The Coming Fury
The Centennial History of the Civil War

I have owned this book and the two volumes that follow for probably over 40 years. What took me so long is probably the fact that I always found many other Civil War books to read in their place. Lord knows there are enough of them. The set of three was written to commemorate the centennial of the Am......more

The first of three volumes in Bruce Catton's Centennial History of the Civil War, this book is a masterpiece of narrative history. Catton provides meticulous detail and perspective of the events leading up to the Civil War while keeping the reader riveted by the fascinating and exciting story unfold......more

I read this book on recomendation from a Civil War group here on GoodReads, after asking for a book about the time immediately before the war. This book covers 1860 and 1861, from the Democratic Party convention in Charleston that tries (and fails) to nominate a candidate for the presidency through B......more

This is the first book in Bruce Catton’s trilogy that he wrote for the centennial of the Civil War. I tend to read books about individual battles or campaigns. This is different in that it is a comprehensive series on the war. The first book starts with the conventions of 1860 and ends with Bull Run......more

A few years back I re-read Bruce Catton’s 1953 book Stillness at Appomattox. I had read it as a boy, but the new reading left me with sense that I was, given Catton’s masterly voice, something that had the force and power of an American Iliad. The battering battle between Lee and Grant was epic, gri......more