What do you think?
Rate this book
Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is familiar to all Americans. But never has his most famous speech—his 271 indelible words—been presented in such a visual and accessible format. Graphic artist and Civil War aficionado C. M. Butzer deftly uses a detailed, comic-book style to depict the Battle of Gettysburg; the national movement to create a memorial there; and the quiet day in 1863 when Lincoln delivered his galvanizing speech. Butzer uses only primary sources for the text, drawing from first-person letters and diaries, speeches, and Lincoln's own writing to unpack this series of historical events. The address itself is played out over eighteen pages, with every phrase given a visual interpretation that will resonate with young readers.
80 pages, Paperback
First published December 23, 2008
5 people are currently reading
407 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
January 26, 2016
This is quite a subject to sum up in a few pages of comics, but Butzer does it fairly well. His artwork is clean and uncluttered, making the battle scenes that much more evocative. The facial expressions of the soldiers are easy to read. Yep. The horror, the horror . . .
The author drew from a variety of sources to build his story. I thought the most effective were the pages that featured text taken from the letters of two volunteer nurses.
"The whole town is one vast hospital. The road, for long distances, is in many places, strewn with dead horses. Avenues of white tents. Good God, what those quiet little tents contained. It is absolutely inconceivable. Dead and dying, and wounded, torn to pieces in every way. The amputation table is plainly in view. I never trust myself to look toward it."
The second half of the book is taken up with the aftermath of the war. A little over a month later, a memorial and a national cemetery are hastily constructed.
The book concludes with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.
"...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
The author drew from a variety of sources to build his story. I thought the most effective were the pages that featured text taken from the letters of two volunteer nurses.
"The whole town is one vast hospital. The road, for long distances, is in many places, strewn with dead horses. Avenues of white tents. Good God, what those quiet little tents contained. It is absolutely inconceivable. Dead and dying, and wounded, torn to pieces in every way. The amputation table is plainly in view. I never trust myself to look toward it."
The second half of the book is taken up with the aftermath of the war. A little over a month later, a memorial and a national cemetery are hastily constructed.
The book concludes with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.
"...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
June 10, 2018
I love it when writers use comics to tell stories from history. This is a compelling version of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and of Abraham Lincoln's memorable speech, The Gettsyburg Address.
The book includes an illustrated cast of characters, a good description of the town and battle (with references to historical accounts), and the full text of Lincoln's speech, with powerful drawings accompanying the words.
I could see this comic being useful to a high school history teacher, looking for a new way to share this piece of our past. Recommended.
The book includes an illustrated cast of characters, a good description of the town and battle (with references to historical accounts), and the full text of Lincoln's speech, with powerful drawings accompanying the words.
I could see this comic being useful to a high school history teacher, looking for a new way to share this piece of our past. Recommended.
April 4, 2025
Represents what can be done through GN's that are focused on education...highest rating. In many was this was the turning point of America: a realization that what had torn us asunder needed to be healed if there was any chance for us to be 'united' ever again. This GN is a powerful retelling of this important event.
March 3, 2023
This book was very good. It had very specific details on the battle and what happened as well as the people who were part of it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2018
3.5 🌟
This graphic novel is a simplified version of the civil war, the aftermath and the iconic speech by Abraham Lincoln. I don't know how to comment about the art but the style fits the atmosphere of the subject of this book. It looks like the research by the author/illustrator was quite thorough but the presentation of what happened during the battle was a bit confusing (or at least for a person like me that only read about the event only once previously).
August 12, 2023
I’m heading to the Lincoln library tomorrow and wanted to refresh myself on Lincoln and some of the major events of his presidency & found this graphic novel. I’m finding that I really enjoy non-fiction, historical graphic novels. I think the combination of graphics and text makes the material more engaging and less dense. This was a quick read & a good reminder and overview of the events taking place at Gettysburg.
November 6, 2012
Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com
GETTYSBURG: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL is almost exactly what it proposes itself to be: a graphic-novel account of the Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg and its aftermath, culminating with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
It's obvious that Butzer has done his research on this one, as you can see if you flip to his bibliography at the back, but I kept wishing that this research could have been presented in a manner that would be easier to understand. Even with a decent knowledge of the Civil War's political and historical climate, the first several pages of Butzer's account were difficult to follow, long on images and short on explanatory text. The author/illustrator appears to have foreseen this complaint, and has included in the back of the book a panel-by-panel discussion of the historical background for each page of the comic, but I kept wanting that information to be made available to me on the same page as the images.
