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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.4842
EAN num: 9780803270770
ISBN number: 0803270771
Label: Bison Books
Manufacturer: Bison Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 214
Printing Date: June 01, 1999
Publishing house: Bison Books
Sale Popularity Level: 129540
Studio: Bison Books
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Product Description:
Little Round Top, the Railroad Cut, Pickett’s Charge—these are the turning points within the most important battle of the Civil War. Even careful students of Gettysburg, however, can find themselves disoriented when visiting the site itself. Here, finally, is a convenient guide for serious student and casual visitor alike that makes plain the sweep of events and the geography of the battlefield.
This invaluable guidebook was created by scholars who have walked the battlegrounds, consulted with local experts and park guides, and studied the testimony left behind by the participants. Gettysburg will help you find all the important locales and understand what the participants saw in 1863, even if you have no prior knowledge of the battle. Designed to enhance the experience of both first-time and returning visitors, this guide can be used alone or as a supplement to a tour. Clearly written and illustrated with maps and photographs, this is the book to have when you explore Gettysburg.
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Rated by buyers -
I've lived and/or worked in Gettysburg for almost twenty-five years, and I've been on the battlefield hundreds of times. But I can honestly say that I never really had a good appreciation for what happened there until I got my hands on Grimsley's and Simpson's guide. It's completely user-friendly.
For each of the places it highlights, the guide includes:
(1) Driving instructions to each site.
(2) An extremely useful orientation section telling you what's on your left, on your right, in front of you, etc. (For example, for Barlow's Knoll, the Orientation is this: "As you face west, the town of Gettysburg is due left of you; Oak Ridge and Oak Hill are straight ahead, as is Carlisle Road in the middle distance.") For those battlefield visitors who don't think to bring a compass with them, this kind of information is worth its weight in gold.
(3) An historical description of what actually happened during the battle at the site.
(4) A "Vignette," which provides one or two eyewitness accounts pertinent to the site.
(5) A tactical analysis of what happened at the site.
The maps are excellent, the layout of the text is convenient and easy to follow, and there's an informative appendix on "Organization, Weapons, and Tactics." Moreover, the East and South Cavalry Battles are included in the guidebook, and the description of Farnsworth's deadly charge in the latter is the best I've ever read.
Highly recommended for both the beginner and the seasoned Gburg afficionado.
By the way, for those who don't know it, co-author Mark Grimsley's The Hard Hand of War (1997) really is one of the best books on the Civil War written.
Rated by buyers -
A masterful guide to the Gettysburg battlefield. I took several books on my trip to Gettysburg earlier this year but this was the only one I carried on the battlefield. It is organized around the tour stops, but also contains several side trips to lesser known areas, and simply tells you all you need to know about the events in that area at the time of the battle. It contains several maps and the directions it provides to areas on the battlefield are concise and easy to follow. If you wish to seriously tour Gettysburg National Park, this book is essential.
Rated by buyers -
I grew up near Gettysburg & have been there numerous times. I just spent 2 days there with this book on the battlefield--this book made the battle crystal clear! I ran out of time exploring the battlefield (it takes more than the 6 hours described in the book--my only criticism). This book brings the battle to life and explains the terrain like never before. I learned a lot about the battle that I never knew and many components of the battle came into focus in new and exciting ways. In particular, this book does a good job on overviews of each day and with it's clear directions, leads the reader through each stop--I really felt as if I had an expert by my side explaining all the facets of each aspect of the battle. Along the way, everything was just as the book described. The maps were excellent & it's nicely complimented with various portraits of leaders, common soldiers, etc. The guide brings the 3 days together as a cohesive whole. This is the book to get if you're going to visit Gettysburg; forget all the others.
I now live near Chickamauga and I plan on getting their book on that battle!
Rated by buyers -
I recently took a trip to Gettysburg (my 3rd) and carried this tour guide for the 1st time. It is far and away the best experience I've had seeing the battlefield. It follows the battle chronologically and offers several sites and insights not offered on the audio tours available at the local shops. Many of the stops are multifaceted. At several points the stops feature 7 to 10 asides which often involve only a minor shift in position to point out various phases of the battle. It includes a side trip to the cavalry field which I've never run into on the audio tours. The driving directions are easy to follow but do veer from the order of the Military Park brochure and the audio tours to give greater detail to the battle. The book says to allow for 6 hours-it's more like 10 hours to give time for exploring beyond some of the "stand here and turn left" instructions. 11 hours total if you include a break for lunch. We started at nine on one morning, toured until about 4 with a break for lunch and finished the following day. Sites included on the audio and Park tours tend to start getting crowded from 11 to 3, so this will add to the tour time depending on time of year and crowd. To sum it all up and paraphrase a popular commercial-when going on a tour of Gettysburg-"Don't leave home without it!"
Rated by buyers -
An excellent, well-written guidebook and the best I've seen on the subject. I carried this book on my very first visit to Gettysburg in Spring 2001, and it greatly enhanced the experience. The directions are clear and up to date, and the text is precise and detailed enough to be compelling without trying to be an exhaustive treatment of every minute detail. If used as a companion to an actual visit, I would strongly recommend reading the book in advance of your visit, then bringing it with you for reference. There are only a few very minor faults I might find with this guidebook. On the maps, it would be helpful to have present-day landmarks indicated in some way to help with orientation. Also, the book suggests the full tour can be completed in six hours, but in my experience to make all the stops and fully enjoy it you'd need at least a full day, or preferably two. You'll want to leave some time for reflection at such places as McPherson's Ridge, Little Round Top, the High Water Mark, and others to think about the enormity of what occurred on that ground.
Read this book and you'll come away with a good working knowledge of the three-day battle. Highly recommended!
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