Shelby Foote's Civil War Trilogy...Any Good?

[mawnansmiff]

My collection of early American history books is slowly expanding and pretty much every book I have read thus far has been excellent. I'm approaching the end of 'A Kingdom Strange' by James Horn (the second of his, the other being 'A Land As God Made It) and then I move onto a history of the gold rush which sounds really interesting.
Thing is, whenever I search for more books to read on early American history I am always seeing mention of Shelby Foote and his widely acclaimed Civil War Trilogy. Now my knowledge of American geography is somewhat vague (though it is slowly expanding the more I read) and my knowledge of American politics is miniscule so I fear I will soon get lost in his books.....and they're all quite lengthy. I appreciate given the subject matter that politics will feature heavily so I ask those who have read his books, are they going to make much sense to a Brit with limited knowledge in this area?
His books (all of them) have rave reviews on Amazon but of course they are largely American reviews so what say you folks?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[sablebrush52]

Shelby Foote's Civil War Trilogy is a work of brilliance. He writes with such command and vivid clarity that I felt like I was right in the thick of it, witnessing events as they unfolded. He's writing in a manner that follows in the ancient tradition of telling oral history. I can't recommend this set highly enough.

 

[ashdigger]

It is absolutely WORTH IT!!! I had the audio version and I just gobbled it up.

 

[seldom]

Worth reading but be aware that Shelby Foote was not a historian (note a lack of footnotes and reference to sources) and he had a definite southern bias. He was a pipe smoker.

 

[haparnold]

Shelby Foote was an amazing man, and his work on the War Between the States (some in the American South would claim that 'Civil War' is a misnomer) is, although not exactly an academic-level reference (as Seldom mentioned), a work of genius.

 

[tbradsim1]

Shelby told you about the war like you are on his porch listening to the fears, terrors , sadness, and in such a beautiful voice, Made the war personal, something the perts don’t do.

 

[chilipalmer]

Jay,
Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy is excellent in every way. It is accurate history, if not the most detailed, and wonderfully readable. If you're only going to read one thing about that particular conflict, you could do far worse.
Cheers,
Chili

 

[sablebrush52]

some in the American South would claim that 'Civil War' is a misnomer

I think the preferred term is The War Of Northern Aggression.

 

[mso489]

I'd say Foote wasn't an academic historian, but he was certainly a historian, all the more for not being shackled to the academic departments which shame each other into timidity in many cases. I was born in the North, though I have lived in the South for many years, but I feel he is generally evenhanded even if the war is seen from a Southern perspective.
(Academe has much to answer for. When I first did grad studies in modern American lit I was amazed at how limited the discussions were of Hemingway short stories, for example. Peeing around about about one symbol or one pet theory with no larger view of the story, the historical context, the characters, or anything substantive. Now I know why so many drop out of Ph.D. programs, to which I never aspired.)

 

[warren]

His series, I have a first edition, is a great read. He stays fairly objective, covers a great deal of the minutia, and keeps it interesting. Not a reference book by any stretch of the imagination. The economics are not addressed in any depth. Nor, is the history leading up to the rupture fully and objectively addressed. But, that was not his goal in writing. It presents a fairly comprehensive over view of the period. I highly recommend it as an introduction to the era which in fact resulted in creating a union out of a somewhat loose, up until the war, confederation of states.
Further, the war gave us "big" government, income taxes, a suspension of the "writ of habeas corpus", the impetus for the transcontinental railroad and so forth. The US truly became a recognized power in the world because of the rupture. And, the war drove the economy which created the US as the economic power of the 20th century.
Your Mr. Churchill wrote a small but, I think, significant book on the subject.

 

[tslex]

Shelby Foote was not a scholarly historian, but was a sublime writer and -- this is important -- a Southerner through and through.
He was born and raised in the Mississippi Delta and the Gulf Coast. He went to UNC-CH. He was a captain in the Mississippi National Guard, then the US army, then -- after being court-martialed out of the Army -- enlisted as a private in the USMC.
His deeply seated connection to the geography and culture of the South means he brought a perspective to his work on the Civil War that others didn't. He was no apologist for what was wrong with the antebellum South, but he had an empathy and understanding of the place few other historians did. He was born only 50 years after the end of the war. His great grandfather was a Confederate officer.
In my view, Foote's trilogy is THE essential Civil War history.