The narration picks up after the battle has ended and the Union must care for its sick and wounded; from here on, Butzer's arresting visual narrative is bolstered by quoting from the journals and letters of people who were actually present, including a local nurse and the photographer sent to document the battlefield carnage.
I will say this for Butzer: the images themselves are beautiful. Rendered in black, white, and a gray-blue reminiscent of both Union and Confederate uniforms, these drawings capture the atmosphere of Gettysburg before and after the battles with the same harsh clarity as famous photographer Timothy O'Sullivan, some of whose original prints from Gettysburg are reproduced by Butzer as drawings.
By the time the graphic novel presents the Gettsyburg Address itself, Butzer is in fine form, juxtaposing images of the crowd gathered to consecrate the new national cemetery and moments in American history, past and future, that seem to be encapsulated within Lincoln's speech. The final image of Lincoln as he walks away through the now-empty graveyard is evocative and sparse, sending chills up my spine.
Still, if you are looking for an interesting place to start learning about Gettysburg or the Civil War, you might want to start with something that will give you all the facts up front, instead of relegating them to ten pages of notes in the back. Based purely on the art content, I'd give this book 5 stars, but the difficulty following the story, especially of the battle itself, detracts from the artistic experience and makes it hard to determine how effective this graphic novel is as anything other than a series of evocative images.
GETTYSBURG: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL is almost exactly what it proposes itself to be: a graphic-novel account of the Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg and its aftermath, culminating with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
It's obvious that Butzer has done his research on this one, as you can see if you flip to his bibliography at the back, but I kept wishing that this research could have been presented in a manner that would be easier to understand. Even with a decent knowledge of the Civil War's political and historical climate, the first several pages of Butzer's account were difficult to follow, long on images and short on explanatory text. The author/illustrator appears to have foreseen this complaint, and has included in the back of the book a panel-by-panel discussion of the historical background for each page of the comic, but I kept wanting that information to be made available to me on the same page as the images.
The narration picks up after the battle has ended and the Union must care for its sick and wounded; from here on, Butzer's arresting visual narrative is bolstered by quoting from the journals and letters of people who were actually present, including a local nurse and the photographer sent to document the battlefield carnage.
I will say this for Butzer: the images themselves are beautiful. Rendered in black, white, and a gray-blue reminiscent of both Union and Confederate uniforms, these drawings capture the atmosphere of Gettysburg before and after the battles with the same harsh clarity as famous photographer Timothy O'Sullivan, some of whose original prints from Gettysburg are reproduced by Butzer as drawings.
By the time the graphic novel presents the Gettsyburg Address itself, Butzer is in fine form, juxtaposing images of the crowd gathered to consecrate the new national cemetery and moments in American history, past and future, that seem to be encapsulated within Lincoln's speech. The final image of Lincoln as he walks away through the now-empty graveyard is evocative and sparse, sending chills up my spine.
Still, if you are looking for an interesting place to start learning about Gettysburg or the Civil War, you might want to start with something that will give you all the facts up front, instead of relegating them to ten pages of notes in the back. Based purely on the art content, I'd give this book 5 stars, but the difficulty following the story, especially of the battle itself, detracts from the artistic experience and makes it hard to determine how effective this graphic novel is as anything other than a series of evocative images.
October 23, 2014
C.M. Butzer's "Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel" is just as the tital says. It's an overview of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, a very brief overview. Overall, it's a short read but it gets the important information in there. A lot of the blood and gore has been cut, so any who are faint of heart or squeamish don't have much to worry about. There are a few panels that show some blood, but not very often. The picture the book paints of the effects the battle had on the country as a whole is tough to match, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address at the end ties it all together.
Anyone who enjoys American history, military history, or non-fiction in general could pick this book up. As I said, the graphic images associated with war are not shown here, only lifeless bodies and a couple of blood splatters here and there. It's perfect for a brief refresher on the events of the battle or to add to a history collection.
Anyone who enjoys American history, military history, or non-fiction in general could pick this book up. As I said, the graphic images associated with war are not shown here, only lifeless bodies and a couple of blood splatters here and there. It's perfect for a brief refresher on the events of the battle or to add to a history collection.
January 16, 2010
Very good, brief, graphic novel about the Battle of Gettysburg and Lincoln's Gettsyburg address, featuring background to the battle, the aftermath, and the reason for Lincoln's speech, (the dedication of a national cemetery). This is also on my Rose Challenge, and will be one of my two lists of ten books, (graphic novels). I think Rose is homeschooling me.
