach, will be confused when they probe deeper into the subject. I do not think that boredom is a reasonable excuse to re-write history, and that Gingrich did a disservice to those of us who enjoy history, regardless of what other's "feelings" toward it may be.
 Gettysburg May 17, 2008
This is a fine alternative history. Being an avid Civil War buff, historical wargame player, and historian, I find the novel to be entertaining and fairly plausible, that is, up until the destruction of the Army Of The Potomac (AP) after the porposed Battle Of Union Mills (BUM).
Indeed, during the whole War Between The States (WBS), no major field army was destroyed in open battle. During the WBS this was so, because of the lethality rifled musket which made defense preeminent in the WBS. The facts are that it was far too easy for a relatively few brave, determined, and heavily outnumbered men to hold defensively. These few brave men would be able to effectively delay or to actually succeed defensively. Examples: Thomas at Chickamauga, Hornet's Nest at Shiloh, Jackson at 2nd Manassas, Lee at Antietam, and I could list dozens more.
After the proposed BUM in Newt's book, it is probable that a few knots of determined Union soldiers would have tenaciously hung on just long enough to allow most of the AP's remnants to escape to fight another day.
Otherwise, given the chronology of the proposed scenario in Newt's book, such a scenario could have been fairly darn possible.
In all cases, the book is exciting, enjoyable, and entertaining, especially, for the WBS history buffs. It is well worth reading, even for those not heavily historically educated or not with such historical proclivities.
PS - I have not read the remaining two novels in Newt's trilogy(, but I'm working on them). However, I don't think that a Southern victory at Gettysburg, even one as overwhelming as Newt's book proposes, would have ended the WBS in the South's favor. Indeed, the North had way too much materiel and way too many warm bodies.
A what-if version of a famous battle April 23, 2008
This is a what-if version of the battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The year is 1863. General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia invade the North and looks for a decisive battle that could annihilate the Army of the Potomac, thus to be able to claim the victory that would end the brutal war.
Gettysburg is only a small part of General Lee's plan. He launches a battle of maneuver. The Army of Northern Virginia march and flank the Union Army. They cut the Union Army line of supply and thread to attack Washington. The Union Army is then forced to fight in the territory chosen by Lee and his generals.
A very interesting what-if version of a famous battle. Highly recommended!
Quite Simply A Masterpiece Of Alternate Historical Fiction April 11, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I don't say this very often, but in Gettysburg, Newt Gingrich and William Fortschen have created a masterpiece.
The Civil War itself, and the Battle of Gettysburg in particular, have been the subject of countless historical books, novels, and films. The war has also been the subject of more than one "what-if" scenario; imagining how history might have changed if a decision had been made differently, or if a crucial battle had gone to the other side.
In the Timeline-191 series, for example, Harry Turtledove, using Antietam has his point of departure, created a grim vision of a North American continent bitterly divided between nations and condemned to fight not just one, but four wars across much the same territory over the span of 80 years.
In Gettysburg, Gingrich and Fortschen start with what was arguably the last gasp of real victory of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Battle of Gettysburg.
In our world, it was a battle that lasted three days and resulted in a nearly decisive Union victory. In the novel, however, there is only one day of battle, no charges up the Round Tops, and no suicidal Pickett's Charge. Instead, Robert E. Lee, taking charge of his Army in a way he hadn't before, moves the battle onto more favorable ground in Maryland and, aided in no small part by the incompetence of General George Meade, fights a decisive battle near Westminster, Maryland.
What makes this book so great is the detail that the authors go into in describing not only the battles fought over three days in July, 1863, but also the characters that witness those battles, from Robert E. Lee, to Longstreet, Henry Hunt, Artillery Commander of the Army of the Potomac, and Herman Haupt, who ran the railroads for the Army of the Potomac.
There are historical allusions galore throughout the book. Joshua Chamberlin, a hero at Little Round Top, makes an appearance, as does James Longstreet, and George Pickett even gets to lead a charge just as glorious, and far more effective, than the one that occurred in reality.
And here's one piece of advice. If you do read the book, save enough time to read the final five chapters all at once. The climactic battle at Union Mills, Maryland isn't something that can be digested just a chapter at a time, and it's the primary example of just how well this book is written.
As the book ends, the Army of the Potomac is decimated and scattering across the Susquehanna River, but the Union is not defeated and Lee turns his sights on Washington for what he hope will be one final blow to end a war that he wished he didn't have to fight.
But there's a wind blowing from the West. Just as Lee was winning in Maryland, Vicksburg was falling and a man named Ulysses S. Grant is heading east.
Great gift for Civil War Buff December 30, 2007
Gave this to our Civil War Buff son-in-law to be as one of his civil war gifts. He loved it!
Fast, reasonable shipping.
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