My author of the month is Shelby Foote. I recently finished his three volume treatment of the American Civil War and found it very impressive. It's not often these days that I will finish a book and feel a sense of loss. Foote comes across as a decent and humane man who writes with wisdom and learning. I believe he is considered to have a bias towards the South, but it seemed to me that he was fairly catholic in his sympathies. The trilogy is a lot of reading, but it was the best thing I've read in quite a while. Grant's memoirs are next on the Civil War reading list (after Bloody Crucible of Courage) though I still have to get around to actually ordering them.
Foote was a Mississippian from a generation that identified more with its Confederate past than the current generation. Foote was a novelist turned historian, so his prose tends towards the beautiful. Like Catton, he's a pleasure to read and the color and characters of the history comes alive.
ReplyDeleteWell said, David. I agree with you!
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