Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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“Honor without intelligence is a disaster. Honor could lose the war.”

The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War by Michael Shaara

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Cbr13bingo violence I read The Killer Angels about 20 years ago, and my lasting recollection was that I was surprised at how it drew me in and how much I liked it. Surprised because this novel, a work of historical fiction, is focused on the most momentous battle of the Civil War – Gettysburg. As much as I enjoy history and historical fiction, military history has never been terribly interesting to me. Michael Shaara accomplished something amazing with this novel: he made me interested in […]

The Voices of the Ignored

The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Forgotten History, Immigrants, women, & African Americans in the Civil War's Defining Battle by Margaret S. Creighton

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Until I joined a reenactment group about 6 years ago, I’d never had any interest in the Civil War since its most popular focus is white men shooting each other. Now, this isn’t to say that the experiences of the white, male soldiers consumed by the jaws of war aren’t important, it just means I don’t particularly care what Gen. So-&-So did at noon on July 2nd, 1863. And unfortunately, at least at Gettysburg, ninety-nine percent of the focus is what white men did in […]

Civil War Horror Up Close and Personal

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You could describe Olmstead’s story about a boy and his horse as a “coming-of-age” tale only if you are as blinkered as those poor horses clopping thru the traffic along Central Park. Instead, this is a novel about war, and the horrors that war visits on populations, military and civilian alike. Our boy doesn’t so much grow up during this novel, as grow hard.   It is 1863, and one day 14-year-old Robey Childs gets ordered by his mom, who supposedly has “the Sight,” to grab […]



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