No Turning Back: The Beginning of the End of the Civil War March-June, 1864

1864 series

by Donald S. Lowry

A highly readable command study of Ulysses S Grant's Wilderness campaign that reveals a sure grasp of Civil War history and military strategy.

576 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Bill Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful description of the ending campaigns and events of the American Civil War

[Rindis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, I must admit to being horribly biased. This book (and the three which come after it), was written by my dad.

The goal of the four-volume series is to present the final year of the Civil War in a strictly chronological format. Most history books, basic or learned, will follow events at one place for some time, before breaking off, going back in time, and picking up at a different location. This can muddle understanding of how events truly interacted with each other, as even with the time of travel being long, the telegraph often made communications fast.

This series picks up with Grant taking command of all the armies of the Union. His plan of campaign was for several coordinated offensives in the various theaters of operation. Thus, the series picks up the chronological viewpoint at the point where there is an actual attempt to conduct the war at several points at the same time.

The series is a re-ordering of data, not an attempt to bring to light new data, or new theories. It is written (quite successfully) in a readable style, and while it is good to have some familiarity with the outlines of the subject, it is not written at the level the serious scholar, but rather the interested hobbyist.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 575 page book that covers the first 40 days of U.S. Grants getting command of the U.S. Army in 1864. This is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, so I am boneing up on some research before visiting the sites down in Virginia in a month or so. I can't recommend this book to a casual reader just learning about war, because it lacks alot of background info (and maps) that are kind of necessary to put things in context, but for an history buff who already has that context under his belt, the details & personal stories bring the thing alive in a very real time perspective. I just finished it an hour ago, and I will definitely read more of this authors work.

[Kingpin543]

I wrote it.