For me, the definitive history of the civil war. This was another book that I read many years ago, and at 40 hours, it is certainly one of the longest books that I have listened to.
I am struck by the role of chance in the north's victory. This is seen most dramatically at little round top, of course, but it seems to play over and over again. Personalities have so much to do with it. A little more forceful there, a little less fearful there, and the outcome of the war may have been completely different. Then there are the completely unexpected victories that play such a huge role.
I also think it's clear that Lincoln had greatness thrust upon him. He began as a bit player, torn by the vagaries and vicissitudes of the war, but emerges finally as one of the great figures of history. McPherson doesn't make nearly as much about Sherman's march as Victor Davis Hanson, but that event really marks the end of the confederacy.
Author: McPherson, James
Date Published: 1988
Length: 39hr 43min
Narrator: Davis, Jonathan
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