SHELBY FOOTE - THE CIVIL WAR - A Narrative

[jerry c.]

wow... that looks great. just reading tiny bits was getting me hooked.

i wonder if i could suspend my interest in the third reich to take this on..

[Darrell]

If you are thinking about looking for this three volume set, you would be pretty hard pressed to find a better detailed reference to "all" the civil war battles.

Many other works focus on the Eastern Theater (Virginia) and merely give passing mention of the others with a modest couple of paragraphs. Not here ....

Shelby Foote has been criticized as being pro-South in his views and not very honest or sympathetic to the plight of the Slaves, but these are minor and just sour grapes to other authors that couldn't find much else wrong with this work

[nick-j]

Shelby Foote is my favourite participant in what is a truly outstanding series of documentaries, In a recent interview (not sure when it was filmed) he didn't look at all well, is he still with us?

[Darrell]

No he passed away in 2005.

[historyguy]

Does anybody know the difference between the three-volume set posted by Darrell and the fourteen-volume set published by Time Life? Is one set better than the other?

[Darrell]

Does anybody know the difference between the three-volume set posted by Darrell and the fourteen-volume set published by Time Life? Is one set better than the other?

I'm not familiar with the 14 set. Do they say how many pages each volume is? The three volume set I show is almost 3000 pages. Maybe the set is just smaller pieces of the same work?

[eldenwaff]

I've been a big Foote fan for decades, have read the volumes at least 3 times over the years and am due for a 4th. Even a hard core CW buff will learn much from this series, like some of the obscure river battles and conflicts in the west he goes over in great detail in a fashion that makes it hard to stop reading.
I never got the feeling at all that he was advocating or soft selling 1 side over the other ,,, And the issue of slaves he goes into where it relates to the conflict and politics, quite extensively at times. Contrary to what many folks think, the war was not fought to free blacks from oppression, it was fought to maintain the union - Even Lincoln himself has said as much. So I don't see why he would have gone into the issue at great length, and would have been disappointed if he did.

This is a narrative of the battles and the men who conceived and fought them, and for that his volumes are absolutely epic.

[historyguy]

I'm not familiar with the 14 set. Do they say how many pages each volume is? The three volume set I show is almost 3000 pages.

"About" 300 pages per volume, which totals 4200 for the set.

When was your box set published? These are 1998-2000. I'm just wondering if he made any revisions for the Time/Life series.

Maybe the set is just smaller pieces of the same work?

That's what I'd like to find out, because the 14-volume series is a lot more expensive than the traditional 3-vol. set!

[PaulW]

Thanks

Many thanks for the review Darrell, I might have to add this set to my ever growing library!

[Darrell]

....
When was your box set published? These are 1998-2000. I'm just wondering if he made any revisions for the Time/Life series..!

Volume 1 - Copyright 1958 and copyright renewed 1986 by Shelby Foote
Volume 2 - Copyright 1963 and copyright renewed 1991 by Shelby Foote
Volume 3 - Copyright 1974 and copyright renewed 2002 by Shelby Foote

I'm thinking based on these dates and your dates, the 14 volume set is likely a republication of the original works he did.

[pasoleati]

Hopefully I find somewhere an extra $100 to buy the new hardcover boxed set!

[Kyle Harrington]

Shelby Foote

This learned man had a colourful war himself !! His voice was like a good wine smooth and warming - what an input into Ken Burn's magesterial "The Civil War" which for me is the greatest piece of history on TV I have ever encountered bar none!!!!!

[Adam.B]

They are great books, you should check out Easton press they do a leather set that looks really good.

[Darrell]

A few weeks back I re-read this set. Each time, something new is discovered. Quite and amazing work with detail to almost all battles (large and small) of the Civil War

[eldenwaff]

I've been a big Foote fan for decades [not fetish wise !] Have read the volumes at least 3 times and am due for another.
Very comprehensive and supremely sourced would be an understatement. Very hard to put down once started, I remember reading these as a teen and my parents could see my light on when I should have been sleeping and they told me to turn it off and get to sleep.
I would proceed to read by flashlight into the wee hours for weeks, his writing style and depth are so good it is almost addicting.

At first my only complaint was the way he jumps around the timeline then jumps back throughout the volumes, seemed to be out of sync a bit. Then I realized that with so many things going on simultaneously, this was the best way to do it.

edit: I see I already posted in this thread and said much the same thing, thats Ok Foote is worth a double endorsement.
The only thing I have ever read that even comes close is Churchills memoirs, also read those multiple times and if there is anyone here who hasn't read them - What are you waiting for ?