Civil War Battlefields: Discovering America's Hallowed Ground

by Jeff Shaara

A tourist guide to ten Civil War battlefields with photos, maps and points of interest.

Genres: Civil War, History, Nonfiction, Travel, Audiobook, American History, American Civil War

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

JEFF SHAARA is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of seventeen novels, including Rise to Rebellion and The Rising Tide, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure—two novels that complete his father's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Ira Livingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a huge Shaara fan, I knew going into this book was not going to be his typical style or for that matter a true history book.

But it is what I was hoping for, I'm about to turn 50 and am planning a trip to Shiloh, because of all the books I've read and the fact I just love American Civil War history in general. However, reading this book has given me more to look at than just a simple stop in and try to absorb the battlefield.

Being from the western United States I still get goose flesh thinking of my visit to the Little Big Horn battlefield. A truly unique snapshot of what happened there. I would urge any history buff to pay the place a visit while traveling west.

Because of this book I've decided to extend my trip covering Shiloh, Chattanooga and Chickamagua. From the looks of it all within 8 hours travel time from each other, allowing me to spend possibly as much as two days at each on the journey.

I'll keep you posted on how it went, but would recommend this book for any planning a trip to one of the 10 sites mentioned.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great guide to some of the Civil War's most important battlegrounds. Invaluable. Got me around Antietam and Gettysburg without a hitch. A great project!

[SoulSurvivor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tourist guide with confusing battle maps.

[Ryan Donaldson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book and audio narration. I particularly enjoyed the explanations of why the particular battles were significant and how they were connected to each other. Jeff S did a lot of good research by going to these battlefields, talking to the NPS and through primary sources. He maps out the locations well. If you live in Virginia, Maryland Pennsylvania or Tennessee especially if you live between Richmond and DC, you are morally obligated as an American citizen to visit at least one battlefield in your home state.

[David Baer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great concept for a book: to tie the historical events in with the present-day tourist opportunities. He goes through multiple sites (Gettysburg, Antietam, Petersburg, and others), and outlines what happened, why it matters, and what to look for when you go there.

Many of these sites seem to have “excellent bookstores”: an enticement if there ever was one.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fair warning: the author is an old-school Robert E. Lee fan, as his fiction (and his father's) made clear. So his narratives come with a heapin' dose of Grand Ol' Dixie (for instance, in his view the destruction of the VMI building is a tragedy -- but apparently enslaving humans was not much).

So if you can't stomach that all-to-frequent retelling of the Civil War, you may want to steer clear of this one.

But I thought the book was really well done otherwise, giving a brief narrative of the U.S. Civil War chronologically through key battles that have well-preserved battlefields. I've had the opportunity to visit 3 or 4 of those mentioned in the book, and thought he did a really nice job covering them.

And give Mr. Shaara credit, he has a real appreciation of the significance of these battlefields, if it's marred a bit by the false equivalence post-1900 histories.

[Ora]

I listened to this audio book and didn't know how worthwhile a book about how to visit a civil war battlefield would be. I was pleasantly surprised.

The book is more history book as it covers 10 significant battles, why they were important and then a bit of what to see at each site. The battles are listed in chronological order, so you also are led through the war in a logical progression.

I can imagine borrowing the physical book to plan a future vacation.

[Amy Nielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was great! It really inspired me to learn more about the Civil War, one I've been interested in for a long time having spent time in that proximity as a girl and visited Gettysburg on field trips. I did get a little bogged down trying to keep the details straight as the author described each battle. But the warfare strategies, human errors, utter responsibility, devastation, magnitude of lives lost and sheer horror of this war overwhelmed me.

[Spike Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great guide to history. The book builds on the wonderful civil war work that he has done with his father. He talks of the loss of life and the need for it, and the absolute needless loss of life. War should never happpen again. We need to find common ground without the horrrible method we use still today.

[George W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this as a companion to my Trilogy of the Civil War by the same author. It is a great book if you plan to visit any battle sights!