March 27, 2018
“Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel” is an informational story about Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The book follows the storyline of how the Gettysburg Address was born, and everything the occurred in between. The graphics of this historical story really bring the book alive and make a fun adventure for young readers to learn about.
What initially caught my eye about this book was that the illustrator was able to perfectly illustrate, and make this historical moment come to life. There were a few design elements that really contributed to the detail of the story. The illustrations were shown in a comic book-like appearance. It added on to the authenticity of the book and the story being told throughout the book. I also liked how there was dialogue incorporated into the illustrations. It gives them life and can tell the story in a deeper way. As for literary elements, I liked how the author included challenging vocabulary for the readers. The author also used words that could describe the sounds of noises, that made the book even more exciting and entertaining.
“Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel” was an amazing informational text book because of the great information it provided along with an exciting and historical story. It is important that kids become comfortable reading these true stories to gain more knowledge.
What initially caught my eye about this book was that the illustrator was able to perfectly illustrate, and make this historical moment come to life. There were a few design elements that really contributed to the detail of the story. The illustrations were shown in a comic book-like appearance. It added on to the authenticity of the book and the story being told throughout the book. I also liked how there was dialogue incorporated into the illustrations. It gives them life and can tell the story in a deeper way. As for literary elements, I liked how the author included challenging vocabulary for the readers. The author also used words that could describe the sounds of noises, that made the book even more exciting and entertaining.
“Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel” was an amazing informational text book because of the great information it provided along with an exciting and historical story. It is important that kids become comfortable reading these true stories to gain more knowledge.
Read
January 18, 2019Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel is a short recount of the battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg address. Overall this was a good read, with accurate information. The art style has very defined lines with very good use of color to convey mood, allowing the reader to imagine themselves in the battle. Although some of the information is rushed, Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel, is an interesting read.
September 15, 2018
Imaginatively designed. Provides valuable context about what happened at Gettysburg, why it happened, how the cemetery was constructed, and how people reacted afterward. Probably too graphic for young readers because of its depiction of corpses.
July 6, 2020
This was in interesting way to interact briefly with the events before, during and after the Battle of Gettysburg. The book is well researched and gives several sources I'm looking forward to using with my students next year. The visualization of the Gettysburg Address is so incredibly helpful at better understanding the long term impacts of this speech.
August 19, 2009
Gettysburg is about these people in the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. They're soldiers have been fighting this war against the Confederate army for about 4 years. This not about the 4 years they have been fighting this war, but the 3 day battle that took place in these people's town. It was a long hard summer for the Union army, as it was for the Confederate. Each and every one of the town's on either side had survived through a difficult time period. With the Union creeping up on Little Round Top, they defeated the Confederates...
I can make a text to text connection with a book called Two Girls of Gettysburg. This book is about these two girls who are cousins. One girl lives in Gettysburg and the other lives in Virginia. They love each other very much, but Rosanna, who preferres to follow her Southern blood, decides to serve for the Confederate army, and Lizzie, who's brother and father are soldiers in war, decides to serve for the Union army. Both of the girls are having so many conflicts, between themselves and the war going on around them. In the book Gettysburg, the problems are similar, but this shows how hard it was living a original life in a civil war.
I rated this book 5 stars because it was short and simple describing how life was in Gettysburg. I would recommend this book to people who love history, comic books, and action.
I can make a text to text connection with a book called Two Girls of Gettysburg. This book is about these two girls who are cousins. One girl lives in Gettysburg and the other lives in Virginia. They love each other very much, but Rosanna, who preferres to follow her Southern blood, decides to serve for the Confederate army, and Lizzie, who's brother and father are soldiers in war, decides to serve for the Union army. Both of the girls are having so many conflicts, between themselves and the war going on around them. In the book Gettysburg, the problems are similar, but this shows how hard it was living a original life in a civil war.
I rated this book 5 stars because it was short and simple describing how life was in Gettysburg. I would recommend this book to people who love history, comic books, and action.
