Book
Judgment at Appomattox / Ralph Peters ; maps by George Skoch.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780765381705
- ISBN: 0765381702
- Physical Description: 446 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Forge, 2017.
- Copyright: ©2017.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | "A Tom Doherty Associates book." |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | United States > History > Civil War, 1861-1865 > Fiction. Virginia > History > 1775-1865 > Fiction. |
| Genre: | War stories. Historical fiction. |
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibsons Public Library | FIC PETE (Text) | 30886001041686 | Adult Fiction Hardcover | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2017 July #1
Peters wraps up his superlative Civil Warâset Battle Hymn Cycle with a final installment, following The Damned of Petersburg (2016), that does justice to the dramatic events that culminated at a humble country courthouse in Virginia. The author continues to paint compelling portraits of the main players, including Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, John Brown Gordon, Phillip Sheridan, and James Longstreet, as battles rage across a weary, war-ravaged landscape. Though he excels at bringing well-known historical characters to life, he also captures the harsh realities of common soldiers caught in the cross fire of horrific historical circumstances. As the various battles rage on and all roads lead to Appomattox, it becomes increasingly clear that Lee's Army of Northern Virginia will be unable to break through the Union forces amassed around the courthouse. The last gasp of a formidable opponent and a brilliant tactician is brought vividly to life by a master martial historian. An absolute must-read for Civil War buffs. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2017 July #1
Civil War chronicler Peters (The Damned of Petersburg, 2016, etc.) once again writes of war in Technicolor, this time chronicling the blood-drenched chaos of close combat as Grant's Army of the Potomac forces the surrender of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.Following the four earlier novels in Peters' series, this volume picks up the war near its end, taking us from March 25 to April 9, 1865, from retreat to surrender, as Peters dissects battles, skirmishes, and routs as Lee abandons Petersburg's fortifications and is driven relentlessly to subjugation at Appomattox Courthouse. Each clash is distinct, a logical progression arising from Grant having assumed command of the Union Army, the first general to crank his resolve to the sticking place and relentlessly press Lee's exhausted, starving, ever loyal troopsâ"these heroes who smelled like mules and fought like archangels." This endgame is glimpsed mostly from the perspectives of each army's brigadiers, colonels, and ca ptainsâsome forever famous, like Joshua Chamberlain, hero of Gettysburg, and boy general George Custer, and others not. It's the byplay of their skills and incompetencies, resentments and favoritisms that fuels both victory and defeat. Everyone gets his due, from Lincoln, his despair at last driven into shadows by Grant's victories, to the runty cavalry general "Little Phil" Sheridan, self-aggrandizing at the expense of lesser generals who provided victories. Then there's Lee himself, physically ill and haunted by the past, and Pickett, failure at Gettysburg, found wanting at Five Forks. The dialogue comes complete with soldierly vulgarities, and descriptions of the maelstroms of open field charges and hand-to-hand combat are so vividâskulls shattered, guts spilled and trampledâthat it seems as if Peters has handed out Springfield 1861 Rifles and pushed us to fill a slot in the skirmish line. Once again a master of historical military fiction has made real t he sound and fury of the Civil War. Copyright Kirkus 2017 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
