Delighted that you will be studying the war! The extensive reading list here is too much for you I fear. I have read almost all of the recommended books (not Divens for example) and a coupla hundred more besides! My dad just recently gave me a copy of the first civil war book I ever read as a 10 year old kid at the county library, “Mr. Lincoln’s Army” by Bruce Catton (pronounced Kay-ton).
The most satisfying book on the war that I ever read was called, “Why the South Lost the Civil War” by Beringer, Hataway and other members of the University of Georgia history faculty.
You keep seeing “Killer Angels” on this list but you should know that it is entirely based on General Longstreet’s theory of the battle of Gettysburg. Longstreet felt the sting of blame for the defeat after the war and wrote a defense of his actions there. His book made the sainted General Lee look bad and Longstreet, I think, regretted it. The disgusting numbskull, Martin Sheen, portrayed Lee as a deranged, religious kook in the movie, “Gettysburg”.
Some people get into this from those Ted Turner movies, and then read the Shaara works on which those movies were based. Those people give tooo much importance to Lawrence and the 20th Maine.
Some get into it from the Ken Burns PBS Documentary, and then read the trilogy by Shelby Foote, the delightful historian who starred in that series as Catton had done for an earlier documentary.
I got into it by seeing the 1967 widescreen release of “Gone With the Wind” and then reading all the books in the library civil war section, especially Bruce Catton’s trilogy on the “Army of the Potomac.”
Catton wrote one called “The Blue and the Gray” which was made into an excellent miniseries! You gotta see that. It was said at the time to be non-fiction and all the people in the series “lived and saw as they are portrayed in it”. The dialogue is fanciful of course. Stars Lloyd Bridges, Stacy Keach, and Gregory Peck (as Lincoln). 1982 CBS. Get the full 6 hour version on Amazon. Beware there is a cut version.
You must go see the Museum of the Civil War Soldier at Pamplin Park near Petersburg Virginia. Best museum ever.
Thank You - - very much - - for all the information and recommendations.
The response from all of you has amazed me.
I didn’t know of the museum. I’ll look into it.