October 22, 2014
ABRAHAM LINCOLN is the greatest president theses United States of America has ever had. this is all about the war and mass killings of Gettysburg, and how countless lives lost in battle, "... these dead shall not have died in vain", and they have not. it shows both sides and how the war was almost lost to the south because of there tactical advantages but we pulled it out because of the brilliance of Abraham Lincoln and the fighting spirit of the men who fought for their right of equality for ever man, women, and child that is a citizen of these united states. it is a very bloody and tragedy war that shows the mass of how many actually died and how many were wounded and need help. the war was indeed, a " Harvest of Death". but it shows how a country divided can pull together and be united as one even when all hope is lost for both sides of the war.
this was very good for how short it was, it showed and summed up how the war really went down, and showed how dedicated the president really was on the abolishment of slavery, equality, and the end of the war to stop the 1,000's to 10,000's of lives lost everyday.
i would recommend anyone who likes or loves history, Abraham Lincoln, and bloody dismemberment of body parts, and the dead.
this was very good for how short it was, it showed and summed up how the war really went down, and showed how dedicated the president really was on the abolishment of slavery, equality, and the end of the war to stop the 1,000's to 10,000's of lives lost everyday.
i would recommend anyone who likes or loves history, Abraham Lincoln, and bloody dismemberment of body parts, and the dead.
November 4, 2016
One of the best features of this graphic novel is that it is not all that graphic in terms of depicting the blood and other gore of the battle. Drawn in subdued tones of light blue and light gray with black and white, Butzer keeps it solemn, which befits the horrific results of the battle.
He also is very specific in keeping within the bounds of historical accuracy, after the last panel there is a section where he gives his references and admits when a conversation has been “invented”, albeit within the bounds of what is known about the principals of the situation.
I was very impressed by this as a work of history as well as art. Butzer is to be commended for his attention to historical detail; this book could serve as a primer in history classes when the subject is the battle of Gettysburg. One of the most intriguing points is that an image on page 18 has a bullet hole in a window. This was a tribute to the only known civilian casualty of the battle, Ginnie Wade, struck by a stray bullet while she was baking bread. The sequence of captions depicting the history of the nation and the struggle for civil rights that includes the passages of the Gettysburg address is a work of genius.
He also is very specific in keeping within the bounds of historical accuracy, after the last panel there is a section where he gives his references and admits when a conversation has been “invented”, albeit within the bounds of what is known about the principals of the situation.
I was very impressed by this as a work of history as well as art. Butzer is to be commended for his attention to historical detail; this book could serve as a primer in history classes when the subject is the battle of Gettysburg. One of the most intriguing points is that an image on page 18 has a bullet hole in a window. This was a tribute to the only known civilian casualty of the battle, Ginnie Wade, struck by a stray bullet while she was baking bread. The sequence of captions depicting the history of the nation and the struggle for civil rights that includes the passages of the Gettysburg address is a work of genius.
August 18, 2016
I am still on quite a Lincoln/Douglass/Reconstruction kick right now and I have been so impressed with graphic non-fiction histories. This book is not as detailed Hennessey's graphic non-fiction, but this one is more suited for middle schoolers. What I realize graphic texts can do is interpret meaning through pictures (I know, crazy, but this really hit me with this text!). Butzer interprets Lincoln's address in the last section of the book by showing scenes of the fight for gay rights, the farm workers' movement, and panels with people of color- all colors- depicted. In these pictures, Butzer is making an argument about what the Gettysburg address really means and I found it a wonderful way to do so. After studying Reconstruction intensely for a week, I know that some would not interpret Lincoln's speech in this way, but I have to say, I like it.
Also, for Everett folks, Everett Middle School is named after Edward Everett who actually was the star speaker at Gettysburg and spoke for over 2 hours there. Lincoln followed with his short, enduring words.
Also, for Everett folks, Everett Middle School is named after Edward Everett who actually was the star speaker at Gettysburg and spoke for over 2 hours there. Lincoln followed with his short, enduring words.
November 21, 2010
Normally I don’t read graphic novels, but since they are popular with YA I decided to read from the Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2010 list Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel by C.M. Butzer. Being a picture book fan the novel immediately appealed to me for the explicit and detailed illustrations. The expressions and close-up presentation help the reader feel what those involved in the conflict felt. It takes three panels for the cannon ball to come closer and then obliterate men standing shoulder to shoulder. The pages show the aerial and close-up viewpoint of each individual and the group together. It’s like being there while the youth sees and points to the circling vultures while you notice he’s missing his leg from the knee down; others from both sides lay dead around him. Readers will understand Lincoln’s 271 words as each is displayed with superb detail and life. This is history in a style for all to enjoy.
