Death of a nation: The Confederate Army at Gettysburg

by Clifford Dowdey

Book Overview

Written in Clifford Dowdey's engaging, sweeping style, Lee and His Men at Gettysburg: The Death of a Nation details the battle from the Confederate point of view. In this first volume in a trilogy of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076070810X
• ISBN13: 9780760708101
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Length: 383 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Crisp, Clean.

This is the story of Gettysburg, from the Confederate viewpoint. The author conducts a searching examination for the reasons for the defeat of the Army of Northern Virginia and examines the behavior of many confederate participants. His central thesis is that Lee lost because a) inferior battlefield commanders were available to Lee in the execution of his battle plan and b) subordinates failed to execute either adequately or promptly. Who was actually at fault has always been a hotly contested debate: Early, Heath, Longstreet, Ewell? All are evaluated and found wanting. But the key figure, Lee, appears to have never been considered. No matter. This is a remarkably well written description of this battle. It is a very good work. Clear, crisp, very descriptive and concise, the writing is quite engaging. Despite the scapegoating, this has to remain one of the seminal works on this battle. Is it possible the Yankees were actually that good? The idea apparently never enters the author's mind, but again, no matter. Clifford Dowdey does everyone a serious service; this is one of the better Gettysburg accounts, if not the best, you will find anywhere.

Excellent book that clearly portrays the battle

This book reads easily, and manages to give the reader not only a clear picture of the three days at Gettysburg, but also probes into the commanders and their personalities and decisions. The book not only tells of what happened during the battle, but also what was "supposed" to happen and didn't. It goes into the personalities of such generals as Ewell and Longstreet and how they affected the outcome of key engagements and eventually the entire battle itself. Lee's abilities, and short-comings, is shown, and also his frustrations with the shrinking numbers of good Confederate commanders. All in all, if you've never read about Gettysburg, or if you've read extensively about it, this book is as enjoyable as it is informative.