The Fires of Pride: A Novel of the Civil War

by William R. Trotter

Concluding his Civil War saga begun in The Sands of Pride, William Trotter takes up the stories of his stunning array of characters—Union and Confederate, fictional and historic—in the closing days of July 1863. The South has lost at Gettysburg, the tide of history has shifted, and the fortunes of the Rebel side have begun, inexorably, to decline. Interwoven lives carry readers to the apocalyptic Union assault on Fort Fisher (the "Alamo of the Confederacy") in early January 1865—the largest amphibious operation in U. S. Navy history until the invasion of Guadalcanal in 1942. Featuring the brief but glorious career of the mighty ironclad ram, the CSS Hatteras, which finally emerged to challenge the Union Navy, The Fires of Pride is a richly textured, sweepingly dramatic epic, a towering work that combines deep scholarship with an intensely human understanding of the men and women of the period. Taken together, The Sands of Pride and The Fires of Pride constitute a mighty work of Civil War fiction worthy to stand on the same shelf with Gone with the Wind and The Killer Angels.

Genres: Historical Fiction

554 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Travis Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It may very well be that my frustration with military leadership incompetence is souring my take on this book but...

1) it was good enough to finish.
2) this was poorly edited (worse than book one) missing words and a few unreadable sentences
3) there was a weird meta-physical break in the middle that seemed out of place.

Read it if you love Civil War stuff - it definitely has some interesting history. Otherwise, avoid.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical novel indeliable characters great story turbulent setting

[Samm Seals · Rating 5 out of 5]

POWERFUL BOOK! good read, easy enough considering it covers many people and how their lives entwine and how everyone is affected during the civil war.