Overview
The Battle of Gettysburg has become the great "what if" of American history. Gettysburg unfolds an alternate path and creates for General Robert E. Lee the victory he might have won. Full of dramatic battle scenes, military strategy, and captivating period details, Gettysburg stands as a remarkable entry in the pantheon of Civil War literature and as a vivid novel of the realities of war.
The year is 1863, and General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia are poised to attack the North and claim the victory that could end the brutal conflict. Launching his men into a vast sweeping operation, General Lee, acting as he did at Chancellorsville, Second Manassas, and Antietam, displays the audacity of old. He knows he has but one more good chance to gain ultimate victory. Now Lee's lieutenants and the men in the ranks, imbued with this renewed spirit of the offensive, embark on the Gettysburg Campaign that many dream "should have been"...
Synopsis
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL
OF TRUE HEROISM AND GLORY IN AMERICA'S MOST TRYING HOUR.
"COMPELLING."
—The Atlanta Journal Constitution
"A RIPPING GOOD READ."
—The Washington Post
"A VERITABLE FEAST."
—Publishers Weekly
The Battle of Gettysburg has become the great "what if" of American history. Gettysburg unfolds an alternate path and creates for General Robert E. Lee the victory he might have won. Full of dramatic battle scenes, military strategy, and captivating period details, Gettysburg stands as a remarkable entry in the pantheon of Civil War literature and as a vivid novel of the realities of war.
The year is 1863, and General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia are poised to attack the North and claim the victory that could end the brutal conflict. Launching his men into a vast sweeping operation, General Lee, acting as he did at Chancellorsville, Second Manassas, and Antietam, displays the audacity of old. He knows he has but one more good chance to gain ultimate victory. Now Lee's lieutenants and the men in the ranks, imbued with this renewed spirit of the offensive, embark on the Gettysburg Campaign that many dream "should have been"...
"Believable and beautifully written...every bit as good as Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels."
-The Courier Journal (Kentucky)
Publishers Weekly
This well-executed alternative history imagines a Confederate victory at Gettysburg. Former House speaker Gingrich (Contract with America) and historical fiction author Forstchen (Down to the Sea) create a plausible scenario: Robert E. Lee resolves to command, rather than merely coordinate, the efforts of that gaggle of prima donnas known as the high command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Thus, when he leads them into battle against the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, he does not commit his soldiers to a desperate head-butting on the ground chosen by the Union's General Meade. Instead, he maneuvers around the Union flank, placing his tightly run army between Meade and Washington, D.C., scooping up Union supplies and forcing Meade to launch desperate attacks with disastrous results for the Union cause. The authors show thorough knowledge of the people, weapons, tactics and ambience of the Civil War, though their portrayals of historical figures like Lee, Meade, James Longstreet and Richard Ewell betray a certain bias (the Confederate men are noble and wise, the Union leaders hot-tempered and vindictive). The novel has a narrative drive and vigor that makes the climactic battle scene a real masterpiece of its kind (it's not for the weak of stomach). The military minutiae probably makes the book inaccessible to anyone who's not a Civil War buff or military fiction fan, but those two sizable groups will find this a veritable feast. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Surprisingly plausible, written with compelling narrative force and meticulous detail."-The Atlanta Journal Constitution
"Gingrich and Forschten write with authority and with sensitivity."-St. Louis Post Dispatch
"[Gettysburg] is believable and beautifully written...every bit as good as Michael Sharra's The Killer Angels. Not only do Gingrich and Forstchen bring the characters to life, and often horrible death, but they do so with memorable observations on the ways of war and vivid, technically accurate descriptions of frightful Civil War combat."-The Courier Journal (Kentucky)
"An eye-opener...filled with gore, smoke, heat of battle and a surprise ending. The writing is vivid and clear. A ripping good read."-Washington Times
"Well-executed alternative history. The authors show thorough knowledge of the people, weapons, tactics, and ambience of the civil war. A veritable feast."-Publishers Weekly
"As historical fiction this stands beside The Killer Angels. As an alternative history of Gettysburg, it stands alone. The mastery of operational history enables the authors to expand the story's scope. The narrative is so clear that the action can be followed without maps. And the characters are sometimes heartbreakingly true to their historical originals."-Dennis Showalter, Former President of the Society of Military Historians
"Gettysburg is a creative, clever, and fascinating 'what if?' novel that promises to excite and entertain America's legions of Civil War buffs."-James Carville
"The novel Gettysburg puts forth an highly plausible and exciting scenario of a Confederate victory in the Pennsylvania campaign of 1863. The authors exhibit an in depth knowledge of not only technical details, but also the various personalities of the leaders how they could have reacted had things gone quite differently from history as we know it."-Don Troiani, noted Civil War artist