October 12, 2014
What I like about this treatment is its brevity, the many wordless panels and the focus on Lincoln's speech. As criticized elsewhere-http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2014/... this is not the book to pick up if you want a thorough, blow-by-blow understanding of the battle. Butzer's graphics are strong and this is an excellent resource for struggling readers interested in the topic. I also admire how Butzer preserves the language of the era. For a more thorough treatment of the battle read The Graphic History of Gettysburg, by Vansant: less visually strong it has much more detail.
February 2, 2016
When I picked up this book I wasn't sure whether it was going to be good or not, but I glanced through it and decided to get it. I'm glad as did, as it is a very-well done graphic novel.
It covers the battle itself, but it also covers what happened after the battle, including the establishment of a national cemetery, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and how the United States has advanced in civil rights, although people had to fight in their own way to get those advancements made.
It also includes explanations of various panels and it includes a separate printing of the Gettysburg Address.
It covers the battle itself, but it also covers what happened after the battle, including the establishment of a national cemetery, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and how the United States has advanced in civil rights, although people had to fight in their own way to get those advancements made.
It also includes explanations of various panels and it includes a separate printing of the Gettysburg Address.
June 1, 2016
History at it's finest. Great book, great art style, really brought Gettysburg to life. I wish I could have been there to see it myself since I love Abraham Lincoln but this is probably as good as it gets. Not informational wise, but it's a good look at history itself. The art style was really cool, like in one panel there was a illustration of land littered with bloody bodies and it was cool cause it was just basically blue and white which almost gave the entire story a sad overtone and made the speech have more meaning with those pictures. I would recommend this if you like history and cool illustrations as well.
April 2, 2014
This was a really great book. It was very informational and just a fun read. It showed the fight between the north and south, and I showed Abraham Lincolns speech witch I thought was really cool. I would recommend this to teachers that teach social studies at a 5th grade level because I feel like kids would read it unlike a text book.
May 22, 2014
Although I am not that into history, Gettysburg was still an interesting comic to read. The art in this comic was nice and I thought the story was told very well. Normally I find history comics very boring but I actually didn't mind reading through this comic. I would recommend this to anyone who likes history and is an Abraham Lincoln fan(he has an awesome beard by the way).
May 11, 2025
I read The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaptation which is great and
Grant vs. Lee: The Graphic History of the Civil War's Greatest Rivals During the Last Year of the War. Both are quite good and recommended. They both loosely depict the battle as does this book. I recognize battles and events even though there is less text explaining them I can clearly see he uses historical sources for everything as this is exactly how it went down step by step. He does skip tactics and outcomes of tactics that explain why the Union army won this or that battle.
On page 33 he depicts the notorious fake photograph of the young sniper. They dragged a dead body into the position then sold photos of him. Back then dead bodies were ideal photograph material as you couldn't take photos of stuff that moved around. But as they were eager to sell photos to papers they fought to take the best ones. With yellow journalism the norm much was spun stories not reality. Mainly war propaganda during Lincoln who shut down papers if they didn't follow his point of view. The South did a similar thing.
The book overall skips the battle. It actually skips most of the history as it's that short. We don't get much text either as he placed it in the back of the book which I frankly don't want to read as the book overall is not strong enough for this. The Gettysburg address is presented in tiny sentences hard to read. And finally he ends it by depicting modern propaganda and protests like a poster for gay rights etc. The ending drags you out of the historical setting. Overall the author is just not careful enough to put his biases aside. The speech was not about modern issues is was a historically significant speech about a greater civil war against secession and to forcefully end slavery in the South. It's a shame it feels like it's about nothing at the end even though we do have a few nice depictions of the wide battle. Many faces are slap-stick. The lack of colors really kills it.
The thing is those 2 other books are presenting the idea better. One is about the speech the other about the battle step by step. This book is a fast overview of sorts not really introducing much. I think a 2 star rating is perfectly fine as "it was ok". I didn't hate it yet it feels pointless. There are also way more comic books about the battle itself and I'll try to read those, but short ones are pointless for me now. This one is maybe fine for some progressive New Yorker not willing to dig deep into history. For everyone else it will feel shallow.
Grant vs. Lee: The Graphic History of the Civil War's Greatest Rivals During the Last Year of the War. Both are quite good and recommended. They both loosely depict the battle as does this book. I recognize battles and events even though there is less text explaining them I can clearly see he uses historical sources for everything as this is exactly how it went down step by step. He does skip tactics and outcomes of tactics that explain why the Union army won this or that battle.
