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Book Summary and Reviews of Gettysburg by Allen C. Guelzo

Gettysburg by Allen C. Guelzo

Gettysburg

The Last Invasion

by Allen C. Guelzo

  • Critics' Consensus (1):
  • Published:
  • May 2013, 656 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From the acclaimed Civil War historian, a brilliant new history - the most intimate and richly readable account we have had - of the climactic three-day battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), which draws the reader into the heat, smoke, and grime of Gettysburg alongside the ordinary soldier, and depicts the combination of personalities and circumstances that produced the greatest battle of the Civil War, and one of the greatest in human history.

Of the half-dozen full-length histories of the battle of Gettysburg written over the last century, none dives down so closely to the experience of the individual soldier, or looks so closely at the sway of politics over military decisions, or places the battle so firmly in the context of nineteenth-century military practice. Allen C. Guelzo shows us the face, the sights, and the sounds of nineteenth-century combat: the lay of the land, the fences and the stone walls, the gunpowder clouds that hampered movement and vision; the armies that caroused, foraged, kidnapped, sang, and were so filthy they could be smelled before they could be seen; the head-swimming difficulties of marshaling massive numbers of poorly trained soldiers, plus thousands of animals and wagons, with no better means of communication than those of Caesar and Alexander.

What emerges is an untold story, from the trapped and terrified civilians in Gettysburg's cellars to the insolent attitude of artillerymen, from the taste of gunpowder cartridges torn with the teeth to the sounds of marching columns, their tin cups clanking like an anvil chorus. Guelzo depicts the battle with unprecedented clarity, evoking a world where disoriented soldiers and officers wheel nearly blindly through woods and fields toward their clash, even as poetry and hymns spring to their minds with ease in the midst of carnage. Rebel soldiers look to march on Philadelphia and even New York, while the Union struggles to repel what will be the final invasion of the North. One hundred and fifty years later, the cornerstone battle of the Civil War comes vividly to life as a national epic, inspiring both horror and admiration.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Stirring ... robust, memorable reading that will appeal to Civil War buffs, professional historians and general readers alike." - Kirkus

"Starred Review. [Gettysburg: The Last Invasion] reads like the battle might have been experienced ... Guelzo demonstrates versatile historical skill in this superior treatment of Gettysburg." - Booklist

"An extraordinary work of thorough scholarship combined with a lifetime of judgment about historic events ... Everyone interested in the decisive moment in Freedom's struggle should read Guelzo's simply extraordinary book." - Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and coauthor of Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War

"Despite all that has been written about the battle of Gettysburg, Allen Guelzo provides new information and insights in this stirring account ... Readers will find much to think about in this book." - James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom

"What is there left to say about Gettysburg? In Allen Guelzo's deft, scholarly hands, plenty." - Jay Winik, author of April 1865

"[Guelzo] delivers a panoramic yet astonishingly intimate account that interweaves the drama of battle with original - and often provocative - insights ... It is hard, if not impossible, to imagine that there will ever be a better one." - Fergus M. Bordewich, author of America's Great Debate

This information about Gettysburg was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Allen C. Guelzo

Allen C. Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era and Director of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College. He is the author of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America and Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President, both winners of the Lincoln Prize. Guelzo's essays, reviews, and articles have appeared in publications ranging from The American Historical Review and The Wilson Quarterly to newspapers such as The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Wall Street Journal.

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