[Don Heiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

New York Times Best Selling Author Jeff Shaara’s book “Civil War Battlefields: Discovering America’s Hallowed Grounds” was published by Ballantine Books in 2006. His book profiles the historic details of 10 Civil War battles, the significance of each battle, and the best way to tour each battlefield as well as how best to tour important sites that are interrelated to these major battlefields. Shaara’s battlefield maps are exceptionally well done. Also, his book has many historic pictures of battlefield buildings, terrain, and monuments. His book helped me to remember the soulful and heartfelt experiences I had many years ago when I visited each of these battlefields with my wife. (P)

[Monical · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this book out of desperation, nothing else to read! Hope I get a new library card soon. I find Jeff Shaara's books to be rather mediocre, but I keep picking them up because they are pretty reliable page-turners. This book was especially bad for me because it is a tour guide for Civil War battlefields. The stories of the battles are okay, but then the book includes specifics about touring the battlefields. If I were doing a tour, that would be interesting, but its pretty dry reading if I'm just reading it.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeff Shaara' Civil War Battlefields is a pleasure to read, especially as I have visited all the Battlefields Shaara writes about. It could have used a little more about the actual parks themselves in relation to the amount of history, but it generally is a really good book. Very useful for people who are looking into visiting the sites.

[Sebastian Kayser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Great read on some of the major battles of the civil war and what the author feels are important aspects to see or understand. This book highlights some sites of battlefields that may have been ignored or overseen compared to some of the tourist traps. This book is probably not recommended for those that are civil war buffs or civil war philosophers.

[Randi · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are planning a trip to Shiloh and Vicksburg and I can't imagine going there without having read this book. The facts of what happened on those fields are included within the context of the larger war and the politics of the generals and the two warring countries. Shaara brings the battles to life in ways that no other book I've read has done

[John Stults · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good guide to some key civil war battlefields

For each of the battlefields the author gives a brief description of the battle and often the lead up to the battle. Then for each battlefield he goes into detail about key items/places he recommends be seen. I enjoyed the book and highly recommend this guide. I will certainly use it when I visit any of these sites.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

Briefly explains what happen, then explains why it was important and then finally. What there is to see and what should be seen. Terrific writing! Very entertaining as while as very educational.

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good. It makes me really want to visit Civil War battlefields and I may revisit this book of I ever get the privalage to do so. There are MANY opinions expressed in this book that I do not agree with but overall it's fairly good.

[Nicholas LaMarca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read, I haven't read a straight non fiction book in awhile but try and read something American history related around the 4th of July. Nice solid overview of some very historic battlefields to help inspire a trip planning session for next summer!!!

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. I would recommend that someone read this book before visiting the battlefields.

[John Matthew IV · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the chapters on Shiloh and Vicksburg on my way to the Memphis to start The Civil War Tour: Mississippi River Campaign tour.

Great introduction.

[Bladestryke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource for civil war buffs. Each section starts with an account of the battle then why that moment us important then goes on to suggest what to see at the site. Very well done.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of 10 important and pivotal Civil War battles and their battlefields, along with Shaara's insightful suggestions on what to see at each battlefield site.

[Daniel Stepke · Rating 3 out of 5]

really good at getting these battles alive, was a little wishy-washy on condemning the confederates as he ought to

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book so I could learn a little more about the Civil War. This book serves this purpose, but it’s really a tour guide to several battle sites. Now, I want to take a road trip. 😁

[Todd A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice overview on f battlefields to visit. Nice brief histories and why they matter.

Also a nice overview of the war centered around these specific battles.

[Richard R., Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice detailed summary of each battle before the highlights of the tour of the battlefields.

[Chad Bunch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been planning on visiting some Civil War battlefields for decades now but still haven't. This guide gives me inspiration to make some plans for our next vacation or two.

[Michael Cawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating discussion of the American civil war and it’s major battlefields.

[Marcus McCollom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read for Civil War tourism and for history enthusiasts everywhere