I usually stay away from alternative histories, but I live in Gettysburg. A couple years ago, Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen did a booksigning during the annual anniversary weekend so I decided I’d try Gettysburg.
Gettysburg is a well-told story of how the Confederate Army wins the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. The turning event in the novel involves Confederate General Robert E. Lee swallowing his pride and accepting good advice from his generals about how to lead the attack. Lee also overcomes some natural reticence to become a more-forceful commander on the field. Because of this, Lee outflanks Union General George Meade at Gettysburg and the battle occurs on a battlefield of Lee’s choosing rather than Meade’s. When Lee gets between Meade and Washington D.C., Meade rushes to stop him, leading to a bad defeat for the Union Army.
Gingrich and Forstchen show a sound understanding of weapons and tactics of the era. They also know their major characters well. The battle scenes are so well done that they are heart-wrenching to read as soldiers die. It’s not a fast read, but it’s worth the effort to work some of the meetings of the great Civil War minds. The only problem I have with the book is that it is so plausible and accurate that the line between fiction and non-fiction kept blurring.
Gettysburg is the first of a trilogy of books about an alternative version of the Civil War. I’m looking forward to reading the other two.
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