On page 33 he depicts the notorious fake photograph of the young sniper. They dragged a dead body into the position then sold photos of him. Back then dead bodies were ideal photograph material as you couldn't take photos of stuff that moved around. But as they were eager to sell photos to papers they fought to take the best ones. With yellow journalism the norm much was spun stories not reality. Mainly war propaganda during Lincoln who shut down papers if they didn't follow his point of view. The South did a similar thing.
The book overall skips the battle. It actually skips most of the history as it's that short. We don't get much text either as he placed it in the back of the book which I frankly don't want to read as the book overall is not strong enough for this. The Gettysburg address is presented in tiny sentences hard to read. And finally he ends it by depicting modern propaganda and protests like a poster for gay rights etc. The ending drags you out of the historical setting. Overall the author is just not careful enough to put his biases aside. The speech was not about modern issues is was a historically significant speech about a greater civil war against secession and to forcefully end slavery in the South. It's a shame it feels like it's about nothing at the end even though we do have a few nice depictions of the wide battle. Many faces are slap-stick. The lack of colors really kills it.
The thing is those 2 other books are presenting the idea better. One is about the speech the other about the battle step by step. This book is a fast overview of sorts not really introducing much. I think a 2 star rating is perfectly fine as "it was ok". I didn't hate it yet it feels pointless. There are also way more comic books about the battle itself and I'll try to read those, but short ones are pointless for me now. This one is maybe fine for some progressive New Yorker not willing to dig deep into history. For everyone else it will feel shallow.
October 16, 2017
The book I read was “Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel.” The author used more pictures than words to describe what was going on. He used words when people were having conversations or when there was a date change. Since the author used more pictures than words, there were more visualizations, your mind could go free just thinking about like what it must have been like during that fight (or the Civil War). But the way he does the pictures, it is just beautiful. He shows things with pictures that not most authors can do. But the book is about the Civil Rights Movement. It shows time before the Civil War, it shows the Civil War a little bit, and then it shows what happened after the Civil War. But you have to think that this story is in mostly pictures. For people who are not so good at visualizing it describes all the pictures at the end of the story.
It was an okay story, but there were not many words. Most pages were just pictures. So obviously this book is fast paced, until you get to the end of the story. At the end, it explains the pictures and some of the words, which is really smart actually. ost of the pictures did not make much sense at all. Of course we should all be familiar with Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. But never has his 271 word speech been presented in such a visual and accessible format for all ages. The book depicted the Battle of Gettysburg, the national movement to create a memorial there. And the quiet day in 1863 when Abraham gave his mesmerizing speech. The whole story is pictures showing before Abraham’s speech, so the battle, and then the aftermath of his speech. The pictures are also set in chronological order, so it goes from civil rights issues to the beginning of slavery, to women and slaves fighting for rights to native Americans, to gays, and more. Overall this book was pretty good but I only recommend it for people who are looking for a quick read and some quick information about the Civil War, the speech, and the aftermath of the speech. I give this book 3 cannon balls out of 5 cannon balls. =)
It was an okay story, but there were not many words. Most pages were just pictures. So obviously this book is fast paced, until you get to the end of the story. At the end, it explains the pictures and some of the words, which is really smart actually. ost of the pictures did not make much sense at all. Of course we should all be familiar with Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. But never has his 271 word speech been presented in such a visual and accessible format for all ages. The book depicted the Battle of Gettysburg, the national movement to create a memorial there. And the quiet day in 1863 when Abraham gave his mesmerizing speech. The whole story is pictures showing before Abraham’s speech, so the battle, and then the aftermath of his speech. The pictures are also set in chronological order, so it goes from civil rights issues to the beginning of slavery, to women and slaves fighting for rights to native Americans, to gays, and more. Overall this book was pretty good but I only recommend it for people who are looking for a quick read and some quick information about the Civil War, the speech, and the aftermath of the speech. I give this book 3 cannon balls out of 5 cannon balls. =)
November 17, 2018
It absolutely needed more room to cover the entire June 30th- November 19th events of Gettysburg. Since all the battle was too confusing (even with detailed maps) to be properly covered in so few pages, he should have stuck to the the post-retreat situation in which he poignantly represented the dead and clearly immortalized all the important happenings through the end of the Gettysburg Address- the very end of the mass funeral of the dead soldiers.
