The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 3: Red River to Appomattox

By Shelby Foote

This final volume of Shelby Foote’s masterful narrative history of the Civil War brings to life the military endgame, the surrender at Appomattox, and the tragic dénouement of the war—the assassination of President Lincoln.
 
Features maps throughout.
 
"An unparalleled achievement, an American Iliad, a unique work uniting the scholarship of the historian and the high readability of the first-class novelist." —Walker Percy
 
“To read this chronicle is an awesome and moving experience. History and literature are rarely so thoroughly combined as here; one finishes this volume convinced that no one need undertake this particular enterprise again.” —Newsweek
 
“In objectivity, in range, in mastery of detail, in beauty of language and feeling for the people involved, this work surpasses anything else on the subject. . . . Written in the tradition of the great historian-artists—Gibbon, Prescott, Napier, Freeman—it stands alongside the work of the best of them.” —The New Republic
 
“The most written-about war in history has, with this completion of Shelby Foote’s trilogy, been given the epic treatment it deserves.” —Providence Journal

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9780307744692

Reviews for The Civil War

[arkrayder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the last book in "The Civil War: A Narrative" trilogy. I love these books and believe them to have excellent writing and detail. Some may find it slow, boring, over detailed, but I adore all that kind of stuff. This is a long book, coming in at 1089 pages, so it's a commitment reading it. I've read the first two volumes and just cannot get over the sheer detail of it. I'm impressed with the writing style in the form of a tale. It's not all facts and figures, but paints a realistic picture of the time. Foote's research of the American Civil War has to have been intense. It shows. Just couldn't put these volumes down.

[knightlight777 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It took me quite a while to finish this three volume series by Shelby Foote as in this third book I read usually two pages each day. More to savor the experience for as long as I could. I became acquainted with Mr. Foote during the epic Ken Burns series on PBS. He struck me as someone who knew his stuff on this subject and he did not disappoint in print.Shelby could narrate like no other I have encountered on this great struggle in our nation's history. I was a bit surprised he did not delve much into the tragedy of the Union soldiers at Andersonville. Also the ending of this third and final volume focuses on Jefferson Davis's travails at the conclusion of the war. On balance though each and every twist and turn, victory and defeat is laid out in detail. I was left with the thought that the south given its military leadership only needed the resources to have prevailed. Thankfully they did not have this and we have our nation in its whole.

[cartledge777 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Just too many details for my taste. I know he's a great writer, but I just always felt bogged down by so much information.

[jvioland_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Superlatives cannot describe this work. I've never enjoyed such a historical work more than this one. It is arguably the best work of its kind. You are transported to the events and become an involved observer of the horrific war that changed America forever.

[cpg_7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There's not much to say about this volume that I didn't already say about the first two volumes. It's a classic work of narrative history written by a skilled novelist and a very thoughtful man. If you think you'd be interested, buy a copy now before Amazon forbids it.What I thought I could do is list some miscellaneous things I've learned from the trilogy that I didn't previously know. Some of these will probably betray my singular ignorance, but there may be a few that would be news to a lot of people.1) Trench warfare wasn't just a thing in "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"; it was a major part of most Civil War battles. In fact, Blue versus Gray were facing each other in trenches east of Richmond and Petersburg for almost a year near the end of the war.2) I say "Gray", but lots of Confederate soldiers were dressed in butternut (a light brown).3) A large segment of the Confederate army fought barefoot.4) Through most of the war, the two sides had a system called "parole" in which armies would not retain their prisoners but would release them after they agreed that "for them the war was over" (as the Germans would say).5) Generals did not lead a cushy life back then. About 1 in 8 were killed in action during the war.6) Somehow during the time I lived in Atlanta I got the idea that, in the siege of that city, Union cannons lobbed shells from Kennesaw Mountain into the downtown area, almost 20 miles away. In actuality, cannons then had a range of about a mile--no more than 2 miles for the best--and the mountain's 800 feet of height couldn't have made that much difference.7) This was the first war in which railroads played a major factor.8) Tearing up railroads was a major activity of the cavalry, but both sides became quite proficient at repairing them quickly.9) Lee's surrender to Grant took place in a private home in a village called Appomattox Court House, *not* in a court house building.

[jguidry-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A very well-researched narrative-style telling of the end of the Civil War. Foote tried to turn a series of mechanical battles into a story. Few details were left out; it is very thorough. However, the narrative seemed to try and excuse the actions of the South and its leaders during the war so it was not to my taste.