Best Little Stories of the Blue and Gray

by C. Brian Kelly, Ingrid Smyer

A journalistic history of America's Civil War, it records the war largely in terms of human-interest aspects. In more than 100 vignettes, the writings of soldiers, sailors, slaves, politicians, and ordinary people are featured. Illustrated. Best Little Stories from the Blue and the Gray is a journalistic history of America's Civil War and the people who fought it. Drawn from the writings of soldiers, sailors, slaves, politicians, and ordinary citizens as much as from the accomplishments of military leaders, it records the war largely in terms of its human-interest aspects. In more than 100 vignettes, it gives voice to the common people ― soldiers and civilians alike ― not just military and political leaders, featuring stories

Genres: Civil War, History, War, Short Stories

352 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2006

About the author

C. BRIAN KELLY, a prize-winning journalist, is president and founder of Montpelier Publishing and a columnist and editor emeritus for Military History magazine. He also is a lecturer in newswriting at the University of Virginia. Kelly's articles have appeared in Reader's Digest, Friends, Yankee, Rod Serling's Twilight Zone, and other magazines, and he is the author of several books on American history.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, my copy has a different cover. Second, no bibliography but there there are websites referenced throughout the book.

i picked this up by accident, was going to donate it to a history society fundraiser, it had been sitting on my shelf for years and...
i started reading one of Ingrid Smyer's chapters on Genl. Sherman's wife, then read the others she wrote then read the aftermath chapters. When i stopped reading the book i'd meant not even to look at i was a hundred pages in. Read it in one day. This was a wonderful quick book, a jr high or h.s. teacher could read a chapter (they're only a couple pages long) to a class and show how interesting history can be.
The first Genl Patton is in here(who knew?), so is the fierce leader not known by his initials H.U.G., Jubal Early shows a few times as do writers and farmers, women, slaves and the surveyor of New York of the Pacific shows his honor by protecting the house of a women he loved in his West Point days.
Most interesting to me were the chapters on California's involvement and several preachers able to justify and promote slavery and the war as a Christian mission.
C. Brian Kelly and Ingrid Smyer are Writers which made this book more than just a collection of trivia. Kelly reminds me of Simon Winchester, at the end of some chapters he adds "additional notes" which are filled w/"Oh by the way" moments which could be a book in themselves.