The events of the day of that speech, which was but an addendum to the generation's greatest orator's two hours of emotional remembrance and rhetoric, were the highlights of this book. The Gettysburg Address was the shining focal point of a well-illustrated and well-adapted work for ALL AGES. This is not a kid's book even though they are the ideal audience.
The reason that I jumped for this treat was it is unmistakably a "The Center of Cartoon Studies" presentation. The reason I didn't qualify "style" was because this is EXACTLY the book you get from them- down to the (what I would call) "tri-tone" coloring and the paginated index at the end with corresponding panels which gives them precedence, further explanation and additional significance. It's as if Butler was a student there and/or had Sturm's blessing to present it in homage.
The events of the day of that speech, which was but an addendum to the generation's greatest orator's two hours of emotional remembrance and rhetoric, were the highlights of this book. The Gettysburg Address was the shining focal point of a well-illustrated and well-adapted work for ALL AGES. This is not a kid's book even though they are the ideal audience.
The reason that I jumped for this treat was it is unmistakably a "The Center of Cartoon Studies" presentation. The reason I didn't qualify "style" was because this is EXACTLY the book you get from them- down to the (what I would call) "tri-tone" coloring and the paginated index at the end with corresponding panels which gives them precedence, further explanation and additional significance. It's as if Butler was a student there and/or had Sturm's blessing to present it in homage.
May 10, 2019
This book, Gettysburg The Graphic Novel, tells the story of the battle of gettysburg prior to it and the events after. Before the book even starts there is a list of characters some of which are real life people such as general Robert E. Lee who was the commander of the confederate army. This helps a little, but not as much as the author intended. There are plenty pictures depicting battles, hospitals and carnage throughout the book. There is a bit of dialogue, but I feel like this book is about the pictures telling most of the story. The end of the book shows Abraham Lincoln giving the Gettysburg address which is probably the highlight of the book.
I recommend this book to someone who wants to learn about the Battle of Gettysburg, but don’t want to read some 300 page history book. This book is great, and it has little bad moments or pages. Some scenes that have don't have dialogue could use a little to help tell the scene. To conclude, this book is a nice read, and I would definitely read it again.
I recommend this book to someone who wants to learn about the Battle of Gettysburg, but don’t want to read some 300 page history book. This book is great, and it has little bad moments or pages. Some scenes that have don't have dialogue could use a little to help tell the scene. To conclude, this book is a nice read, and I would definitely read it again.
March 24, 2017
Gettysburg is the story of how the Union won the civil war. It shows how grisly the war was, tens of thousands of lives lost. There’s a scene of the Battle of Gettysburg, and the deaths and injuries that came with it. Afterwards it shows the Union’s cannons that destroyed the Confederate’s charge on Cemetery Ridge. General Robert Lee’s camp and how they felt. It showed the Gettysburg Address “Four score and seven years ago…”
This book wasn’t actually that good. As I read it, not much stuck, I didn’t remember much from reading it. When I read it, I can clearly see the emotions that the different people felt, but at the end, I don’t actually remember much. However, I liked the art, and that’s what earned it a second star. This was a short read, but it didn’t actually provide me with the information I wanted.
This book wasn’t actually that good. As I read it, not much stuck, I didn’t remember much from reading it. When I read it, I can clearly see the emotions that the different people felt, but at the end, I don’t actually remember much. However, I liked the art, and that’s what earned it a second star. This was a short read, but it didn’t actually provide me with the information I wanted.
March 28, 2018
The book Gettysburg by C.m. Butzer was a decent book but not the best I have read. Personally I thought it was pretty bad. I thought it was bad because its extremely short. Its a 70 page book that gives you no good story line and after page 40 it is just Abraham Lincoln saying his famous speech of "Four score in seven years ago" from page 45-70. Another reason why the story was bad is because it was extremely short it talked about the battle of Gettysburg for a very short period of around 35 pages. All in all I think this book was pretty bad it had a very brief story and was just bad. The only cool and good thing about this book was the illustrations in it.
May 5, 2019
This graphic novel is based on the final report provided on 9/11 by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. This version is a fact-based and beautifully illustrated look at the events leading up to the attacks on 9-11, the attacks themselves, the U.s. response and the commission's recommendations for how to better prepare our country for future issues, as well as steps to take to minimize the possibilities of successful future attacks. I found this book to be an excellent resource for people of all ages, but particularly for students who might be adverse to reading a typical nonfiction book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews