Maybe it's just me getting older, but now I get really excited about reading.
More specifically, reading about some of the old wars. So not only am I old, but I'm a dork, too.
Oh well. Never was that cool anyway.
I've been on this history tear (usually in spring, summer) in recent years. I mean right now, all my analogies are Civil War related (Man, he's like Longstreet at Gettysburg) which no one gets and all I want to do is study this crap about guys that got shot down 145 years ago. I mean even our vacation this year was bouncing around to different battlefields in Virginia (Thank you Shanda).
It's become a real passion for me, really the Civil War and the Revolutionary War.
It sounds crazy, but because I cover sports for a living, my getaway has to be something else. And I've found the last few years that the history of those wars has been just that.
So on the brink of July 4th, I thought I'd recommend an author if anyone has an interest in the Revolutionary War (For those not in the know, that was when a cobbled-together group of rebels thumped those British dudes pretty good).
Jeff Shaara (his link is to the right) has a two-part, historical fiction set on the revolution that is really good. The first is called Rise to Rebellion, the second The Glorious Cause. It's called historical fiction because all the big stuff is true (Americans still win, for instance), but whether or not some things like conversations or certain meetings unfolded exactly the way it's written or not makes it fiction. And they are novels.
He tells each chapter from the standpoint of a different character (Gage, Washington, Lafayette, etc) and it works. He's researched their personal writings and is able to keep the story moving while telling it from different angles. Pretty interesting and I've learned more by reading his work than I ever would've just reading regular junk.
Shaara's also written a book on the Mexican War (Gone for Soldiers), which is a good read because it includes many Civil War characters like Lee, Hancock and Pickett fighting alongside one another 13 years before many split and suited up in blue or gray.
Shaara has two Civil War books (Gods and Generals; The Last Full Measure) that complete the trilogy started by his late father Michael Shaara (The Killer Angels). Those are next on my list. I'm working in chronological order, here you see. Shaara's even got WWI and WWII books out now that I'll have to get to eventually.
Anyway, if any of you are still reading down to this point, thanks for enduring.
2 comments:
Zach, Dad, and I LOVE Shaara too! We have all read the Civil War trilogy, and I am reading the WWII series right now! He his an amazing author and has gotten me interested in history. I have learned more about wars by reading his books than I ever learned in school and what is amazing to me is how much I enjoy reading them. Who would have ever thought I would be reading a book about WWII and Rommel and not be able to put it down????? See ya on the 4th I hope!
Awesome! You know that Pettigrew guy was a tar heel, right?
Yeah, his books just draw you in, make it real. I like all three I've read so far, but Rise to Rebellion may be my favorite. Two chapters really reeled me in. The first chapter on the sentry kinda set the stage and then I liked the moments at the battle of Bunker Hill when the soldiers are ordered to fire when they see the white in the British guys' eyes. Pretty intense stuff.
We'll be at the 4th. Hopefully, Jett and Gabriel can play a little.
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