Alexander B. Rossino’s Followers (2)

Alexander B. Rossino

Website

http://www.alexanderrossino.com

Genre

Historical Fiction, American Civil War, War Fiction

Influences

Steven Pressfield, Michael Shaara, Shelby Foote

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On a sunny afternoon about as far back as I can remember, my grandfather sat down next to me on the sofa in his living room. In his hands he held a thick, heavy book with the words "The Civil War" emblazoned in faded gold lettering on the spine. The book was Bruce Catton's American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War. Little did I know at the time that my grandfather had just introduced me to what would become a subject of lifelong interest - the history of the War Between the States. The pictures and maps in Catton's book captivated me and I pored over them for years. Indeed, one of the highlights of going to visit my grandparents' house on the holidays was having the chance to spend time with that book. I'd excuse myself from the di On a sunny afternoon about as far back as I can remember, my grandfather sat down next to me on the sofa in his living room. In his hands he held a thick, heavy book with the words "The Civil War" emblazoned in faded gold lettering on the spine. The book was Bruce Catton's American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War. Little did I know at the time that my grandfather had just introduced me to what would become a subject of lifelong interest - the history of the War Between the States. The pictures and maps in Catton's book captivated me and I pored over them for years. Indeed, one of the highlights of going to visit my grandparents' house on the holidays was having the chance to spend time with that book. I'd excuse myself from the dinner table and huddle with the tome on my lap, taking in the photos of lonely cannon on foggy landscapes and battle monuments silhouetted against the setting sun.

As my interest grew, my parents fed my fascination. My father took me to Gettysburg and Antietam and the shelf of Civil War histories in my bookcase bowed under the weight of accumulated volumes. Twenty-five years later I moved to Northern Virginia and continued visiting battlefields. Still, I had never written anything on the Civil War and didn't think I ever would ... until 2012.

Prior to that time my writing had taken another direction, leaning toward modern Europe and the upheaval of the interwar period that culminated in cataclysm of the Second World War. In 2003, I published Hitler Strikes Poland: Blitzkrieg, Ideology, and Atrocity, a study of the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. The book earned accolades. Stone & Stone Second World War Books selected it as one of the top ten books of 2003 and it was chosen for the History, Military, and Reader's Subscription Book Clubs. Several scholarly articles followed on the subjects of Nazi Germany and the Third Reich's racial-political policies before my interest in writing about those subjects finally passed.

It was then that I rediscovered my fascination with the Civil War and considered writing about it. I hadn't gotten far with any ideas until I moved to western Maryland. This sealed it for me. Anytime I wanted I could visit the Antietam National Battlefield or any of the many other Civil War sites that lay within less than an hour's drive. The landscape fired my imagination and inspired me to begin writing about events in the 1860s. So many excellent histories of the fight at Antietam existed, however, that I decided to focus on historical fiction. Gettysburg had Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels, why couldn't Sharpsburg have its own iconic novel? Six Days in September: A Novel of the 1862 Maryland Campaign is the fruit of those efforts.

Whence these scribblings will lead, I do not know. I know only that they allow me to explore the past through the lens of my imagination. It is a journey I enjoy sharing with fellow travelers, those who might feel a similar urge to step back through the mists of time and find themselves privy to dramatic and powerful events. ...more

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Alexander B. Rossino's Blog

Alexander B. Rossino isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

History or Historical Fiction?

Say the words "historical fiction" to an historian, or even an opinionated amateur reader of non-fiction history, and you might receive a sneer in return. Historical fiction is thought of by many readers of non-fiction history as pure bunkum not worth the paper it's written on. How do I know this? I know it because I recall asking a professor back in college why we should read Michael Shaara's The Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 16, 2015 10:23 • Tags: american-civil-war, antietam, historical-fiction, history, robert-e-lee, sharpsburg

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Alexander B. Rossino’s books

Average rating: 3.99 · 122 ratings · 23 reviews · 8 distinct works • Similar authors

	Hitler Strikes Poland: Blitzkrieg, Ideology, and Atrocity 3.55 avg rating — 51 ratings — published 2003 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Tale Untwisted: General George B. McClellan, the Maryland Campaign, and the Discovery of Lee’s Lost Orders by Gene M. Thorp, Alexander B. Rossino 4.39 avg rating — 18 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia From the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862 4.19 avg rating — 16 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Six Days in September: A Novel of the 1862 Maryland Campaign 4.25 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Calamity at Frederick: Robert E. Lee, Special Orders No. 191, and Confederate Misfortune on the Road to Antietam 4.70 avg rating — 10 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Tale Untwisted: General George B. McClellan, the Maryland Campaign, and the Discovery of Lee’s Lost Orders by Gene M. Thorp, Alexander B. Rossino 4.11 avg rating — 9 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Guns of September: A Novel of McClellan’s Army in Maryland, 1862 4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Tale Untwisted: General George B. Mcclellan, the Maryland Campaign, and the Discovery of Lee's Lost Orders - Library Edition by Gene M. Thorp, Chris Sorensen (narrator), Alexander B. Rossino 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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