PDF Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage by Noah Andre Trudeau in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I gave it 3 stars but add 2 more for huge history buffs...By M OReillyBought this book to read before my trip to Gettysburg. If you are not a huge history buff; this reads like a school text book. If you are a huge history buff who loves this kind of book; I would give it 5 stars. My friend at work who is a Gettysburg fanatic LOVES this book.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Excellent overview of the battleBy A CustomerI am not a civil war expert. I heard the author on C-Span talking about this book. He said that he wanted to gather the threads of many of the recently written micro-histories of the battle; to dispel a few myths and question some received wisdom; and to be fair; or; at least; not explain away facts in an effort to uphold any of the various leaders's reputations; good or bad.I think that he has accomplished all those goals in a very clear; concise; and readable account of the battle.Unlike another reviewer; and because I am not a specialist; I appreciated the author's care in setting the scene -- by tracing the armies' routes from Chancellorsville and especially by the maps. Most of them contain a little clock showing the time of day. They become snapshots of positions at a particular time.13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. A "pointillistic" history of the Battle of GettysburgBy R. M. PetersonIn about a month I will be touring Gettysburg; for the fourth time. In preparation; I decided to read Noah Andre Trudeau's GETTYSBURG: A TESTING OF COURAGE; which I had bought before my last trip there but hadn't the time to read.Trudeau's approach is a chronologically pointillistic one; by which I mean that he divides his narrative into blocks of time and then; within each time period; he recounts in relatively short passages of text what diverse persons or groups were doing.After outlining the "strategic picture" that prevailed in the spring of 1863; the book starts on June 3; as the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia begins its invasion of the North and the Union Army of the Potomac (several days later) begins to follow after it. Trudeau discusses; in relatively summary fashion; the movements of the two Armies and the underlying thinking of their generals day by day through June 30; by which time most of the Rebel forces are to the west and north of Gettysburg and most of the Union Army is to the south. That takes 151 pages.The next 124 pages are devoted to the first day of the Battle (July 1; 1863); then 149 pages on Day Two; and 102 pages on Day Three. The discussion of the events of each day is further segmented. For example; the chapter on July 1 is divided into the following time periods: Predawn--7:30 a.m.; 7:30 a.m.--10:45 a.m.; 10:45-11:15 a.m.; 11:15 a.m.--2:45 p.m.; 2:45 p.m.--5:45 p.m.; and 5:45 p.m.--Midnight. Within each segment; Trudeau then tells what different groupings of forces (corps; division; brigade; regiment; and company) were doing; switching from time to time to what Generals Lee and Meade were doing as well as some of the citizens of Gettysburg. In doing so; he makes generous use of quotations from the letters; diaries; and memoirs of the various participants.There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach. The principle advantage; naturally; is that the reader gets a better sense of the simultaneity of various events occurring across the battlefield. The principle disadvantage is that Trudeau's book ends up being long on discrete facts and relatively short on opinion and analysis.I therefore cannot recommend it as a reader's first book on the Battle of Gettysburg; but it is worth considering as one's second or third such book. The best one-volume history of the battle in my experience is "Gettysburg: The Last Invasion" by Allen C. Guelzo. Geulzo's prose is distinguished (Trudeau's is merely good); more importantly; Guelzo's account is broader in scope (often providing relevant background information) and deeper in analysis.