 

[tslex]

Seldom, I'd respectfully take issue with the idea that Foote had a "southern bias."
The victors tend to write the history books and that has been true in spades of the Civil War, where the South -- with certainly much to answer for -- is often so systematically demonized that most histories skew strongly north-favoring.
As I note above, Foote CERTAINLY empathized with, even had sympathy for, Southerners and their experiences. [Remember, with a few exceptions, the war was fought almost entirely IN the south.] But I don't think he can be said to have ever tried to justify the war or defend secession.
Fair enough?

 

[haparnold]

I think the preferred term is The War Of Northern Aggression

Not one I personally employ, but I also wouldn't correct anyone for saying it :P
To quote a writer I once read (don't remember who), "The American South is the only place in the world where we celebrate a war we lost."

 

[warren]

that has been true in spades of the Civil War, where the South -- with certainly much to answer for -- is often so systematically demonized that most histories skew strongly north-favoring.

I respectfully take issue with the quote. It wasn't long after the surrender that a "PR" campaign was started which was aimed at a rehabilitation of the Confederacy. Lee became an icon in both North and South. One is really hard pressed to find any book, Northern author or Southern which properly vilifies the men (rich, proud, white, a minority with the money and the power) who led the South into the war. While it is easy to find tomes which attribute the war to the issue of slavery, "states rights" as an issue, is often given short shrift. The issues morphed of course as the war went on, different issues were used, by both sides, as different classes of men had to be drawn into armies, be it bounty or invasion or peer pressure.
As an aside, Foote couldn't avoid a Southern bias intentional or not. He was born, raised, educated and lived as a southerner. That he was as objective as humanly possible under those circumstances is not arguable in my estimation.
My research tells me the war was unavoidable from the earliest founding of the colonies as the south was, slowly and inexorably, left behind, economically (farm based, little industrialization) and in population. The South was content, the North was young, vibrant and growing. Regional jealously, a fear of loss of power in government, drove many of the Southern politicians.
Keep in mind that long about the 60's, the 1960's, "The South" at last won the war, with economies booming while the big population centers in the North languished. "Separate but, equal" faded away and the South began to fully benefit from it's total population enjoying access to a good education, banks (money), and employment.
"The South shall rise again!" is now "The South Has Risen!".

 

[piper64]

Knew his brother Trench :lol:

 

[drwatson]

I 2nd everything tslex said.

 

[npod]

YES! YES! AND ... YES!
My book collection has been parsed over the years as I downsize my real estate space. But Shelby will always remain on my shelf. I have very fond memories of the immense work I put in to the study of that period of history and his work was a big part of that research. And he is one of the reasons I took up the pipe.

 

[seacaptain]

Great (and long) read! His running description of Philip Sheridan cracks me up.

 

[mawnansmiff]

WOW chaps, so many responses in such a short time....I'm quite taken aback. Sadly, non actually answer my main question of will having nigh on zero knowledge of American politics hold me back from enjoying the trilogy.
Whatever, the enthusiasm shown here has nudged me into buying the first volume 'The Civil War: Fort Sumter to Perryville: A Narrative. (Civil War Generals)' which should give me a taster.
As for where Fort Sumter or Perryville are I wouldn't have the foggiest idea......you see my problem?
Tim, I actually looked into the recorded version but at £127:20 I thought that a total scam. A CD costs pennies to produce, a book costs considerably more. Granted you have it read to you but my experience thus far in that regard has been far from stellar.
So I have 856 pages of classical American history crawling its way from Chicago (4-5 weeks delivery time) to Cornwall so I may be gone some while....
Thanks again chaps for your input.....I knew I could rely on you lot for some honest thoughts ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[loadclear]

Ft Sumter is an island fort in Charleston Bay in South Carolina. It was mostly a symbolic battle which opened the War.
South Carolina was the first State to secede, and in doing so, proclaimed that all Federal (US) troops had to leave the State. The Federal troops manning the Fort said "no", and South Carolina's militia bombarded them until they surrendered. The times were different then, and the South Carolina militia actually cheered the bravery of the soldiers in the Fort.
While in my opinion very biased, another worthwhile medium is the "Civil War" documentary by Ken Burns. It has a lot more insight into the politics and economy. Shelby Foote is a recurring interviewee in the documentary.
In my opinion, his most memorable quote was; "Before the war, people said 'the United States are...' After the war, they said 'the United States is...'"
I would consider watching the miniseries first, then reading the books. This will help with context.
I'd also have google maps up and handy to reference while reading.